Literature Review

Hi Guys,
Welcome back! Today we will be parsing through various different sources that have informed my knowledge and the direction of my research project. My research explores the gendered portrayal of villains in films derived from classical fairy tales, investigating how these portrayals have evolved over time in response to cultural perceptions of gender, female power and competition. The following three sources are crucial to my investigation as they provide insight into the tropes, themes, and societal implications surrounding female villains in fairy tales and their film adaptations.
Weibel, Apolline. “Bad Mothers and Wicked (Step)Monsters: Ambivalence, Violence, and Subversion of the Mother/Daughter Plot in Contemporary Fairy-Tale Retellings”
Weibel argues that fairy tales are inherently about hierarchy and the fear of disrupting it, particularly in the context of female relationships. She proposes that the villainization of women in fairy tales stems from the subversion of the maternal role, reinforcing societal anxieties about women who reject traditional female roles. i.e. traditional fairytale narratives frame conflict as power struggles between women rather than between men and women.
Fairy tales were originally cautionary stories meant to regulate behavior, reinforce gendered hierarchies. Her analysis of the maternal figure as the root of female villain tropes is crucial in understanding how evil women are depicted in storytelling. → Maria Tatar’s “Off With Their Heads: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood” and Gilbert/Gubar’s The Madwoman in the Attic explain this concept both directly related to fairy tales and general portrayal of women in literature in general
This source provides a strong theoretical foundation for my research by explaining the origins of female villain tropes, as well as broad analysis of women in fairy tales. Understanding how maternal subversion informs villainous portrayals helps me contextualize how film adaptations continue or challenge these themes.
Wellman, Natalie S. “Disney’s Portrayal of Women: An Analysis of Female Villains and Princesses”
Wellman’s study argues Disney films reinforce rigid gender roles by depicting female villains as primarily motivated by jealousy, vanity, or inherent evil, while male villains are more often driven by power and wealth, influencing the perception of children
Wellman categorizes common tropes and behavioral patterns in Disney’s portrayal of female villains and princesses using thematic and codex analysis → this provided the first basis of my decision to use codex and character analysis. Specifically, she quantifies/analyzes the motivations of male and female villains → showing how women are often villainized for superficial reasons.
This study was very helpful in identifying patterns in film adaptations of fairy tales. Her method of thematic analysis informs my own approach to defining villainous tropes, and her discussion of film’s influence on childhood perceptions broadens my understanding of the cultural impact of these portrayals on kids and general audiences.
Fisher, Jerilyn, and Silber, Ellen. “Good and Bad Beyond Belief: Teaching Gender Lessons through Fairy Tales and Feminist Theory”
Fisher and Silber argue that fairy tales serve as “pedagogical tools”that reinforce gender hierarchies, shaping societal perceptions of women through their depictions of good and evil. Their study is very broad and theoretical → It explores how feminist theory can be used to deconstruct these stories/narratives and their effects.
This article is a very broad thematic analysis of fairy tales, categorizing key tropes that contribute to traditional gender norms. The authors also discuss how these tropes have influenced feminist discourse and societal perceptions of women. It also works well with Weibel’s study by more deeply examining how hierarchical structures in fairy tales influence perceptions of female characters → furthered my understanding of how these narratives operate and their lasting social effects.
Research Gap
While many studies discuss fairy tale hierarchies and their representations in film, they do not fully explore the evolution of villains over time in relation to shifting cultural attitudes toward gender dysmorphia and gendered power. There is a gap in research regarding how contemporary reinterpretations of these characters challenge or uphold norms by blurring the lines of gender. My study will bridge this gap by analyzing the transformation of villains in film adaptations of classical fairy tales over different time periods. Using a combination of thematic coding and comparative analysis, I will examine how changing cultural perceptions influence the motives, actions, and characterizations of antagonists → this will provide deeper understanding of how media representations of villainy reflect and shape societal attitudes toward women’s power and agency.

Oral defense question:
How did you evaluate the sources you collected to make sure they would be credible, valid, and reliable? Which sources did you discard and why?
I had a very broad direction in regards to stories, gender, villany → so I started out with a very broad range of sources. As I was more certain of the direction I was going, I specifically chose sources that were very directly related to the methodologies and background I wanted to use/was interested in. I evaluated the sources credibility by using ones published in journals/affiliated with colleges or books/media/magazines.