Self-sacrifice can be found throughout fairy tales. The tale of Donkeyskin has a young girl who gives up her rich life to be able to leave her incestuous father. She also disguised herself in the skin of a donkey in order not to be recognized. This took away her beauty. These two instances show that she was capable of sacrificing her comfort and beauty for her safety. While she does not sacrifice herself for others, she does "expose herself to harsh adversity" (116).

An even greater example of self-sacrifice can be found in Beaumont's telling of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty sacrifices herself many times throughout the story. Her first sacrifice is not marrying. She chooses to stay with her family, even though times are tough and she would be far more comfortable with a wealthy husband. She also does not want to leave her father alone with only his sons and two lazy daughters to give h

Beauty displays no signs of passivity or dependency. Actually, her family is very heavily dependent on her. She cooks their food, cleans their house, and keeps her father happy. She also saves her fathers life by agreeing to give her own instead. She is also very stubborn and does not concede when her father refuses to let her take his place at Beast's castle. She says, "You can't keep me from following you" (36). She willfully disobeys her father's wish for her to stay home. She blatantly tells him what she will do. She does not ask or plead, but simply states her plans.

im comfort and help him with the chores. She sacrifices her own comfort for that of her families. She does this again when she wakes up extra early each morning to cook breakfast for her family and do the household chores. Her lazy sisters would never have cooked. Men would never think to cook food. Therefore, had Beauty not cooked for her family everyday, they would not have eaten.

Evidence in fairy tales that supports self-sacrifice as a virtue instead of a vice can be found in Beauty and the Beast as well. Beauty's sisters give nothing of themselves, In fact, they blatantly take all they can get and never consider how it affects others. The sisters do not, cook, clean, or offer to die in their father's place. They are punished for their selfishness at the end of the story by becoming statues until they learn their lesson. By being punished for their selfishness, self-sacrifice is portrayed as a v

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)