- Sep 2022
-
sakai.duke.edu sakai.duke.edu
-
In particular, I showed how Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers transformed an oral folk tale about the social initiation of a youngwoman into a narrative about rape in which the heroine is obligedto bear the responsibility for sexual violation
I wonder, then, what exactly the tale of Sleeping Beauty says about women's duty in regards to sexual violation. While it does plainly show how most women are coerced into relationships through assault, I am interested in the implications of the story itself and what it conveys to be the "obligations" of women in relationships.
-
As many of the tales became irrelevant andanachronistic, they were forgotten
I feel it was not so much the tales as a whole were forgotten; the morals and lessons of the stories surely must have stayed. Whether or not a story is remembered is directly dependent on its appeal and significance to specific audiences. However, each story has in some way a part that stays in society. For some it is its deeper meaning; for most it is the structure of the tale that has made it distinguishable in our minds as a genre.
-
8r°UP ate b°Und With one anothCT bV multiple flowsno v '°n <Here ? USe "Nation" in a broad sense that includesassum7n C7m °f kno"U<* also that of their beliefs,information 7 '°nS'7 norms'skills' maPS. images, and so on.)
"Members of a human group are bound with one another by multiple flows of information." Thinking about the various relationships that we as humans have throughout our lives, it makes sense to view them all as simple "flows of information". With friends that information may be exciting tales acquired through shared experiences or advice and support given in times of need. For lovers it may be the care and emotions shared and received. And for parents and children, it is the attentive care and the lessons one must learn to grow.
-
we are disposed to copying memes thatwant to be copied.
Like epidemics, memes need a special composition to spread at a certain speed. This line brings to light the fact that the continued lifespan of a meme is not so much credited to our efforts but to the general makeup of that particular idea that allows it to stick. What then is the exact genetic material of fairy tales that keeps it in our society like the flu? It stays with certain individuals and peaks at times where it is reintroduced to a larger audience (i.e. live-action film adaptations).
-
. Just as genes propagate themselvesin the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, somemes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brainto brain via a process which, in the broad sense can be called imitation.
Having grown up in the age of modern technology, it is quite simple to understand the notion of memes that Dawkins presents in comparison to the common memes of the current digital era. When given the right audience and shared in the right social situations, memes can spread like wildfire. Oftentimes memes and their respective ideas will reach a tipping point (as defined by Malcolm Gladwell) and spike in popularity then eventually die out. I find fairy tales interesting in the sense that, compared to other trends and memes, they have not one short life of recognition but many spread over the course of generations.
-