Female Characters in the Novel Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, and in Grimm’s Tale

The princess in the Grimm’s tale is portrayed as an acquiescent main character and a passive heroine. In the tale, her fate is determined before she is old enough to speak her first words. Throughout the tale, she continues to lack the gumption to alter her destiny, supporting the notion that her character does not have an aim. The king and queen host a celebration to which they invite the wise women in the kingdom so that they would be kindly disposed towards the princess. However, there were only twelve golden plates and thirteen wise women. The Grimm’s place emphasis on dinnerware as an arbitrary determiner of fate. The thirteenth wise woman goes to the celebration to curse the princess. “She [the thirteenth wise woman] wanted to avenge herself for not having been invited… she cried out with a loud voice, ‘In the princess’s fifteenth year she shall prick herself with a spindle and fall over dead.’” The princess’s fate is controlled by external factors. Through the Grimm’s use of indirect characterization, the readers perceive the princess as a character with no true aim. One of the single actions the princess makes in the story is to touch a spindle, the one action she was not supposed to make, which causes her to fall into a 100-year long deep sleep. Her character then lies there and waits for her prince to come to save her.

The princess is placed in a traditional sexist role. In more modern times the notion that it is important to portray women in different roles than the typical “traditional” ones in order to teach young readers they have equal opportunities is prevalent. In Yolen’s novel, the main female character, Becca, works as a reporter which could be an attempt by the author to display her as strong and resilient since the pioneering women of journalism faced consequential discrimination within the profession. In the early 1900s, it was said that journalism was a “man’s job” since people thought it would be too risky for women.

Yolen gives Becca a clear aim in the novel. After her grandmother’s death, Becca begins to believe there is a hidden meaning behind the fairytale Briar Rose which her grandmother always told at bedtime. As a devoted young journalist, she decides to write a story uncovering the truth about her grandmother. Yolen makes it evident that this story is important to Becca’s character as she is emotionally attached. Stan, observes, ‘I don’t think you’re going to be happy until you find out who your grandmother was, Becca.’ Through the following example of direct characterization Yolen depicts to the audience that Becca is not passive like the princess in the Grimm’s tale. “….She always had such physical reactions: able to function in the immediate emergency, falling apart afterwards.” Yolen portrays Becca as driven and the readers perceive her as the character the author uses to push the action forward in the novel.

In addition, Yolen uses indirect characterization to depict Becca as a woke character which makes female readers in particular respect her as it is relatable to them. For example, when Becca asked a man from a different newspaper if he could send copies of some articles he responded “Sure thing, honey. Just give me your name and address.” Yolen then writes “She let the honey go by and told him what he needed to know.” The author portrays Becca as someone with a strong sense of right and wrong, who chooses her battles, as opposed to the princess’s portrayal as a passive victim.

Other female characters in Yolen’s novel are also portrayed with a clear aim, for example Gemma. Yolen places Becca and Gemma at odds since Gemma kept a huge secret from Becca all her life. This makes the audience see Gemma as the antagonist. In the flashback parts of the novel, it is clear that Yolen’s goal for Gemma’s character is to survive. The reader learns in a flashback that a partisan group, which included Joseph, found Gemma and saved her from death. Gemma’s goal thereafter was to stay alive. She had no memories, except for the remnants of the tale of Briar Rose. Later she discovers she is pregnant and the goal of her character shifts. Yolen then places emphasis on the need for Gemma’s character to look after her baby. “I am with child…and I will not let it die,” she says. Yolen portrays the main female character with an aim, giving them purpose and meaning for the audience.

The theme of family is evident in Yolen’s novel and contributes to the audience perceiving Becca in a positive light. Becca’s family is very important to her character. She is very well loved by her parents and has a special bond with her grandmother. “It was why she came to the nursing home every afternoon after work at the newspaper and stayed with Gemma three and four hours each weekend…” Becca is also the youngest of three sisters. Her older sisters, Shana and Silvia, are both married with children and live far away. The reader receives a bit of a snobby impression of them. However, they are also described as “strong, competent women.” Even though they all care for each other very much, Becca does not always get along with her older sisters. “‘This was a promise to Gemma,’ said Becca, hanging up and feeling — as she usually did after arguing with one of her sisters — morally oppressed.” Yolen portrays Becca in opposition to her sisters with the reader on her side, which contributes to the readers seeing Becca positively. The older sisters have always excluded Becca as she is the youngest. ‘She was not part of their magic circle and never had been.’ The way Yolen characterizes Becca in this scenario has an effect on the reader as they sympathize with Becca.

In the Grimm’s tale, the king and queen long for a child and are very happy when a frog creeps out of the water while the queen is bathing to tell her that “your wish shall be fulfilled, and before a year passes you will bring a daughter into the world.” When the child is introduced, the authors use direct characterization to point out the child’s beauty. “The queen gave birth to a girl who was so beautiful that the king could not contain himself for joy.” Already from the start, the way the princess is characterized is through her beauty. For instance, words like “healthy” or “happy” could have been chosen instead of beautiful. Although, it does seem like the king and queen love their daughter very much since they host a huge celebration in her honor. The king also attempts to save the princess from her curse which shows the readers that he cares for his child. “The king, wanting to rescue his dear child, issued an order that all spindles in the entire kingdom should be burned.”

As previously mentioned, the princess is described as beautiful and throughout the tale, she is almost solely characterized in terms of her beauty. The twelve wise women who gave the princess “gifts” before the thirteenth wise woman put a curse on her wasted it on characteristics like virtue, beauty, and wealth. “The feast was celebrated with great splendor, and at its conclusion the wise women presented the child with their magic gifts. The one gave her virtue, the second one beauty, the third one wealth, and so on with everything that one could wish for on earth.” These are all very passive traits that depict the princess solely as an object of desire.