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I would like to compare the Grimm's fairy tales to Anne Sexton's versions. With the Grimm fairy tales we get the sense of a class system and a taste of the culture from that time. Cinderella is beautiful, but also beautiful on the inside. As oppose to her sisters, who are pretty, but not on the inside. (I think it's interesting how Disney decided to make them ugly...as if they would be easier to hate). The reason I mention class for these two tales is that the reason that Cinderella's jobs are so horrible is because they aren't meant for someone of her status. Clearly, someone would be doing the work that she was, but that someone would merely be a servant. In Briar- Rose, we see the obvious workers for the King are the Wise Workers. They are merely numbers to the King as he easily disposes of one from the dinner, without thinking.

As far as cultural influences, we see the mystical powers that birds have. As well as the use of couplets with magic. That there need to be some sort of formula or spell in order for the magic to work.

Now, in Sexton's versions, she skims over the details (since we all know the story), and punctuates the obvious social flaws within the stories. Sometimes, they are funny, satirical, and ironic. However, the ending of her version of Briar-Rose caught me off guard. She turned a common fairy tale into a personal horror story with the overt hints towards a sexually abusive father.

Other differences between the two authors were the drawings. The drawings within the Grimm fairy tales (which were actually drawn by the brothers' younger brother) are peaceful and serene. Even when something bad happens...like the whole castle going to sleep, we see some dogs lying outside of a beautiful castle. We know from the beginning that the story is going to end well, and the drawings accentuate that. While Anne Sexton's drawings feature beasts wooing the heroines of our tales. I also saw that the basic shapes of the drawings resembled vaginas. I think this was done to show the implications that these stories have on women as a whole.