The Representation Of Women In The Light Princess And Little Daylight

In much of Scottish literature of the 19th Century, women are portrayed as unrealistic creatures who serve as tools to enhance their male counterparts. Their only purposes are to be love interests, the cliched damsels in distress, side plots, and conflicts that need to be solved by the men in the stories. Not only must they inhabit these lofty roles, but they also tend to embody the qualities of “the perfect woman”; they are beautiful women who have more androgynous or even male characteristics and actions, such as Diana in Rob Roy. In Margaret Oliphant’s short story “Three Days in the Highlands”, George MacDonald’s fairy tales including “The Light Princess” and “Little Daylight” from The Complete Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, and Sir Walter
Although he involves a greater number of women as main characters in his works and gives them more power than was usual at that time, their depictions are not without their flaws. Because these fairy tales are quite accessible to younger generations, especially young girls, the themes of women having these great weaknesses and conflicts that a man swoops in to solve can easily influence and corrupt an impressionable mind. The usual main characters being women is a kind of wild goose chase while the men come through as the true
are absurd and far from the truth. It is also a lie to say that these issues are far from over, but they are getting better especially with current movements and pressure for social change. To keep changing and reversing these ridiculous concepts of women, literature must undergo an essential change and women writers need to be given the spotlight and importance as men have been given. To create realistic versions and believable interpretations, education, communication, and discussion must occur. I believe most female archetypes and stereotypes occur because it is easy. Not that this doesn’t happen regarding the portrayal of men and literature and other media, but it happens at a much higher degree, especially when so much of media is dominated by men. To empower young women and girls and reaffirm the power and strength of the female population, mindsets need to be reversed. Because literature reaches to the corners of the earth, it is so important now that women have a fair and realistic place in books. It is time to take what we have learned from the past, especially these pieces from 19th Century Scotland, and create a different version of the story for women