Myths And Fairytales The Bloody Chamber And `` The...

DISCUSS THE VEIW THAT BOTH AUTHORS USE MYTHS AND FAIRYTALES TO REFLECT GENDER EQUALITY Fairy tales and myths, although often cited as children’s stories, rooted in a distant world of magical realism, still form the bedrock of both literary history and cultural consciousness. As Duffy quotes â€Å"a part in our literary DNA.† (from the interview i listened too need to find it to refernce) Yet in most fairytales, such as disney, the works of Perrault, or Grimm, the tales remain governed by an archaic ideology, that do not represent the progressed gender equality of both 20th and 21st century auiences. Both Carter, and Duffy utilise this stigmatised genre to reflect the empowerment of women; the works of â€Å"the bloody chamber† and â€Å"the worlds wife† akin give a new radical voice piece for women in society. However critics of both works question wether the authors have replaced misogyny with misandry, using their work to mock masculinity. One way in which both authors do reflect gender equality is through carving a new role in fairytales, â€Å"the Independent woman.† Women within traditional fairytales tend to fall into 3 sub categories; the vulnerable victim, damsel in distress, or the pretty prize for the male hero(1). All three portraying women as reliant on men, lacking personality or pragmatism, illustrating the out-dated view of women as belonging to a male. In the Bloody Chamber most of Carters female characters explore the notion of a female identity