Once upon a time, the first fairy tales were transcribed from their folkloric origins, giving rise to one of the most popular literary genres. Since then, these fairy tales have enchanted us and there have been thousands of retellings that present the original fairy tales in a new light. Women's liberation movements have given rise to feminist reimaginings that give voice to oppressed female heroines, giving them the chance to tell their stories. In “Feminism and Fairy Tales,” Karen Rowe discusses the anti-feminist messages conveyed by popular fairy tales. Although we expect modern retellings to be more feminist in nature, many of her arguments referring to the passivity and objectification of heroines still apply to them. Therefore, it is important to consider whether these modern retellings, which appear to support gender equality and women's rights, might have an underlying patriarchal tone. Madame de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast" was published in 1756 and inspired Emma Donoghue's retelling "The Story of the Rose" which presents the traditional story of "Beauty and the Beast" in a unique way. Donoghue's story follows the budding romance between two women and contains a female Beast instead of a male Beast. Although 'The Story of the Rose' appears to promote feminist messages through a strong and independent heroine, it has a subtly patriarchal tone. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In "Happily Ever After?", Laura Tosi explores the elements of feminist retellings and explains why they promote feminist messages. According to her, contemporary rewritings of folk tales challenge the “implications of gender roles in fairy tales” (369), which implies that the authors of such retellings, especially feminist ones, intend to present strong female characters instead of passive ones. In “A Tale of the Rose,” Donoghue paints Beauty as a woman who seems capable of making her own decisions. When Beauty offers to take her father's place and go to the Beast's castle, she says that "for the first time in my life I felt like I owned myself" (Donoghue 31). This phrase not only demonstrates her independence, but also rebels against the concept of male ownership that was rampant during patriarchal eras. Beauty's determination and strong character are further demonstrated by her response to the Beast's question if she had come willingly: “I did. I was nauseous but I did it” (Donoghue 31). The first two words are a separate phrase that emphasizes the fact that this decision was hers, and the use of “but” as a connective shows that Beauty is capable of sacrifice. Donoghue essentially instilled elements into Beauty that were mostly seen in male characters: independence, heroism, and nobility. However, even though it appears that the heroine has been given the freedom to make her own decisions, it is important to consider that she is often treated like an object. Rowe states that "fairy tales reduce women to marketable commodities" (351) and this is exemplified in "The Tale of the Rose" when Bella's father says "Daughter, I have sold you" (Donoghue, 30). Furthermore, he promised the Beast “the first thing he saw when he got home” (Donoghue 30). The verb “sold” and the use of the noun “thing” to refer to Beauty represent the type of male ownership over women that existed in patriarchies. Beauty is deprived of the freedom to make her own choice because her father gives her up to the Beast. Beaumont's Beauty and the Beast is not much different from Donoghue's version in this respect. The heroine initiallyshe seems to be the one who decides when she says “you cannot stop me from following you,” and then demonstrates her noble character through the quote “I intend to offer myself to appease his fury” (Beaumont 175). However, just like in Donoghue's version, Bella doesn't seem to have much of a choice because if she hadn't volunteered to take her father's place, he would have died, and she is bound by her devotion to her father. Thus, Donoghue's heroine appears to leave willingly but had already been given away by her father without consent. In addition to Beauty's freedom, Donoghue tries to differentiate his characters from Beaumont's. Beaumont supports the patriarchy by punishing the stepsisters for following social norms. When Beaumont published her story, women were expected to have husbands, and marriage for wealth was common. However, the stepsisters were punished for their greed by the fairy who said “Your destiny is to become statues” and there is “no greater punishment” than to make them witness Beauty's happiness (Beaumont 181). Furthermore, the fairy believes that the stepsisters will not learn their lesson and will remain statues forever. But they definitely shouldn't be punished for making mistakes, they're only human. In contrast, Donoghue portrays patriarchy to show how Beauty combats it. For example, the contradictory line “I went as a hostage, but it looked like I was going into battle” emphasizes the submissive role of women in a male-dominated society (Donoghue 31). However, we must note that the second half reveals Bella's newfound freedom as she felt like "riding into battle", something only men could do. Secondly, one of the most obvious differences in Donoghue's tale is the depiction of homosexuality. Beaumont's tale, just like any other traditional fairy tale, presents the romantic journey of a man and a woman. Since the first fairy tale was published, millions of