Gender Portrayal in Pakistani Fairy Tales

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21630391

Abstract

This study examines how Pakistani oral fairy tales, adapted into written and digital forms, negotiate Linda Hutcheon's theory of adaptation as repetition and variation. Rooted in Pakistan's rich oral heritage shaped by Persian, Islamic, and Indus Valley traditions, princess tales reflect deeply held gendered norms even as they undergo cultural reinterpretation. Guided by Hutcheon's (2006) Theory of Adaptation and Michelle M. Lazar's (2017) Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, this research investigates how repetition sustains cultural continuity, how gender roles are affirmed or challenged, and how adaptation functions as an ideological act. The study employed qualitative textual and narrative analysis combined with the Aarne-Thompson-Uther (ATU) classification system as the data analysis tool. Data were collected through document analysis of Folkloristan's print and online archive. The population comprised eighteen (N=18) Pakistani princess tales, including The Frog Princess, Shehzadi Mircha, and Princess Scheherazade and King Shaheryar, selected through total population sampling (18 tales). Findings reveal that these tales retain universal transformation patterns while embedding local values of faith, humility, and endurance; female characters gain moral and emotional agency, while male heroes grow toward empathy, confirming adaptation as creative renewal and cultural self-definition.