"If you commanded me to cut off my own head, I'd have to do it": The Cursed Heroine in Fairy Tale, Fantasy, and Film

Abstract

'A curse,' Manning-Sanders writes, 'is always a bad thing, never a good. The person upon whom it is laid is in for a very hard time; and it generally takes all the heroic courage and ingenuity of some brave soul to lift it' (8-9). This paper focuses on the figure of the cursed heroine as she appears in modern fairy tale, young adult literature, and fantasy film. What aspects of womanhood do curses target, and how does this reflect the treatment of women in Western society? I employ feminist theory to critique the motifs and imagery that envelop the female body and mind as she is imprisoned by the curse. I examine how the curse inflicts physical and mental metamorphosis upon its victims. The ways in which women are magically punished, and the reasons for their punishment, reflect the constructs of a patriarchal society that delights in the degradation of women. The curse causes damage and harm, creates pain and isolation - but it also takes ordinary young women and makes them heroines by forcing them to put to use their inner strength, their wit, and their courage. Magical domination provokes a resurgence of the female spirit that is key in breaking both magically-imposed and socially-imposed curses.