Child Abuse Awareness Month |
Families |  |
When this page started out it was an essay on families in fairytales. However the research I put into the subject revealed that many, if not most, families are dysfuncional at best and more likely abusive.
What else can you call a family where the children are abandoned in the forest (), or forced to sleep in the ashes of the fireplace so they don't freeze to death in the night (Cinderella). Where a princess has to run away from home to avoid an incestious marriage with her father (Donkeyskin) or a baby is sold for the price of some cabbage leaves (Rapunzel).
And it doesn't stop with children. In The Gift of Tongues the husband protects his secret from his curious wife by beating the curiosity out of her. The king in The Wild Swans orders his wife burned at the stake.
Such things do not exist only in fairytales. It is a problem today in the real world. If you or some one you know is being abused please get help!
| Tale | Abuse |
| Blue Beard | Blue Beard decapitates each of his wives when they disobey him. |
| Cinderella | Step-family physically and emotionally abuses heroine |
| Gift of Tongues | A man beats his wife to keep her from learning his secret. |
| Hansel and Gretel | A wood cutter abandons his children in the woods |
| Juniper Tree | A step-mother kills her step-son and feeds him to his father. |
| Rapunzel | A father sells his daughter for a handfull of lettuce |
| Wild Swans | The kings mother eats her grandchildren and frames their mother, forcing the king to burn his wife at the stake. |
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