De Rode Schoenen (The Red Shoes) is a powerful retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale. Whereas the original story was intended as a warning against female vanity, Charis Stephanie turns it into a layered and compelling narrative about femininity, autonomy and violence.
Charis Stephanie: ‘I wanted to show how deeply rooted the idea is that women are punished for their desires, their bodies and their visibility. In this story, the shoes take on a double meaning: beauty and pain, freedom and punishment, life and loss.’
In this graphic novel, red shoes take on a new meaning. Once a symbol of desire and seduction, they are now recognised worldwide as a symbol of femicide — the killing of women because of their gender. Charis weaves this dual meaning into a visually and emotionally rich story in which beauty and pain, freedom and punishment, life and loss are closely intertwined.
De Rode Schoenen raises questions about victim blaming and invites discussion about how women are viewed, judged and controlled — and how we can break that narrative in the stories we tell.
Red Box
During Dutch Design Week, De Rode Schoenen was part of Red Box, a group exhibition in which designers and organisations collaborate to strengthen the position of women, curated by Katja Lucas, Wisse Trooster and Alike Geerts.
The book can be ordered via: charisstephanie.com/shop
