fandomhigh | Traditional Fairy Tales, Class Twelve (04/02)

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.]

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Since you will anyway.

Evie waved cheerfully over at Jack, and smiled at Cedric. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

Jack swept her with a long, slow and very considering look. "Not really, no," he finally answered. "You?"

Evie looked surprised. "Rather nice, really. I read in the park, and spent some time on the roof. I'm sorry, were you still ill? I heard you weren't feeling well earlier this week. Is there anything I can do?" She paused, then added, giving him a scolding look, "Although I should be very angry at you for throwing my notes out the window."

His gaze softened a bit and he managed a smile for her. "Yeah, sorry about that. Fandom weirdness. I thought I was somebody else." He weighed it up, then offered, "I could make it up to you, if there's something you want."

"Oh, that makes *much* more sense, then. And oooo!" Evie had to stop and think, then look stymied. "Oh dear. There's nothing that I want right now... Oh! I know. Ice cream?" She gave him a hopeful look. "And, and, perhaps, I can tell you about this boy that I'm becoming friends with now. If you aren't terribly busy this week."

"I think I could manage that," he said, smiling wider, relaxing a little. Evie was Evie. Nothing would change that. "Am I going to have to have words with this boy?"

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

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Jack so wasn't in the mood for class discussion. Instead he was just sitting as far away as possible from certain people, alternating between pretending they didn't exist and thinking up ever more elaborate ways to make their life very difficult and far shorter.

Briana cocked her head at Jack. "Everything alright?" she asked in concern.

"Fine," he replied, giving her a tight smile. "Just dandy."

Okay, so he wasn't as friendly as the memories in her head said he was.

"Anything I can do?"

"No." Jack sighed a little and smiled more naturally. It wasn't Phoebe's fault. "But thanks."

Briana made sure she looked both sad and concerned. She had picked up that the hot she was inhabiting was known to be soft-hearted with the people around her. Foolish chit.

"Well, if I can help, you'll let me know? That's what friends are for, Jack."

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After getting Jack's message, Cedric had his wand tucked inside his shirt and a look of concern on his face. He came over and took a seat next to Jack.

Jack looked up and shifted closer as Cedric sat. "Hey," he said, looking and sounding relieved. "Did you bring it?"

"I have it," he said, unbuttoning his sweater and showing the wand he'd tucked away to Jack. "What's the matter?"

Jack relaxed, smiling at Cedric. "Thank you." If it had been anywhere other than the middle of class, he'd have thanked Cedric properly. He kept his voice low as he said, "If I start acting...strange, or she," he pointed at Lana, grimacing as he saw she had the teary face back on, "comes anywhere near me, zap her. Okay? And me if needed."

"Zap you?" He frowned, confused. "Fine but...I'd like to know why sometime in the future."

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Madeline found this whole thing quite boring. At least Isobel and Briana were here too.

[slow to no play while at work; Lana and Phoebe may mod if needed for any possessed wacky hijinks.]

Briana looked relieved to see Madeline. "So, how was your night?"

Liz quietly took notes but she really wasn't very focused on them since she was mostly thinking about the weekend.

"Hey Liz." Billy smiled.

Liz smiled in response, "hi Billy,"

"Did you know there's a new shrink in town?"

Liz shook her head, "no, I didn't know,"

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