Language and Gender in the Fairy Tale Tradition : A Linguistic Analysis of Old and New Story-Telling

Much research has been done on the social messages conveyed to children reading or listening to fairy tales. In this highly original study, the emphasis shifts from content to linguistic expression. The language and linguistic organization of a dozen versions, old and new, of the Little Red Riding Hood story are analyzed using a variety of theoretical approaches, including Critical Discourse Analysis, Conversational Analysis, Functional Grammar and Critical Stylistics, to uncover the contribution of fairy tales to the discourse of gender relations over time. Much research has been done on the social messages conveyed to children reading or listening to fairy tales. In this highly original study, the emphasis shifts from content to linguistic expression. The language and linguistic organization of a dozen versions, old and new, of the 'Little Red Riding Hood' story are analysed using a variety of theoretical approaches, including Critical Discourse Analysis, Conversational Analysis, Functional Grammar and Critical Stylistics, to uncover their contribution to the discourse of gender relations over time. Language and Gender in the Fairy Tale Tradition is the first attempt to investigate gender difference and gender roles through a comparison of the linguistic texture of a well-known fairy tale, 'Little Red Riding Hood', across centuries. In addition to the classical versions by Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, it discusses works by contemporary writers who have contributed re-tellings which all bring the male-dominated arrangement of the traditional tale into question. This book is for all those who are interested in understanding the interrelationship between ideology and the language in and by which a text is formulated Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: Exploring Gender Issues in Fairy Tales....Pages 1-13 Words, Gender and Power....Pages 14-32 The Representation of Social Practice....Pages 33-58 Ideology and the Clause: the System of Transitivity....Pages 59-111 Gender and the Ideological Constitution of Subjects....Pages 112-146 Intertextuality, Ideology and the Tendencies of Change....Pages 147-195 Conclusions....Pages 196-199 Afterword: Positioning Practices and the Process of Identification of the Reader....Pages 200-203 Back Matter....Pages 205-230 "Language and Gender in the Fairy Tale Tradition derives from the belief that fairy tales have a role to play in the contemporary ideological landscape. It demonstrates the existence of a mutual relationship between children's stories and society, showing how the latter generates fairy tales according to its own opinions about child-rearing, and how fairy tales in their turn contribute to the maintenance and perpetuation of the status quo. But it also shows that the circle can be broken." The language and linguistic organization of a dozen versions, old and new, of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story are analysed using a variety of theoretical approaches to uncover the contribution of fairy tales to the discourse of gender relations over time "This book is for all those who are interested in understanding this interrelationship between ideology and the language in and by which a text is formulated."--Jacket