Final PaperThe differences in the work and lifestyle of men and women is extremely dynamic and has made major changes throughout the years. The societal expectation of men and women of present times would not be acceptable in past times, and those of past times would be upsetting and disturbing in present times. The differing roles are represented well in folktales, which have been revised with the times to follow societal norms. The gender roles presented in original folktales differ from the gender roles of today due to the ways in which people’s views changed as society modernized. Due to these modern ways of thinking, revisions can be made to these folktales to make them align with the norms of present day society’s view on gender roles. These points will be shown by discussing the historical changes in gender roles and the roles in modern society, the abrupt shift in these roles observed within my family, folktales with a distinct female character, folktales with a man and woman character together, and scary tales. The history of gender roles and societal expectations was and still is intensely charismatic. Gender role is defined as “the pattern of masculine or feminine behavior of an individual that is defined by a particular culture and that is largely determined by a child’s upbringing” (dictionary.com). The differences between men and women’s expectations used to be very clear cut, but has today become much more of a grey area. This clear cut can be easily described in a statement found in The Encyclopedia of Adolescence, stating that, The classic conceptualizations of the male gender role associates it with instrumental/agentic behaviors and traits that reflect independence, assertiveness, and dominance; the female gender role has been associated with expressive behaviors and traits that reflect sensitivity to others and communality. (Levesque, 2011, 178) responsible for being the family caregiver. women fill much of the men’s roles. They held the career positions and controlled the economic roles in society. marry whomever they choose. Although they started out the same as these later times. Today. Men are more involved in their children’s upbringing and it is not uncommon to see a husband who takes care of the home while the wife provides the income. They covered the outdoor work and often worked in fields to provide food and money for the family. they soon began working out of the home. women began receiving more rights and a larger role in society. These expectations can be compared to those of modern day society. Once colonies were established in America. They receive the same education and can go out for the same jobs. while the women would gather the plant portion of the food and care for the village and children. They were the land owners and provided the homes in which the wives would upkeep. this is the view that most people consider when comparing the differing genders. With this increase in role. acting as the husband. The men of this time were thought of as the ‘breadwinners’. gender roles began to quickly change. the wife and the mother and manager of the husbands property. These roles held true even before these times with the traditional huntergatherer system of ancient society. and even though the roles may be different today. Women can vote. Young girls were taught domestic crafts recommended to “keep young girls minds away from sinful thoughts or avoid any other danger of extreme boredom” (Price. The gift of knowledge was of no value to women and any literate female could have been suspect for witchcraft. 43).This view has held true for a long time. father. The men were the hunters and provided the meat for the families to eat. there have been specific changes in societal views throughout history. and take part in whichever activities they wish. In the early 1600’s the women served as the matriarchs of domestic household. This is the same for roles . With this being a generalized statement describing gender roles. and provider. This. New versions of the most famous tales are created as the times change to represent the new societal expectations between men and women. This role is filled by the mother because she is thought of as caretaker of the house. author Richard Viidalepp states “it is worth mentioning that men constitute the majority of the storytellers” (Malk. and the stories passed from generation to the next are changing with the times. 1967: 485). Some of these changes involve women becoming the heroes and tales with female protagonist who outdo the males of the story. . which is a womanly trait. almost all heroes are male. In original tales. Two tales that demonstrate these roles well are “Cinderella” and “Sweetheart Roland”. One main way that the mistreated daughter is portrayed is through the description of her clothing. while sons were more likely to fight back against things they didn’t want to do and present more of a stubborn personality. Many folktales present prestigious men fighting off danger or picking their bride from a pool of beautiful women. This may be because the daughters were thought of to be “weaker” than sons. The step mother in both tales is the evil figure whom assigns the household chores for the daughter to do. It is rare to see a female protagonist who outshines the men of the story. “Weaker” refers to the idea that the daughter were more likely to do as they were told regardless what the chore was.represented in folktales. however. they can be modernized from generation to generation. One reason for this may have been that men were usually the ones sharing the