Fairyworld

Tag: cinderella

  • Cinderella – Themes of the Story

    Cinderella – Themes of the Story

    The story of Cinderella offers a wide array of literary themes and motifs. We will present only a fraction of the possibilities.

    Cinderella is probably the most popular fairy tale in the world. It is known in more than one thousand documented versions and variations. (We covered the impressive Cinderella’s history in a separate article.) One of the reasons for its success is probably the simplicity of the plot with the riches-to-rags-to-riches scheme. Another important reason is the high number of themes and motifs. Many of them are so universal that almost anybody could identify with the title character and her situation.

    These themes are what make Cinderella a classic. We will present them with examples and draw comparisons with other well-known fairy tales. Then, we will provide a few ways to apply the story’s lessons to real-life situations.

    Artwork by Moritz von Schwind

    Absent Father

    Absent father is one of the most common themes in literature, especially in fairy tales. The reason is simple. Many fathers are not there for their kids when they need them. Think about Red Riding Hood, Goose Girl, Briar Rose, and many others. The reasons for the absence (physical, emotional, intellectual, …) are so many we could write a series of books. The story of Cinderella uses the absence of her father, who seemingly remarries just to make her life harder, to initiate a major change. It’s time to grow up. Growing up means taking responsibility. Break some eggs to make an omelet. When Cinderella’s father can no longer protect her, change is inevitable. In her case, things turn worse before they can improve.

    Illustration by Evelyn Stuart Hardy and painting by Edward Burne-Jones

    The Plot

    There are two basic plots in all stories in the world: rags-to-riches (an example is Puss in Boots, with the main character who starts at the bottom and climbs up) and riches-to-rags-to-riches (an example is Cinderella, where the main character starts in a good position, loses it, and then climbs even higher). We can argue that rags-to-riches is just a variation of riches-to-rags-to-riches with a later start of narration, when the main character is already down.

    Climbing up the social ladder / Marrying Up

    Cinderella is not born in the worst possible conditions. Depending on the version, she can be perceived even as a princess. Yet her status degrades fast when her mother dies, and her father remarries a woman who already has two daughters. Cinderella falls to the bottom of the social ladder when she starts working as a maid and sleeping at the hearth. These changes eventually force her to look for an alternative, which, in her case, shows in the form of the ball at the castle and the possibility of marrying the prince.

    Marrying up is a popular theme in fairy tales. Giambattista Basile most likely created it as a way to entertain the nobility by presenting them with the completely unimaginable. However, the audience perceived it differently, especially when fairy tales were introduced to all social classes.

    Illustrations by William Henry Margetson and Richard Andre


    Siblings Rivalry

    Everyone with a brother or sister can identify with the rivalry that often arises between siblings. Kids demand attention from their parents. Some parents deal with their competitive kids better or worse, but none of them is perfect. In some cases, some children will inevitably be favored over others, which will make some feel unjustly treated. Although Cinderella is an extreme example, everyone can relate to her in some way. Even people without siblings experience similar injustices, which makes Cinderella so relatable to the wide audience.

    The story of Cinderella offers a solution: patience, waiting for the opportunity, and leaving the toxic home environment to find a better place to live where she can realize her potential.

    Illustrations by Henri Thiriet and Walter Crane

    Broken Promise

    The importance of a given word (after all, the Grimm Brothers were educated as lawyers) is often used as a theme in fairy tales, especially since they became considered educational material for children. In real life, the given word is supported by contracts, lawyers, and judges. Fairy tales and other literature provide a foundation for moral values accepted by society.

    When Cinderella solves an impossible task, but her stepmother still doesn’t let her leave home for the ball, we clearly see that the girl shall find an alternative way of solving her situation. The decision to participate in the ball is understandable and justified.

    Postcard by Jenny Nystrom and illustration by Daan Hoeksema

    Leaving Home

    Leaving home is very likely the most often-used theme in fairy tales. Cinderella’s position is very bad. We don’t see any way to improve it within the existing parameters. Leaving home, taking risks, and finding new friends are obvious choices. When her wish to leave the house at least for the ball is denied, she is forced to break the rules, disobey her stepmother’s orders, and go anyway.

