Postmodern Fairy Tales

Postmodern Fairy Talesseeks to understand the fairy tale not as children's literature but within the broader context of folklore and literary studies. It focuses on the narrative strategies through which women are portrayed in four classic stories: "Snow White," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Bluebeard." Bacchilega traces the oral sources of each tale, offers a provocative interpretation of contemporary versions by Angela Carter, Robert Coover, Donald Barthelme, Margaret Atwood, and Tanith Lee, and explores the ways in which the tales are transformed in film, television, and musicals.

Cristina Bacchilega is Associate Professor of English at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and editor of the Italian-language volume La narrativa postmoderna in America: Testi e contesti.