heterosexual versions have been created. Donoghue, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of acceptance in his story and goes against the expected patriarchal norms that imply that a woman must marry a man. However, Donoghue's attempts to differentiate his characters are unconvincing because the underlying logic of the tales remains the main logic. Same. First, in Beaumont's Beauty and the Beast, the stepsisters “rubbed their eyes with an onion” to appear to be in tears while the brothers actually cried (175). Depicting Beauty's sisters as heartless makes them seem incapable of human emotion, which undermines the female character even though it was not Beaumont's intention to do so. In “A Tale of the Rose,” Bella’s sisters also have “onion eyes” (Donoghue 32). While Donoghue may have done this to criticize the original tale, there is further evidence, which will be explored in detail later, that the sisters are undermined in his story. Therefore, because their tears for Beauty are not authentic, they are similar to the half-sisters in Beaumont's tale and this presents the women in a negative way. Secondly, Beaumont's Beauty opened a book that said in golden letters “Ask for anything you wish, here you are mistress of everything” (Beaumont 177). Although the book states that Beauty has freedom, she still believes that the Beast is the master, and even after the Beast says "you are the lover", Beauty does not take advantage of her status (Beaumont 177). In "The Tale of the Rose", Beauty appears to have internalized the narrative of Beaumont's tale and follows it even though the Beast tries to tell her not to. The heroine seems reluctant to accept that this is a new story and limits herself to restrictions. Even when the Beast says “I am no man,” he is too caught up in the original narrative torealize the implications of those words (Donoghue 37). Donoghue tries to present a strong and liberated heroine, but Beauty's reluctance to go beyond her boundaries and take advantage of her independence suggests a hesitation in opposing the patriarchal environment. The Tale of the Rose attempts to produce what Tosi would call a "non-sexist adult." ” of the original story by assigning weaker and less powerful roles to the male characters (384). In "Beauty and the." of BeaumontBeast', the heroine politely rejects marriage proposals saying that she cannot “leave her poor father in his misfortune” (Beaumont 172). Here, men are portrayed in a positive light as they are willing to marry Beauty for who she is, despite her low social position (Beaumont 172). On the other hand, in Donoghue's version, Beauty rejects her suitors because “their canine devotion seemed too easily won” (27). Not only does the alliteration "canine devotion" compare the suitors to harmless dogs and point out that Beauty is too good for them, but it also contradicts everything that Beaumont's original Beast represents: male dominance and patriarchal power. Furthermore, the lack of a male Beast in Donoghue's story further accentuates the fall of patriarchy and elevates the position of women. Thus, Donoghue's story fulfills Tosi's expectation that a feminist retelling “deconstructs a traditional paradigm of male identity” (384). Instead of focusing on characteristics that would distinguish Beauty, Donoghue's focus on deconstructing notions forces her to overlook the characters' inner beauty. Donoghue emphasizes the physical attributes of both Beauty and the Beast. However, the story never suggests that beauty is objective, but instead reinforces the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is exemplified by the quote “After months of searching, I saw that beauty was infinitely varied, and I found it behind her white face” (Donoghue 40). Through this quote, Donoghue attempts to criticize the standards set by traditional fairy tales. However, his focus on disproving that appearances determine female worth leads to the creation of flat characters with no obvious personality traits. This is called 'flatness' and is an element of folk tales, as described by Kate Bernheimer in “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale”. Flat female characters actually oppose feminist sentiments because they are simply beautiful with no characteristics that make them human. Even in Beaumont's story, beauty is his most exceptional quality. “When she was little she was known simply as 'the little beauty'” and her real name is forgotten, which takes away an integral part of her identity (Beaumont 171). The name itself objectifies the heroine, making it seem like nothing is more important than her appearance. However, “Beauty and the Beast” actually provides the heroine with more depth to her character. Beaumont describes Beauty as charming and polite and makes readers aware of her intelligence and love of books; she is recognized as a real human being with personality traits. Therefore, we can say that the more feminist tale in this case is actually Beaumont's classic version as it contains a heroine who is more than just a shell. Unlike more popular fairy tales, "Tale of the Rose" presents Beauty with the ability to express her thoughts and feelings by adopting a first-person narrative. This provides a voice to the oppressed heroines of tales such as Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast." Throughout Beaumont's story, we cannot tell what the heroine feels or thinks, or how comfortable she is with this arrangement. The story of.