Abstract:

The contemporary fiction reveals a great interest in the representation of fairy tale motifs and structures. Fay Weldon’s novel, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, attempts to present the power of resurgence of fairy tale by depicting and revising several of fairy tale motifs and structures. This article focuses on the motif of beauty, as it is one of the central paradigms of most fairy tales, and emphasises that beauty continues to be one of the most stringent preoccupations of individuals living in the contemporary culture of appearances. Not only in fairy tales but in today’s world as well the oppressive beauty norms and the struggle to achieve perfection become a problematical concern for most women. By employing many popular fairy tale motifs like jealousy, desire and craving of the stepsisters (in Cinderella), stepmothers (in Snow White and Rapunzel), rivals (in Little Mermaid), antagonists (like Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty), the novelist tries to question virtue implied in beauty. This study shows that Fay Weldon’s novel depicts the dominant ideology of beauty which is inserted in the fairy tales, questions the excessive interest in beauty and female body in the mainstream culture, divulges the artificiality of such preoccupations, illustrates the abusive and deluding nature and presents their damaging impact upon individual’s identity.

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