The intelligence of princes is ridiculed saying that "All the news paper in the

world she has read and forgotten them again, so clever is she" (90). But, Kay is

depicted as one with superior intelligence. "He is so clever, he could reckon in his

head even fractions" (90). But in the Snow Queen's Palace Kay is puzzled with the

patterns – puzzled of reason – puzzle of female sexuality which only the female

Gerda can solve.

The raven widow after the death of raven "chatters more than ever!" She is

the symbol of a woman who had regained her voice of after the death of her

husband. The Lapland woman writes on the dried stock fish and her writing is

consumed by the Finland woman which hints at the female language, that is body

itself. "Female body is seen as a direct source of female writing in which a powerful

alternative discourse seems possible; to write from body is to recreate the world"

(Jones 361).

In "The Little Mermaid", the merworld is depicted as the one without any

oppression. The witch that gives human legs to the mermaid performs the role of a

typical mother in a patriarchal set up. She says:

"the transformation will, however be very painful; you feel as though a sharp

knife passed through your body. Every step you take will cause you pain . . .

It will seem to you are walking on the sharp edges of swords and your blood

will flow" (150-51).

These are the words of every mother who conditions her daughter before entering

the institution of marriage. The first sacrifice she makes is her beautiful voice. The

witch asks her to "put out they little tongue that I may cut it off and take it for

myself" (51). This seems to be cruel but this is the first ordeal undergone by every

woman who is destined to live in the male dominated world. The witch like a

trained mother cuts off her tongue before 'marrying her off' to the 'second father' to

suit her according to the whims and fancies of the man. She is left only with her

"graceful form to charm the man" (151). The second ordeal is the cutting of the long

loose hair. The long hair symbolises the freedom and female sexuality. She is

either forced to cut off the hair or to tie it neatly thereby disciplining herself.

The little mermaid drinks the potion that contains "the blood that triple

down" from the bosom of the witch, the maiden is accepting the legacy of her

mother. The reference to "female slaves” and she comparing herself with them

shows her position in the palace. The Prince calls her "my dear little foundling".

The possessive pronoun shows that she is the object founded by the Prince. She

adores the room like the velvet cushion. "During the night she would when all in the

Palace were at rest walk down the marble steps in order to cool her feet in the deep

waters" (154). It is the time when she is free in herself, in her world to caress her

huts and injuries. She is nearly and object and the Prince’s hands when he says

"thou art like a young maid”. The male's preference of female is understood by the

works "I should prefer thee my little silent foundling with the speaking eyes" (155).

The prince is a domineering figure who finds himself the owner of every woman.

She takes into possession the Mermaid and even the Princes without their say. He is
bothered only about his happiness when he says "Oh I am all too happy! . . . Thou

must rejoice in my happiness" (155). So self centered is he that he is preoccupied

only with his own happiness. He is unable to see the 'self' of the Mermaid. Her

internal bleeding is depicted through her feet that "suffered extremely but she no

longer felt the pain ; the anguish that her heart suffered was much greater" (158).

She represents every woman whose "heart is filled with the thoughts of death and

annihilation, smiled and danced with others" (158).

These representations of feminity in the folk tales condition the young minds

– by colouring their imagination with fanciful pictures of beautiful, innocent,

sacrificing, subservient maidens and handsome, aggressive, oppressive youths.

These images remain in the unconscious of the young minds even if they grow up

and often they identify themselves with these characters and their live their lives

once again resulting in the male world order. In order to overcome this ,it is essential

that these myths are to be seen in a new light of understanding. So as Iregaray

points out that "one should start from the two lips of the female sex" (Venn, 84 ) . So

they can articulate themselves, define and redefine themselves through the female

language formed form the light of their own experiences. Many revisionist myth

makers like Sunithi Namjoshi, Allida Allison have attempted a retelling of the

stories but the discussions confine only within the academic circles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, Hans Christian. Fairy Tales. Purnel: Paulton, 1977.

Beauvoir, Simone De. The Second Sex. Tr.H.M. Parshley. London: Vintage, 1997.

Jones, Ann Rosalind.”Writing the Body: Toward an Understanding of I’Ecriture

Feminine (1981).”Feminisms: An Anthology of Literary Theory and Criticism.

Ed.Robyn V Warhol and Diane Price Herndl. USA: Rutgers, 1996.

Irigaray, Luce. “This Sex Which is Not One.” Feminisms: An Anthology of Literary

Theory and Criticism. Ed.Robyn V Warhol and Diane Price Herndl. USA:

Rutgers, 1996.

Venn, Couze ,trans.”Women’s Exile: Interview with Luce Irigaray.” The Feminist

Critique of Language:A Reader. Ed.Deborah Cameron.London: Routledge,

1990.