Between Courtly Ideal and Christian Purity

How Do the Female Characters in Disney Films Reflect the Medieval Feminine Ideal?

Abstract

This study explores how the feminine ideal and the desired characteristics 
for women from the Middle Ages, as depicted in etiquette books and Gothic 
sculpture from that period, are reflected in the female characters of two Disney 
films set against a medieval backdrop: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 
and Sleeping Beauty (1959). The goal of this research is to uncover how the 
medieval feminine ideal merged with the neo-medievalism and conservatism 
of Walt Disney in the United States during the 1930s and 1950s, leading to the 
creation of these female characters. Unlike the methods of conveying desired 
social norms regarding gender roles during the Middle Ages, where one had 
to visit a church or read manuscripts in order to encounter these messages, 
twentieth-century American audiences received them via Disney films. These 
films had a lasting impact on communicating gender role expectations, leaving 
a significant impression on many generations of viewers since their release. 
This article examines how these films, set in a medieval context, represent the 
feminine ideal of that period and discusses the connection between this ideal 
and Walt Disney’s attitudes, beliefs, and vision regarding gender relations and 
the ideal of femininity.