| The fictional princess has long been a model for emulation and explication, and this was no different in and immediately following the twentieth century in America. In a princess story, the protagonist either is a princess or is attempting to become one: the girl transforms into or identifies herself as a princess through marriage or through discovered identity, or both. Princess lessons often accompany this transformation, lessons which not only educate the fictional girl but also the reader.;This dissertation seeks to define the "princess story" as a means through which cultural expectations about female roles are transmitted, linking the stories' changes to the three waves of feminism. The princess story reflects and reinforces these changing meanings of being female in America.;Secondly, this dissertation seeks to use the princess story to examine the dialogic nature of feminism and patriarchy. These are embodied by first, second and third wave feminist princess stories on the one hand and by Disney Studio's princess stories on the other. Furthermore, consumers and creators of princess stories are influenced both by them and by the society around them. Traditional princess stories were consumed by the girls who became second-wave feminists; as the girls matured, they rewrote the princess stories in ways that reflected their ideological goals. The most recent princess stories tensely balance romance and feminist assumptions.;Chapter One, "A Little Princess: A First-Wave Feminist Girl," examines Frances Hodgson Burnett as a first wave feminist and the ways Sara Crewe embodies Burnett's feminist beliefs. Chapter Two, "Disney's First Princess Stories," explores the ways Disney's first three princess stories, promulgate a retrogressive view. Chapter Three, "Second-Wave Feminism and Ideologically Intent Princess Stories," argues that second-wave feminists used princess stories to influence their audience, and it explores some of the reasons these stories are not widely read today. Chapter Four, "Disney's 'Feminist' Princess Stories," revisits Disney, analyzing the anti-feminist positions in the studio's most recent princess stories. Finally, Chapter Five, "The Third-Wave Princess Story: A Redefinition" explores the current state of the princess story in young adult novels as well as in contemporaneous Disney adaptations. |
