SAVIOURS WITH RAZORS AND MAIDS WITH BRAIDS:
A LOOK AT HAIR IN THE FAIRY TALE KINGDOM
by Penny-Anne Beaudoin
imme a head with hair
long beautiful hair
shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen...
(Hair. Lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni. 1968)
ßNo doubt I’m dating myself beginning this article with a quote from the rock musical “Hair,” but, as a child of the 60s, I lived through an era when it seemed the whole world had a follicle fetish. Women—and men—of that generation tossed out their hair clippers and razors to adopt a truly unisex look, particularly when viewed from behind. Hair was cool. Hair was beautiful. Hair was sexy. But most importantly, hair was communication. It said something. If your hair was long, you were identified as a member of “the beat generation,” those who spurned arbitrary social constraints, and “turned on” to all manner of communal, sexual, and pharmaceutical experimentation. If your hair was short, you were likely a member of “the establishment,” caught up in rules and tradition, close-minded, “uptight,” dedicated to imposing your world view on others and putting down the rebellious beliefs and activities of the young. Even the police, the perceived henchmen of the establishment, were referred to as “the fuzz,” a disparaging description, since fuzz ain’t real hair, man!
In classic fairy tales too, hair has meaning. It is often a reflection of the social mores of the times in which the stories originated, but occasionally hair is so important to the narrative it is elevated to the status of a character (think Rapunzel). I’m going to look at a few issues involving hair in the European versions of four well-known fairy tales: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Snow White.