    Her decision to participate in the dance is a decision to grow up. Essentially, every classic fairy tale is about growing up, and Cinderella is a perfect example.

    Illustrations by Arthur Rackham and Henri Thiriet

    Fairy Helper

    Humans are social beings. Even Robinson Crusoe had company. Cinderella is no exception. She is alone and abused in her own home, where she doesn’t have a single ally. Kindness brings her helpers in the form of birds, but this is not enough. Then the fairy godmother (French version) or a magical tree (German version) brings her some valuable support. A splendid dress and a luxurious carriage will serve as necessary tools to enter the ball. There, she excels and wins the main prize – a marriage with a prince.

    Illustrations by Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac

    We shall note that Cinderella doesn’t achieve her breakthrough alone. She had help. She will continue to have at least one ally – the prince. Even the prince has to earn his status. As a married man, he can become a king. He has to disclose her identity. This is not an easy task. He only had a lost slipper and has to try it on numerous girls before he finds the right one.

    Wall Painting by Paul Hey

    Revenge

    Cinderella is not a typical revenge tale. Although kindness is considered the sweetest revenge and success is considered the best revenge, different authors offered different solutions to her problems with her siblings. The most popular versions are almost diametrical. French Cinderella (Cendrillon) is forgiving, and she even finds appropriate husbands of noble origins for her wicked stepsisters. German Cinderella (Aschenputtel) ends with cruel punishment – both stepsisters end with mutilated feet and without eyes.

    Happy End

    Not all fairy tales end with happily ever after, but the majority of the most popular ones do. Her ending, in which she leaves all her bad experiences behind to start a new life with a prince as the personification of an ideal partner, has inspired generations of people on the verge of adolescence and adulthood. Two traditions and rituals are especially closely related to Cinderella. This is evident in the popularity of Cinderella themes for birthdays, especially Quinceaneras, and weddings.

    Illustrations by Sarah Noble Ives and Paul Hey

    Conclusion

    Cinderella is not so globally accepted for nothing. Its seemingly simple storyline addresses universal themes each of us can identify with. Everyone will feel like Cinderella at some point in their life. Knowing her story from an early age can be crucial to one’s perception of life.

    Yes, life is not fair. However, it’s up to us whether we see ourselves as victims or underdogs determined to win. If you’ve never read Cinderella to your children, do so as soon as it’s appropriate. If you already told it, do that again.

    Enjoy and share!

  • The History of Cinderella

    Cinderella – A Fairy Tale About the First Feminist?

    Cinderella is, according to numerous surveys, the most popular fairy tale in the world. There are officially hundreds of documented and classified versions, starting with a 3,000-year-old story about Rhodopis (Greek), a 1,200-year-old story about Ye Xian (Chinese), and a 500-year-old story about Cenerentola (Italian). Nevertheless, most people are familiar with Cendrillon, a French variation by Charles Perrault from the end of the 17th century, and Aschenputtel, a German variation by the Brothers Grimm from the beginning of the 19th century. Their differences are small, but they reveal how Cinderella reflects changing ideas about women and society.

    Aschenputtel by Ernst Erwin Oehme

    The secret of her success

    Cinderella’s story inspired many picture books, movies, theater plays, and computer games.

    While it is known in hundreds and hundreds of variants, from the best-known, with a carriage made of pumpkin and a pair of glass slippers, to bloody versions where Cinderella killed her stepmother and got away with it, they all share an important element: injustice.

    With such a wide spectrum of plots, we can’t begin any comparison without a few necessary simplifications.

    Illustration by Wilhelm Schaefer

    The Case of Cendrillon, Aschenputtel, and Cinderella: How do fairy tales reflect the changing role of women in society?

    If we want to find the truth behind the success of the story of Cinderella, we have to start somewhere. Why not with two of the most popular literary versions?

