Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Twelve (04/02)

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Monday, April 2, Period Two

Students, upon entering the classroom, discover that it is decorated in a strange mixture of very "boyish" sports themes and very "girlish" flowers and kittens. Aziraphale looks a little apologetic, as he stands to begin the lecture.

"As you may be able to tell from the unusual decorations, today we'll be discussing Gender Roles in fairy tales. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, so please keep in mind that not every tale will fit the models we discuss today."

LECTURE: "Most fairy tales separate the genders into very traditional roles, according to whether they fulfill the purpose of hero or villain. Male heroic figures are generally either princes or poor but clever youths. They are adventurous, brave, and demonstrate an ability to overcome obstacles through the use of cleverness and often deceit. They fight, solve problems, find treasure, rescue princesses, and outwit monsters and witches. Male villains are very often monstrous -- giants, ogres, dragons, trolls -- and are gluttonous, lustful and wrathful. Both the heros and the villians share very stereotypical 'male' traits as well: skills in weaponry, outdoorsmanship, and the handling of animals; an interest in treasure or leadership; positions of social power. Even the poor 'Jack' figures are often the male representative in the household.

"Female heroic figures usually rely on their wits and their womanly skills. They use their ability to sew, cook and tend children in order to reach their goals. They generally do not use conventional weapons or go out into the world on adventures, and they are often put into the position of being the 'prize' or 'reward' in a story. Their lives are controlled by a male figure -- father, brother, husband, etc. Female villains are nearly always either evil sorceresses or hags, who cast curses and spells. They are motivated by jealousy, vanity, and greed."

CLASS DISCUSSION: "Using the three tales assigned for today's reading: "Rushencoatie", "Johnny Gloke", and "Baba Yaga"", choose a male character and a female character and discuss how they are portrayed in the stories. How do they represent the traditional stereotypes of men and women as they appear in fairy tales?

"To start you off, I'll give two examples, from earlier reading assignments. In "Little Snow White", the evil queen is an excellent example of the stereotypical Female Villain. She practices witchcraft, an art associated with women much more strongly than with men. She is motivated by her personal vanity, believing herself to be the most beautiful woman in the land until Snow White comes of age. To rid herself of her rival, she does not attempt to kill the girl with her own hands, but rather first sends a loyal male figure to do it for her, and then later uses a potion -- related to the art of cooking -- to create a poison apple. Instead of fighting, she employs disguise and subterfuge as her weapons.

In "Jack and the Beanstalk", the Male Hero is the only male in his household, therefore holding the traditional position of power in what would be his most immediate world. He exhibits bravery in setting off alone to climb the beanstalk, and although he doesn't fight with the giant directly, he does make use of an axe to bring down the beanstalk and kill his enemy."

READING ASSIGNMENT: "Read "The Fairy Serpent". We will meet next week in the Danger Shop for another Immersion Study.

ABSENCE LIST:
Matilda Wormwood (five absences) excused
Jude Lizowski (one absence)

[ooc: Please wait for OCD is up and class is now in session.]



Syllabus
Class Roster
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Comments

Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Er...if you dare.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

Briana had found out that she was something called a "Teacher's Assistant", so here she was, sitting and relaxing, waiting to see what happens.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

For the first part of class, Aziraphale was distracted enough with his lecture that, aside from casting a puzzled look toward his TAs, he didn't really take much notice of anything unusual.

But once the discussion had begun, and he wandered over toward the two girls, he was brought up short by the realization that something was very wrong.

"What exactly is going on here?" he asked, in a low but stern voice.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

Briana looked up and forced herself into a cheerful smile. "We're discussing the stories and doing our jobs to help if anyone needs it," she said brightly.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

"Quite," Aziraphale replied, eyeing Phoebe. "Miss Halliwell, did you get into something you shouldn't have got into over the weekend?"

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

Damn it.

"Professor Aziraphale, what could I have possibly gotten into over the weekend?" It was more what she had got out of... or maybe the fact that she had gotten into this host was what he meant? She wondered if she was going to have to cast the same spell on him that she had cast on the boyfriend. "Sir, what exactly is wrong?"

Briana made sure she was calm and polite -- just like any other student she had observed.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Okay, that was just weird. In all the time he'd known Phoebe, he didn't think she'd ever called him 'sir'.

Pulling up a chair, Aziraphale sat down, and leaned foward toward Phoebe. "Miss Halliwell, or whomever you are, I think you'd best tell me what's going on right now."

[ooc: Feel completely free to try and cast a spell on Phale, or do anything else you think would be IC for Briana. ;)]

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

Briana looked at him and then sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, she was aware that Madeline came to stand with her and Isobel.

