Women are clearly placed in demeaning roles, compared to the male character's, women are seen as inferior creatures that are dependant on men. In the case of Snow-White, she is oppressed by her evil stepmother and in the end is saved by a handsome prince. If Prince Charming had not rescued her, she would not have woken or survived. So we can clearly see the message of male dependency. Fairytales suggest that marriage to a handsome prince is the most desirable reward for a woman to win. In order to do this all the male characters exhibit cleverness, cunning, bravery and self-reliance. Marcia K Lieberman asserts that Fairytales teach women that submissiveness and beauty are qualities for which they will be rewarded in life. Alison Lurie takes a different stance:.
"Fairytales portrayed a society in which women were as competent and active as men, at every age and in every class. Gretel, not Hansel, defeated the witch; and for every clever youngster son there was a youngster daughter equally resourceful. The contrast continued in maturity, when women were often more powerful than men. Real help for the hero or heroine came most often from a fairy godmother or wise woman, and real trouble from a witch or wicked stepmother. With frequency that recalls current feminist polemics, the significant older male figures were either dumb macho giants or malevolent dwarfs." .
Many critics believe that fairytales that promote female resourcefulness would not be as successful as those that don't.
Although the traditional Folk-Tales presented woman as strong and competent, the fairytales of modern culture present the female in passive, minor roles and this in turn suggests that society only values women if they are beautiful, wealthy and appear docile and obedient. Fairytales are full of beautiful princesses, but we always try to reassure ourselves that real beauty is on the inside. We believe education and independence are poignant to our success, yet these stories promote women who can't escape their lives without the help of a male.
