Date: October 21, 2019

To: Professor Hach

From: Abigail Gurvich

Subject: Gender Roles in Fairy Tales as seen in Tattercoats

 

The Story of Tattercoats:

Tattercoats, the titular main character, is the granddaughter of a lord. Tattercoats’s mother died in childbirth and her grandfather has vowed to never look at his granddaughter’s face out of grief. Tattercoats grows up alone, her only companions her nurse, the gooseherd, and his geese. When the prince comes to visit the city where they live, the grandfather goes to greet him and leaves Tattercoats at home. Tattercoats goes crying to the gooseherd, who cheers her up with music. The gooseherd’s music attracts the prince, who falls in love with Tattercoats. The prince promises to proclaim his love for Tattercoats in front of everyone should she come to the party, but she is unsure. After reassurance from her gooseherd friend, Tattercoats attends the party. True to his word, the prince proclaims his love for her and the people rejoice. Tattercoats’s grandfather goes back to his home, alone, keeping to his vow of never looking at his granddaughter’s face.

The Characters in Tattercoats:

In the English Cinderella style story Tattercoats, one of only two female characters in the story is the titular Tattercoats. Tattercoats, despite being the character the story is named after, and the main character overall, doesn’t do very much in the story. The characters who influence the story and the events of Tattercoats’s life, are the gooseherd, the prince, the grandfather, and the nurse. The male characters outnumbering the female characters, and the roles of the male characters on the story when compared to the female characters, enforce the gender stereotypes commonly seen in classic fairy tales.

The Women in Tattercoats:

Tattercoats is a kind main character but does not have very much of a personality aside from crying when she is rightfully upset and dancing with the gooseherd when he plays his flute. She is docile and quiet, caught up in the events caused by what the other characters have done to her life. Even in her greatest test, whether she should trust the prince and go to the ball or not, she would have done nothing if not influenced by the gooseherd. The only other female character in the story, the nurse, only serves to remind the grandfather that Tattercoats exists, and does nothing else in the story.

The Men in Tattercoats:

The male characters in Tattercoats outnumber the female characters and have more of an impact on the story. The grandfather’s ignoring of Tattercoats is what leads her to befriend the gooseherd. The gooseherd is who introduced her to the prince and got her to go to the ball. The prince falls in love with her and brings her to a new life of happiness with him. The men do much more than the women, and they are the ones who drive the story.

Sexism in Tattercoats:

Tattercoats is a sweet story about a good person getting a happy ending, but the one who gets the happy ending for Tattercoats is the gooseherd, Tattercoats doesn’t really do anything in the story other than look pretty, cry, and be nice to the gooseherd. She deserves to be happy, everyone does, but she doesn’t do anything for herself and waits for others to save her.

In Conclusion:

Tattercoats is an English fairy tale that follows the Cinderella tale type. The prince falls in love with a girl who is living with a family that doesn’t care about her and sweeps her off her feet. While a sweet story, it teaches its readers that simply waiting patiently will bring them everything they want, as opposed to teaching them to go and chase their goals on their own.

References:

Steel, Flora Annie Webster, Tattercoats. Bradbury Press, 1976