Revising identification: fairy tales that transform tradition from within

This dissertation examines contemporary revisions of four classic fairy tales: “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “Bluebeard,” drawing on José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of “disidentification” to describe the revisionary work they perform. Muñoz provides a model of subversion that illuminates the work done in these revisions, which both relish the pleasure to be found in the fantasy of fairy tales and work to short circuit their anachronistic ideology, to deconstruct and rewrite their heteronormative scripts. The author argues that fairy-tale revisions can transform the genre from within through a careful dance of adherence to and deviation from its formula. Their work is both formal and thematic, a subversion of fairy-tale form and of sexual politics. Because the fairy tale operates largely by encouraging identification (especially in young audiences) with certain roles, producing social conformity, these radical revisions resist social and sexual prescription and in so doing embrace and empower a range of gender and sexual identities.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Dettmar, Esther Katherine

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rodriguez, Richard T.
• Mahaffey, Vicki
• Hansen, Jim
• Johnson, Laurie R.

• fairy tales
• disidentification
• Snow White
• Sleeping Beauty
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Bluebeard

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Esther Dettmar

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/95472

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/95472