stories. Regardless of the type of tale. while women are usually shown filling passive roles. has begun to change. In these tales there is a mistreated step daughter instead of a step son. In “Cinderella”. both by the Grimm Brothers. Since fairytales are not set in stone. Differing gender roles are very prevalent in tales involving step mothers and step daughters. In Eesti Muinasjutud. it is clear to see that the gender roles of the past are long gone. Others involve women holding important positions or being the main character in a story above the men. It is not until she goes to Roland’s wedding party that he once again chooses to be with . When Roland ends up finding a new woman and the girl ends up in the shepherd’s home. An ax is used for chopping wood. Cinderella impresses the prince with her beautiful dress and slippers given to her by her mother. Once at the ball. she wears a beautiful apron which the other sister is jealous of. being caretaker of the home. this is not an environment she is familiar with. but they both still represent gender roles well. In both tales the daughter is not to leave the home because it is their place of work. where marriages were arranged through extravagant events like festivals and balls. “Sweetheart Roland” differs in the way that there is no ball to attend. the main one involving food (lentils). However. named “Roland”. Cinderella has a hard time getting to the festival due to her household chores. the girls go to the festival in order to be presented to the men and the prince then chooses his wife. she takes on the female roles there. The mother tries to kill the girl in her sleep but fails to do so. which may be the reason for her failure. which was thought of as the man of the houses job. In “Cinderella”. and the girl already has a man. meaning that it was something the mother should not have been using. During these times many dances would be held at these events and each man would dance with each woman and the men would then choose which they prefer. This pairs well with the way of society during this time period. The mother fails to catch them outside because. This chore may have been chosen because it parallels well with what kind of work women were expected to do at this time. The tales begin to differ from here on out. Her attempt is made using an ax. while in “Sweetheart Roland”. This also agrees with the roles of this time that the women were to present themselves in a very attractive way in order to be accepted by the men.she is given and old grey bed gown and wooden shoes. and taking care of the home and food was above all else. attending to all of his household chores. The girl meets up with Roland and he takes her outdoors to flee. This demonstrated that by refusing to do what is expected of you by society. These variations offer ways to remove the stereotypes and make the tales more reader friendly to today’s audience. the village . which is what was expected of females at this time. Also. In “Cinderella”. He is given this name because he never returns from a hunt empty handed. A male fills this role because it is their job in society to work outside of the home and provide for the village. these modern variations do not include a ball or festival of any sort. In the first tale. There are also several tales that demonstrate gender roles through a very obvious separation of female and male societal importance. She is given this title because she made fine pottery and beautifully embroidered clothing. When the Deer Hunter and the White Corn Maiden wanted to be together. Two of these tales are “Deer Hunter and White Corn Maiden” and “Hansel and Gretel”. This tale is an Indian Tale which is why it follows the theme of hunter/gatherer well. Instead they usually feature a school dance or party. Girls of modern times are much more familiar with the outdoors and do not need to be escorted by a man. Also. when she lives with the shepherd who finds her she could have taken on some role other than taking care of his home. Tales featuring primarily female characters tend to be very stereotypical towards the gender roles of this times. and the village suffered. “Sweetheart Roland” can also be modernized in several ways.her. a young boy living in the village is given the title “Deer Hunter”. There are many modern variations that can be made on both of these tales to make them more aligned with the gender roles of modern society. These are domestic jobs that are done inside of the home. One way may be that the girl does not need Roland to take her outside to flee. they gave up their roles. This demonstrates that men no longer just pick which woman they wish to be with. A girl is given the title “White Corn Maiden”. there are recent variations that show the character depicted as Cinderella going after the man she wants instead of him searching for her. they do so in very different ways.as a whole will suffer. Variations can be made on this tale to make it more modern. Both characters are capable of being helpful in the woods and inside of the witch’s house. and killing using the process of cooking. . She ends up killing the witch using an oven. they may have had an easier time escaping. Variations can also be made on this tale to make it more modern. However. it is easy to see the gender roles that are expected in that times society. The main variation is that the male and female character could reverse roles. he is useless and unable to help Gretel. and men are capable of doing the domestic chores in the village and being the “gatherer” of a hunter/gatherer society. By offering these variations. when