The Unsuccessful Overturn of Patriarchy in Sexing the Cherry Angelyn Elisabeth Dodson College

How should we fight against evil? The question is an eternal one, one which will have bearing on life during all ages. Jeanette Winterson’s Sexing the Cherry is a good example of this because it crosses the lines of multiple time periods - it is set in 17th century London, the present day and a few time periods in between - and because it addresses many perceived social injustices and makes statements about them. It is the story of a journeying mother, Dog-Woman, and her son, Jordan, who break boundaries, blur lines and question conventionally accepted ideals. One such topic that is questioned is the idea of patriarchy and Winterson employs the retelling of a fairy tale, in which the women actively seize their own destinies, to make a statement about the oppression and inadequacies of the patriarchal system. The retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale, however, is unsuccessful in its fight against patriarchy because it portrays women as violent, over the top, maniacal creatures who dish out punishments that do not fit the crime.

A case by case analysis shows that the majority of the twelve dancing princesses fights evil with evil. A few of them find some method of escape that is fairly harmless, but many of them...