Before reading “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp” as edited by Andrew Lang, I was expecting the text to be riddled with misogyny given the sexist nature of all the early fairy tale versions we have previously been exposed to. However, I was still genuinely shocked at just how horrifically the women in the story are treated. Honestly, I don’t understand how Disney could have been inspired to create an animated film based off of such a derogatory, twisted text.
For starters, the disobedient, greedy Aladdin shows no respect for his mother at all. He seems to call all the shots for the family after the father dies, even though she is his parent (and not the other way around). Even after the mother pleadingly begs Aladdin to get rid of the lamp, he flat-out refuses, essentially leaving the mother altogether powerless and voiceless. Looking back at the story, Aladdin’s mother was not much different from the genie. She, too, was the “Slave of the Ring” who was made to oblige to Aladdin’s every last wish and demand (oh, and there were many). For example, Aladdin demanded that she go to the Sultan to secure his chance at marrying the Princess or else he would do some “desperate deed.” He was so controlling and obsessed with his own selfish desires that he was willing to threaten his poor mother without even a sliver of remorse for his actions. Clearly, the interactions between Aladdin and his mother put forth the flawed message that the desires of women do not matter. As the sole purpose of Aladdin’s mother in the story is to serve her son, it makes it seem as if the women exist not to attain their own dreams, but to fall in the shadows of dominating, powerful men.
If it is even possible, the treatment of the Princess in the story is even more abysmal. First, not only is she excluded from the title of the story, but she is made out to be so insignificant that she is never given a real name. That is how little the author thinks she matters. Speaking of value, the Princess is not treated as an actual human being with her own emotions and wishes, but as a mere material possession who can just be handed off to the highest bidder. When Aladdin’s mother presents the jewels, the Sultan asks the Vizier, “Ought I not to bestow the Princess on one who values her at such a price?” By implying that he is willing to just give his daughter away like a material good, he dehumanizes the Princess and essentially does away with her innate worth. In his eyes, the Princess is not a creature worthy enough to express her own thoughts in the matter of her future. Instead, she is a mere object, existing for the sole purpose of pleasing those who own her through her aesthetic appeal. Again, the fact that Aladdin madly falls in love with the Princess at first sight speaks to the idea that the only layer of her worth getting to know is surface-deep. Just as he is consumed by the glimmer of silver and gold, Aladdin is enthralled by the Princess’ outward beauty, completely disregarding the potential that she may not want to marry him. This story is so sexist that the idea that the Princess should have the power to voice her own opinion is not even depicted as absurd, for it is never considered to begin with.
Furthermore, the Princess is made out to be a lifeless object when Aladdin tells her, “You are my wife, promised to me by your unjust father.” Not once does he ask for her hand in marriage. He just tells her how it is. In the scene where Aladdin hastily climbs into bed with the Princess—dangerously resembling sexual abuse—not once does he ask for her consent to be close to her physically. He just acts as he pleases. I would argue that the most frightening part is that Aladdin doesn’t even realize that what he is doing is wrong, for the idea that women should be equal partners to men in relationships is irrevocably foreign to him. To make matters even worse, just as in rape cases where women are often portrayed to be at fault (i.e. by leading men on or “by asking for it” based on fashion choice), the Princess is not treated as a victim, but rather as guilty. Aladdin even goes as far as to tell her to “blame [her] beauty for [his] boldness.” All I can say is, “WOW. He has the nerve to violate her privacy and blatantly ignore her humanity and then claim that it was her fault all along?” It makes me sick to my stomach to think that women are not only grossly mistreated like this in fairy tales, but also in real life.
To add on to my long list of story elements that angered me was the depiction of the Princess as completely unintelligent and dim-witted. Not only does she give away the magic lamp without a thought, but she also fails to realize that “Fatima” is no holy woman, but actually the evil magician’s even more wicked younger brother in disguise. This message that women are air-headed and thus need men to save them and clean up messes created by their thoughtlessness is extremely disempowering, especially for female readers. After the Princess successfully poisons the magician’s evil younger brother, Aladdin isn’t even thankful for what she did. When she tries to embrace him, he pushes her away, for it is the lamp that he cares about more than her. This scene shows how little Aladdin actually cared for the way his wife felt. In his eyes, she was just a prized possession to flaunt the same way he showed off his wealth through bedazzled palaces and armies of slaves. He wasn’t interested in getting to truly know who she was as a person because he genuinely didn’t feel as if there was any substance to her besides her looks.
In essence, “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp” is an extremely misogynistic text that should not be praised, but should be criticized for accentuating archaic messages. This text should serve as a cautionary tale for all the ways women should not be treated. Instead, consumers should be sent the message that women, just as much as men, have the right to pursue their own dreams and forge their own paths.
No comments:
Post a Comment