Carving beauty: A creative exploration of the rewritten fairy tale genre

This creative thesis addresses the rewritten fairy tale genre. The critical introduction to this thesis classifies rewritten fairy tales into three categories: Popular Culture, Traditional and Feminist. It highlights the significance of fairy tales within North American popular culture, and questions the role of beauty within all three categories of rewrites, but most specifically within the Feminist Category. The critical introduction suggests an alternative to the function of beauty within fairy tales by presenting a set of fairy tale rewrites that draw upon Julia Kristeva's theory of the abject and that add a previously absent Third Act to the tales.;The creative component of this thesis is compiled of four rewritten fairy tales ("Sleeping Beauty", "Cinderella", "Rapunzel" and "Snow White") and one original fairy tale ("The Maiden Fair"). The creative component of this thesis aims to highlight, illuminate and explicate the theory, suggestions and questions brought forth by the critical introduction.