To be the object of desire is to be defined in the passive case.
To exist in the passive case is to die in the passive case – that is, to be killed.
This is the moral of the fairy tale about the perfect woman.

Que yo y otras muchas mujeres vayamos buscando heroínas de cuento de hadas en los libros es otra versión del mismo proceso: deseo validar mi reivindicación a poseer una parte equitativa del futuro, y expreso para ello la exigencia de que me concedan la parte del pasado que me corresponde.

For most of human history, 'literature,' both fiction and poetry, has been narrated, not written — heard, not read. So fairy tales, folk tales, stories from the oral tradition, are all of them the most vital connection we have with the imaginations of the ordinary men and women whose labor created our world.

The girl burst out laughing; she knew she was nobody's meat.

All the ancient classic fairy tales have always been scary and dark.

That's the tragedy of fairy tales. The whole world puts them on a pedestal. People want their lives to be magical, but what people don't understand is that happiness is sacrificed. There is so much more to the story than what is written. The Cinderella you think she's so unfortunate with her mean sisters and stepmom. You think she deserves a happy ending with a prince, but the twenty-page journey is all you see. You learn little about who she is. What if Cinderella's just a good actress who has everyone fooled, when really, she sucks. She more than sucks.