Irony of Gretel/Rumpelstiltskin
Gretel arrives to help the protagonist from The Tale of the Spinster with her work, but ends up causing her more trouble than she had before when she takes her baby away from her.
Irony of Snow White’s Stepmother
As a young maid, Snow White finds that her stepmother dedicates her life to raising her station and impersonating a princess. When this finally pays off, and she marries a prince, she realizes that he is very sick and will die soon. This will leave her with nothing, forcing her to find another man to elevate her status.
Irony of Rapunzel’s Fate
Rapunzel longs to leave her tower and find freedom with her prince, but eventually is pulled back by wanting to stay with her mother. While she finally leaves the tower, she ends up being turned into a horse, an animal used to help humans, and therefore not fully free.
Irony of Thumbelina
Thumbelina wants a life away from her cruel, oppressive parents, and thinks that she will find that with her prince. Although he is kind to her, however, he is extremely overprotective and prohibits her from leaving the estate grounds, leaving her just as trapped as she was before leaving home.
Irony of the donkeyskin
The protagonist from The Tale of the Skin is disgusted by her father’s donkey, because it stinks up the rest of the castle, and because he spends so much time with it. In the end, it ends up saving her life, because she disguises herself in the donkey’s hide to flee her home kingdom.
