Love, Power, and Gender in Seventeenth-Century French Fairy Tales

This interdisciplinary study of seventeenth-century French fairy tales reveals how women writers used romantic narratives to challenge and reshape societal power structures. Bronwyn Reddan's analysis demonstrates that these early fairy tales were far more than simple love stories—they served as sophisticated commentaries on gender, class, and social hierarchy. The book examines how the conteuses, the pioneering women authors who dominated French literary salons, strategically employed love as an emotional force that both reinforced and subverted existing power dynamics. Readers discover that these foundational tales established complex relationships between romance and authority that continue to influence modern storytelling.

Reddan's work stands out by giving voice to the often-overlooked women writers who crafted these narratives as tools of social critique and self-expression. The book will particularly engage readers interested in literary history, gender studies, and the evolution of romantic ideals across centuries. Through careful examination of how love operates within systems of power, this study provides fresh perspectives on familiar fairy-tale conventions. The analysis ultimately transforms our understanding of how these seventeenth-century stories continue to shape contemporary notions of romance and relationships.