Images and Motifs in Children's Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are widely used by teachers and parents in helping children to read. The Ladybird Well-Loved Tales series is particularly popular and widely available in schools and supermarkets. The paper argues that the stereotypical images of women put forward in these tales is one element in contributing to females' negative and stereotypical views of themselves and limited definitions of their identities and roles. It also argues that the consolation implicit in such tales need not necessarily be ‘bought’ at such a price: the second part of the paper outlines images and motifs in alternative fairy tales.