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Beauty Series, Part 4: Fairy Tale Notions of Loveliness

NPR | By Susan Stamberg
Published July 6, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

In the final installment of her series on beauty, NPR's Susan Stamberg talks with folklorist and fairy tale expert Jack Zipes about images of beauty and ugliness in fairy tales. Zipes says the beautiful heroines in the tales of the Brothers Grimm were docile and domesticated, waiting for their Prince Charming. In other cultures, fairy tales portrayed beautiful women as strong and powerful.

Copyright 2004 NPR
Susan Stamberg
Susan Stamberg was one of NPR's "founding mothers" (she also coined the phrase). She joined the network at the time of its inception in 1971, and her career at NPR spanned more than five decades.
See stories by Susan Stamberg