    One was written by Charles Perrault in 1696, and the other by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. They are both based on La gatta Cenerentola by Giambattista Basile from 1634 and are similar, but when we dig into the details, we’ll find several surprising facts about Cinderella’s character, her role in our culture, and – probably most importantly – about our society.

    The main plot (summary) of Cinderella

    She lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters, and they treat her as a servant. When an opportunity shows in the form of a ball at the castle, Cinderella’s stepsisters can go, but she is not allowed to. With some magic help, she transforms into a noble lady of astonishing beauty, goes to dance, and charms the prince.

    Aschenputtel by Herman Vogel, Aschenbrodel by Carl Offterdinger, Cendrillon by Frederic Theodore Lix

    He wants to learn more about her, but she escapes and loses a slipper, which ultimately helps him recognize his future wife in her humble position by the hearth, full of ashes.

    Basic differences

    We’ll look at Cendrillon (or Little Glass Slipper) by Charles Perrault and Aschenputtel by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

    Illustration by Oliver Herford

    Charles Perrault:

    • We don’t know what happened to Cinderella’s mother.
    • We don’t know how her stepsisters look, but Perrault wrote that Cinderella looks a hundred times better, so they were probably not very attractive.
    • Cinderella doesn’t express a wish to go to the ball until the ball has already started.
    • When her stepsisters leave the house, a fairy godmother shows up and performs all the known tricks with a pumpkin, rodents, and lizards.
    • The fairy changed her rags into beautiful clothes.
    • She gave her a pair of glass slippers.
    • She goes to the castle two evenings in a row.
    • After the second ball, Cinderella loses one of her slippers.
    • When the prince announces he’ll marry the girl who can put the slipper on, Cinderella’s stepsisters unsuccessfully try to squeeze a foot into a slipper. After that, she is also offered a trial.
    • Sisters apologize to Cinderella for their improper behavior; she forgives them, marries a prince, and finds two grooms for the stepsisters as well.

    Illustrations by Blanche Fisher Wright Laite (left), Anne Anderson (middle), and Hugo von Hofsten (right)

    The main distinctive elements are: fairy godmother, the glass slippers, and a happy ending.

    Illustration by Elenor Plaisted Abbott

    Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

    • The story starts with her mother dying. Mother instructs her to plant a tree after her death and promises she will help her daughter even after death. (The version with gifts brought from father’s journey and sprig being rubbed against his hat was added later from Beauty and the Beast and is not originally by the Grimms’.)
    • When the father remarries, we are informed that both stepdaughters are beautiful but have nasty characters.
    • Cinderella mourns her mother under a tree, grown from a branch brought by her father, on her mother’s grave.
    • Stepmother and her two daughters are really mean to Cinderella (they call her Aschenputtel). They make fun of her, they take her clothes, and they give her meaningless tasks related to ash.
    • When the king announces the ball, Cinderella clearly says she wants to go too, but she can’t because she has no proper dress (no sorting of the peas from ashes in exchange for permission, sorry).
    • When her stepsisters leave, pigeons come and offer her help.
    • She gets a dress and shoes (golden) from the tree growing on her mother’s grave. This tree was watered by Cinderella’s tears.
    • She goes to the castle three evenings in a row, and she mocks her stepsisters when they return from the dance.
    • Prince decides to cover the stairs with a pitch on the third evening to prevent her escape, and she loses one of her shoes.
    • Search with a shoe becomes a bloody event when the first sister cuts the heel and the second the toe so the slipper would fit on.
    • Birds told the truth to the prince both times.
    • Prince finally finds the real owner.
    • When they marry, birds attack the stepsisters and peck their eyes (this punishment wasn’t in the first edition, but was added to the second and all later editions).

    Illustrations by Emil Lohse (left), Caroline Klauhold (middle), and Edward Henry Wehnert (right)

    The main distinctive elements are the magical tree, the golden slippers, and revenge at the end.

    Which variation of the story about Cinderella is better?

    Brothers Grimm, without doubt, wrote a better story.

    The motifs of all characters are much better explained, the main character is active, she fights for her right to go to the ball, and there is logic behind her helpers.

