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Who's The Fairest Of Them All? Defining And Subverting The Female Beauty Ideal In Fairy Tale Narratives And Films Through Grotesque Aesthetics, Leah Persaud
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This thesis seeks to explore the ways in which women and beauty are depicted in the fairy tales of Giambattista Basile, the Grimm Brothers, and 21st century fairy tale films. A dominant beauty ideal in the genre has established a splitting of female characters into strict dichotomies that reinforce beauty and good moral behaviour while also propagating antagonistic female relationships. The use of spectacle to highlight the physical rewards of beauty and the violent punishments of ugly women have created a stable pattern in the genre that is maintained regardless of time period or context. It is the aim …