Postmodern Fairy Tales seeks to understand the fairy tale not as
children's literature but within the broader context of folklore and
literary studies. It focuses on the narrative strategies through which
women are portrayed in four classic stories: Snow White, Little Red
Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and Bluebeard. Bacchilega traces the
oral sources of each tale, offers a provocative interpretation of
contemporary versions by Angela Carter, Robert Coover, Donald Barthelme,
Margaret Atwood, and Tanith Lee, and explores the ways in which the
tales are transformed in film, television, and musicals.