    The prince is quite active, too, and is making a concerted effort to win her over.

    The Brothers Grimm spent a great deal of time rewriting their fairy tales, which began as an idea to collect traditional German folktales. Aschenputtel was no exception. The part with the pigeons pecking the eyes of the evil stepsisters was one of their improvements according to their sense of justice.

    This gory detail was skipped in many versions after their death and is probably one of the reasons why the variation by the brothers Grimm never defeated Perrault’s in popularity, despite the fact that his other fairy tales, like Sleeping Beauty in the Woods, lost popularity contests against The Briar Rose, Little Thumb against Hans and Gretel, and Little Red Riding Hood against The Red Cap.

    Why is Cendrillon by Perrault more appealing to the audience? She is nice and beautiful, but she is also a perfect example of the passive damsel-in-distress stereotype that is so prevalent in fairy tales that some people try to remove them from library shelves.

    Why not Aschenputtel, who embodies hard work and the Calvinist values of the Brothers Grimm? Not only is she nice, beautiful, and persistent, but she also fights for her rights and has a sense of humor.

    Illustrations by Hanns Anker

    Position of women in society in the 17th and 19th centuries

    Charles Perrault was a smart guy who, of course, noticed changes in the French court during the reign of Louis XIV. While all important positions in the state were still reserved for men, the rising influence of the fair sex was obvious. Women of noble origin had more and more money. Many were well-educated and became quite powerful. They organized parties and invited whomever they wanted. Ladies, like Madame d’Aulnoy, were actually quite influential.

    If someone was skipped from the invitation list, their social standing suffered. Perrault, as a typical guy who climbed the ladder in civil services, didn’t like the idea of being dependent on the fads and mercy of the ladies. His fairy tales give a clear message.

    Illustrations by Warwick Goble, Gustave Doré, and Thomas Edward Donnison

    A girl should be nice and pretty, but all important decisions should be made by men. His Cinderella is pushed around because she doesn’t have free will. Although she became a princess, it is clear she only changed one passive position for another.

    Brothers Grimm were smart as well. Changes in their time were different. Small countries joined together to form larger states with centralized governments. While the nobility remained untouchable in some areas of society, the real power was shifting to those with money.

    A new class of bourgeoisie emerged, and women (some of them, at least) began earning significant incomes. The situation in society was changing fast, and the Brothers Grimm realized this was inevitable.

    Painting by Emile Meyer (left) and illustration by Gertrud Caspari (right)

    But they still believed in some traditional values. While in their opinion, the primary role of a woman should still be raising kids and taking care of the home, she should show much more initiative than ever before. The main character in Grimm’s adaptation of Cinderella is an active participant who defends her rights.

    Enters Disney!

    After World War 2 and a series of financial flops, Disney Company was on the edge of bankruptcy. When they decided to make a movie about Cinderella, they were not in a position to take any risks. They wanted as much profit as possible to pay out the debts and revive the company.

    They had many options when creating characters for the movie and explored many of them during the screenplay drafts, but ultimately used the most stereotypical ones. Family values in American society favored the passive role of women much more than they did in the time of the Brothers Grimm.

    Illustration by John Rea Neill

    In the 19th century, the bourgeoisie viewed children as an expense, so they preferred working women to the middle class of the post-war 20th century. The increase in population meant more women stayed home and “produced” babies, who soon became the driving force of modern consumerism. society.

    Disney’s Cinderella is a nice, beautiful, and passive lady without real ambition and becomes a model for every modern princess, also known as the Daddy’s Girl. While women eventually gained more power in society, many girls still grow up in the expectation of finding their Prince Charming, who will take care of everything. They are not willing to invest too much in the search, because they are: good-looking, elegant, and friendly (at least to animals) – just like Cinderella!

    One more thing: this fairy tale is also one of the most popular (and influential) stories among boys, too!

    Additional info

    All presented images were created by artists who died at least 70 years ago and published before 1923. This makes them public domain in the European Union and the United States of America.