Women and children first: Spanish women writers and the fairy tale tradition

Women and children first: Spanish women writers and the fairy tale tradition

Although the three authors studied, Ana María Matute, Carmen Martín Gaite, and Esther Tusquets, are sophisticated intellectuals, they have chosen fairy tales and texts from other marginalized genres originally for female consumption (such as the novela rosa and the Hollywood women's picture) as the major intertexts in their novels for adults as well as in their fictions for children. Against the backdrop feminist theory and recent critical studies of fairy tales and children's literature, Soliño studies the works of these authors as gendered texts. Soliño's book opens with a chapter that traces the historical development of the fairy tale genre, examines their didactic intent, and critiques the images of women in fairy tales. The second chapter explores the manners by which fairy tales were used as a tool for indoctrination during the formative years of the three authors under consideration. These introductory chapters are followed by individual chapters devoted to Martín Gaite, Matute, and Tusquets in which Soliño explores the connections between the literature these authors published for children and the novels they penned for an adult readership.

  • Cover
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • Introduction: Fairy Tales and the Female Imagination
    • The Evolution of the Fairy Tale Genre
    • Gender and Fairy Tales
    • The Problem of the Evil Stepmother
  • 1. The Case of Franco's Spain: Fairy Tales, Indoctrination, and Female Popular Culture
  • 2. Portrait of the Artist as a Little Girl: Carmen Martín Gaite
    • The Children's Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite
    • Little Red Riding Hood Tours New York
      • El castillo de las tres murallas
      • El pastel del diablo
  • 3. And They Lived Happily Ever After? "Popular Texts" in Post-Civil War Narratives by Carmen Martín Gaite
    • Entre visillos
    • El Cuarto de atrás
    • La Reina de las Nieves
  • 4. "Essential Books of One's Life" Readings From Ana María Matute
    • El Polizón del "Ulises"
    • Paulina
    • Primera memoria
    • A Question of Censorship
    • La Trampa
    • El verdadero final de la Bella Durmiente
  • 5. Seduction, Subversión, and Beyond: The Novels of Esther Tusquets
    • El mismo mar de todos los veranos
    • El amor es un juego solitario
    • Varada tras el último naufragio
    • La Reina de los Gatos
  • 6. Once Upon a Time: Concluding Remarks
  • Works Consulted
  • Index
    • A
    • B
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • H
    • I
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • P
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • T
    • U
    • V
    • W
    • Y
    • Z

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