A girl is banished for the exact reasons we see in “The Ugly Duckling.” In many cultures, there is an expectation when the female child is born that she is or will become a certain type of person, acting in a certain time-honored way, that she will have a certain set of values, which if not identical to the family’s, then at least based on the fami

Had I been pretty and small, I might have had different dreams. I’ve pondered on that many times. Our aspirations are so often influenced by our appearance.