LE3 .A278 2001

2001

Schwenke Wyile, Andrea

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Masters

English

English & Theatre Studies

While many various approaches have been taken to the study of fairy tales this thesis aims at introducing to the field an approach that has not been put to extensive use. In recent years, with the rise of what is referred to under the umbrella of "literary theory," fairy tales have been analysed, in depth, according to such theories as structuralism, psychoanalytic theory, Marxism and, most pervasively, feminism. What has not been attempted, on a large scale, is a post-structuralist approach to the genre. This thesis, in applying to fairy tales the theories and methodologies of Michel Foucault, takes just such an approach. In accordance with Foucault's particular brand of post-structuralism, the study at hand is concerned with the workings of power within the typical fairy tale and especially within the typical fairy tale "happily ever after" ending. When examined through such a template the utopian vision towards which the conventional fairy tale strives becomes one built not upon a foundation of absolute happiness or absolute good, but upon one of absolute power. "Happily ever after" is, for all intents and purposes, a totalitarian state. It is achieved through total dominance and through the elimination of dissent so that, in the end, a single, total, order of things remain. In effect, the fairy tale fantasy of perfect happiness is a reflection of the same "will to power" that (according to the theories of Foucault) forms our reality.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2213