he tries to make a path using bread. which is associated with cooking. instead of one characters having to struggle when they were outside of their “comfort zone”. In tales like these. This is because women are now more than capable of hunting and being the “hunter” portion of a hunter/gatherer society. By working together. Hansel is always the hero in the outdoor environment. Once they arrive at the witch’s home. which is usually associated with females. Although both children act as heroes in this tale. Once in the witch’s home. The witch also aligns with the typical gender roles by using food to entice children into her home. She feels most helpful and useful while inside the home. is lost and scared in the woods and relies solely on her brother to get them back to their house. on the other hand. these tales become more acceptable for both genders to read and observe. and it is him who finds the way back to their home. The main variation is that the brother and sister could have worked together instead of having a clear distinction of roles. Gretel. his plan fails and he cannot make it back. It is his idea to collect rocks to make a path. and cannot continue on. where a male and female character are presented side by side. “Hansel and Gretel” is a similar tale in which there is a clear distinction between the male and female roles. Gretel takes on the hero role. the man who turned out to be a murderer could have been made a female. but modern ones as well. This theme is seen not only in historical tales. the babysitter could have defended herself better. This follows with the theme of the male being the evil character in a scary story. there are many ways she could have taken action against the man upstairs. Men are thought of as the stronger gender who has more control. especially in modern scary movies. The female character in this story is a young girl who is portrayed as a babysitter. again. The character is. It is for this reason that they take on the roles of the helpless character in scary stories.Throughout time almost all scary stories and tales have followed a similar theme regarding gender roles. This allows them to take on the role of the antagonist in scary stories because they are able to control the females feelings and emotions In the story “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs” these themes are well represented. Several revisions can be made on this story to make it parallel better to modern gender roles. a female because females provide the innocent and helpless persona that is appealing in a scary story. this tale involves a female character who ends up having a male killer in the backseat of her car. Throughout history women have been viewed as being weak and more innocent than men. It is not uncommon to see females filling these roles today. the babysitter can be made a male. Similar to the previous discussed story. because of this. Third. The male character is the murderer who kills the children that are being babysat. This is because it is now very common to see both male and female teenagers taking on the job of being a babysitter. It is most common to see the male character being the one doing the scaring while the female character is the one being scared. First. which follows with the idea of the woman being the caretaker of the children. Second. Females are no longer viewed as being so helpless like they have in the past and. The characters are this way for several reasons. Another scary story representing these gender roles is “The Killer in the Backseat”. The . character who tries to save her is a male. First. the tales can appeal to the present times without the worry of offending one gender or the other. Although modern changes to these stories are made in movies and TV shows. not only in tales and stories. In conclusion. This is because it is no longer just females who show up as the character being scared in these types of tales. Third. they can be modified and modernized. and by discussing various types of tales and offering variations that could be made. These points have been demonstrated by describing the changes in gender roles over time. Most folktales have been written to follow with these past societal views. Second. the man saving the driver could be a female. it is clear to see that the times have changed and the gender roles of the past would not be tolerated today. This is because females are now filling many of these hero type roles. The female character could have been made smart enough to be able to tell that there was a man in the back of her car. . By having a male attempting to help her it furthers her helplessness. Variations can be made to this story to modernize it. but also in real life situations. which is why by offering these variations. by sharing the shift in roles observed within my family. many written tales remain the same. the car driver can be made a male. By developing variations to these famous tales they become more relatable to the people of present times who are reading them and sharing them with others. the savior character can be removed from the story all together. This shows that females are thought of as needing a male to save them from the evils in life. since a folktale is often told by word of mouth. and she could have done something about it. Scary stories may be the most stereotypical types of tales regarding gender roles. but. Works Cited "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs. Princeton: Princeton UP. 2014.reference. n.d. Web. Jacob.. Print.p. N. 2015.d. ." 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