Trickster Tales
Female trickster tales are a little different than the normal trickster tales. Unlike the typical male trickster, female tricksters seem to use their wit, cunning, and their physical attributes to trick their victims. Also, these female tales have a somewhat of a comical side to them. These tricks are executed in a way that is amusing to the audience or reader.
I believe being a female in general is a great attribute for a trickster. In most tales, the female usually abides by her husband’s command and tends to the children and home. This stereotype can be used as a perfect mask for a woman trickster. The woman is not really the one to be expected to step out of place to play a trick on someone. This makes the woman an even cleverer of a trickster than a man. She can use her innocence and feminine charm as a shield or façade to accomplish her prank or trick. In my opinion, I believe female tricksters have a better chance of pulling off their tricks than males do. They are least expected to do so, and women can be very deceptive.
I feel like female tricksters in movies use their sex appeal and physical traits to con men to do what they want. It is a common stereotype that women can get men to do whatever they want. This shows how women can outsmart men by simply being a woman. I enjoy that this is not always the case in some of the older female trickster tales we read for class. In these stories, the women are very cunning and are very wise. They do not necessarily have to show skin to deceive someone. It shows that women are intelligent and are not just typical housewives that are restricted to the kitchen.
In most male trickster tales, something is stolen or the tale ends in some kind of death or tragedy. I feel like female trickster stories have more of a comedic theme to them. For example, “Clever Gretel” had a pretty amusing ending. To cover up the fact that she ate the chickens, she tells the guest that the...