"I think that you are having a very stressful day, Professor Aziraphale," Briana said with a worried smile at him.

After making sure none of the other students could see what she was doing, she pointed her fingers at him like she had done with Cole, and Madeline did the same thing. Their eyes flared pinkish-purple and pink light shot towards him and the chair. "Forget," they said together in Latin.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale raised an eyebrow, shocked into silence by the idea of Phoebe, Lana and Marie even wanting to cast a spell on him, let alone any of them actually doing it. He took a close look at the three of them, and then narrowed his eyes as he came to a decision.

This was neither the time nor the place to confront whatever was affecting the three girls. They seemed to be unharmed, and he hadn't heard any reports about attacks lately. So perhaps the thing to do was to let them continue to believe that they were fooling people. Or that he at least had no interest in making a fuss. It would give him time to think, and to find out what was going on.

"I think perhaps it's time for the three of you to get back to your classwork," Aziraphale suggested, rising from his chair and giving all three girls a hard look.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Isobel just looked slightly bored. "Everything's fine, Mr. Phale," she replied with a smile. "Just chatting."

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

That was a bit more in line with the sort of reaction Aziraphale expected from the girls, although the bored expression was a little unusual. Still, he was starting to think that the best course of action at the moment was to keep away from any sort of confrontation, until he knew more.

"Did you find what you needed at the library, Miss Lang?"

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Isobel couldn't quite prevent the smirk. "I did indeed, Mr. Phale. Thank you so much. It helped immensely. You might even say I'm like a whole new person now."

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

"Quite," Aziraphale replied dryly, with a hint of suspicion in his voice. He wondered what it had been that Lana had found there, and what it had done to the three girls. "Well, perhaps you can come by the house sometime and tell James and me about it."

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Isobel smiled at him. "That would be wonderful. We'll have to find a good time for it."

Right. As if that was going to happen.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Isobel honestly could care less about this whole thing, but she sat and waited for anyone who might have questions for her. She tried to avoid her grin when she saw Jack enter the room and did her best to look a bit teary and upset whenever she thought he or Cedric were looking in her direction.

Oh that had been so much fun. She actually wished Jack or Sam had tried to attack her last night. Wouldn't they have gotten a surprise!

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

She had figured out that this TA thing had some freedoms and responsibilities associated with it. However, she fast beginning to get bored -- just like with the earlier class she had gone to.

Briana looked at Isobel. "Hey," she said softly. "How come this one's boyfriend was able to tell I wasn't her?"

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"We aren't them, Brianna," Isobel said a bit impatiently. "We only look like them. A simple spell will prevent it for those these hots are closest to, for other you just need to be careful. Or make them forget afterward."

She smiled and nodded over at Jack. "I made that one my pet yesterday. Look how upset he is. But he thinks it was the perfect little Lana who did it to him - though how he thinks she'd have the ability I have no idea - I even told him who I truly was and then made him forget it when I released the spell."

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

Briana looked over at Jack and then looked back at Isobel. "He really does look quite upset about it, doesn't he?" She smiled. "I cast a forget spell on her boyfriend and he couldn't get enough of me." She shrugged. "Of course the hot one known as Chris... that didn't go so well for him. Apparently this one knows spells and he wanted to talk to her about a spell he had cast that went wrong."

She wondered how the little piggy was doing, anyway.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I had to call in sick to work. This one's employer has a great deal of magical power and I'm not ready to risk being exposed so soon. Later, when we have the artifacts and control the power it won't matter who knows who we truly are," Isobel gloated.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[sensethevisions]

"Well... Chris and his witch brother won't be bothering or interefering with our plans for at least a littlw while. I took care of that this morning."

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Oh?" Isobel said curiously. "I ran into the older one, Wyatt, yesterday. I was going to punish him for the things he did to my host. He nearly got her killed! And then where would he be. But he kissed so well that I made love with him instead. Not as good as my host's lover, but a wonderful distraction for an afternoon."

Re: Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

["What exactly is going on here?" (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomhigh/1314580.html?thread=77080084#t77080084)

Re: Talk to the TAs

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner wasn't totally looking sad and pitiful in Lana's direction, really.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Isobel passed him a note. "Find me this afternoon and we'll have ourselves some fun."

He might find her handwriting to look a bit old-fashioned and odd.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner wouldn't have noticed. It was legible, and that was more than he could say for his own handwriting half the time.

He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, and a wink that was too blatant to be anywhere in the vicinity of suave.