Cackle

Until she “surrenders” her old life and beliefs, Annie Crane understands her value as a woman in terms of the fairy tales that influence cultural expectations. She, and many of the inhabitants of Rowan, assesses women based on how they measure up to fairy-tale women: either the sweet, loving princess who gets the prince, or the evil, dangerous witch. These stories provide important context, as so many characters understand women’s social roles through this lens.

Women in traditional fairy tales are often either beautiful and submissive or ugly and threatening. As Ellie Wriglesworth argues, such stereotypes can impact the self-perception of women, as “If we are told continuously from a young age that women are either beautiful and good, or ugly and evil, it is no large surprise that these reductionist beliefs inform many people’s perceptions of reality, and potentially impact how they relate to others” (Wriglesworth, Ellie. “Women in Fairy Tales: ‘Snow White’ and the Insidious Power of Gender Stereotypes.” Harpy). Annie internalizes many of these damaging beliefs in Cackle, as she initially fears she is not attractive enough or special enough for a man to take a genuine interest in her.

Furthermore, the propensity for young female characters to consider their lives complete only once they marry their “prince” drives Annie’s self-criticism and sense that she is incomplete without a man. Annie also initially lacks a strong sense of her own autonomy and capability for self-reliance, reflecting how most female characters in fairy tales “are presented as helpless objects and wait for assistance from the male characters” (Ismail, Hisham Muhamad. “Objectification: Examples of Female Characters in Selected Traditional Fairy Tales.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol. 14, no. 4, 2023, pp. 939-43). The emphasis on female passivity and “happily ever after” romantic pairings in fairy tales thus carries over into contemporary society’s continuing emphasis on the centrality of romantic relationships and biases towards heteronormative families, often at the expense of single people.

Cackle subverts these gender stereotypes and social expectations by building Annie’s character arc around developing a better relationship with herself, while also casting her most important interpersonal connection as her friendship with Sophie instead of a romantic relationship with a new lover. The novel also plays with the “witch” stereotype in Sophie’s portrayal, casting Sophie as a positive figure instead of a villain. In subverting fairy-tale clichés, Cackle joins a growing body of feminist adaptations of fairy tales and their tropes. A classic example is Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (1979), with Carter retelling several traditional fairy tales in a way that centers female agency and experiences. A more contemporary example is Kalynn Bayron’s YA novel Cinderella is Dead (2020), which follows a young woman, Sophie, who meets Cinderella’s descendent at a ball. The young women join forces and decide to rebel against the patriarchal system they live in.