Soman Chainani once wrote, “A female villain is infinitely more clever than a man. Her evil relies not on
brute violence, but on the ability to manipulate, seduce, or recruit—in sum, a deeper, more thrilling
corruption.” Classical fairy tales often depict female relationships in a way that demonizes women,
particularly through the recurring presence of female villains, and film serves as a particularly compelling
medium for this analysis because, while few people closely study fairy tales and their contemporary
retellings, most encounter these stories through cinematic adaptations, particularly Disney films. In my
research paper, I aim to explore how the vilification of different archetypes of female characters in fairy
tales —often expressed through villainous women—has evolved in films derived from classical fairy
tales. To study this, I conducted a study of different Disney films over time that prominently display such
archetypes, connecting my study to themes of good and evil, society, collective unconsciousness and
archetypes, and what characterization of fairy tales tells us about the human experience.
From the demonization of female politicians’ sexuality to the enduring themes of Aristotle’s hysteria,
literary theory has long been used as a foundation for arguments that police and punish women. These
historical narratives continue to manifest in modern portrayals of women in media, reinforcing long-
standing anxieties about female power and autonomy. As evolving tropes and characters in media shift, it
is essential to examine how the figures in our literary and cultural canon, our archetypes, influence more
than just the screen—they shape social norms and establish baselines for how women are perceived and
judged in the real world.