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Cinderella

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Gustave Doré's illustration for Cendrillon
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Gustave Doré's illustration for Cendrillon

For other uses, see Cinderella (disambiguation)}}}.
Cinderella is a popular fairy tale embodying a classic folk tale myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward, of which there were hundreds of versions before modern times. The earliest version of the story originated in China around A.D. 860. It appeared in The Miscellaneous Record of You Yang ([酉阳杂俎]) by Tuan Ch'eng-Shih, a book which dates from the Tang Dynasty. The best-known version was written by the French author, Charles Perrault in 1697, based on a common folk tale earlier recorded by Giambattista Basile as La Gatta Cennerentola in 1634, but, especially in the English speaking world, the animated film from Walt Disney Productions, (see Cinderella (1950 film)) has become the standard contemporary version despite the fact that it somewhat sanitises the original plotline.

It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine.

Contents

Plot

"Cinderella and the Glass Slipper" (book cover)
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"Cinderella and the Glass Slipper" (book cover)

Cinderella tries on the slipper
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Cinderella tries on the slipper

The familiar plot revolves around a girl deprived of her rightful station in the family and given the cruel nickname "Cinderella" by her horrible stepmother and step-sisters. Forced into a life of domestic servitude, hence the nickname, as she was forced to tend the fireplace, Cinderella accepts the help of her attendant spirit ("fairy godmother") who transforms her to attend a royal ball and attract the attention of the handsome prince. In some versions of the tale, there are three balls, though most tellings mention only one.

Unfortunately, the magic comes to an end at the first stroke of midnight. In the three-ball version, Cinderella keeps a close watch on the time the first two nights and is able to leave without difficulty. However, on the third (or only) night, she loses track of the time and must flee the castle before her disguise vanishes. In her haste, she loses a glass slipper which the prince finds. He declares that he will marry only the girl whose petite foot fits into the slipper.

Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters (in some versions just the stepsisters) conspire to win the prince's hand for one of them. In the German telling of the story, the first stepsister fits into the slipper by cutting off a toe, but magical doves tell the prince to notice the blood dripping from the slipper, and he returns the false bride to her mother. The second stepsister fits into the slipper by cutting off her heel, but the same doves give her away. In all variants, Cinderella arrives and proves her identity by fitting into the slipper (in some cases she has kept the other, as in the Disney retelling). The evil stepsisters are sometimes punished for their deception by having their eyes pecked out by crows, or in other cases forgiven.

In some versions of the story there is no fairy godmother; rather Cinderella's dress and shoes come from a tree that grows over her mother's grave. Thus her mother (sometimes represented as a bird) is the supernatural force who assists the girl to find her prince. The midnight curfew is also absent in many versions; Cinderella leaves the ball to get home before her stepmother and stepsisters, or she is simply tired.


Variants

The glass slipper is unique to Perrault's version; in other versions of the tale it may be made of other materials (in the version recorded by the Brothers Grimm, German: Aschenbroedel and Aschenputtel, for instance, it is gold) and in still other tellings, it is not a slipper but a ring or a bracelet that gives the prince the key to Cinderella's identity. In the Finnish variant The Wonderful Birch the prince uses tar to gain something every ball, and so has a ring, a circlet, and a pair of slippers. Interpreters unaware of the value attached to glass in 17th century France and perhaps troubled by sartorial impracticalities, have suggested that Perrault's "glass slipper" (pantoufle de verre) had been a "fur slipper" (pantoufle de vair) in some unidentified earlier version of the tale, and that Perrault or one of his sources confused the words; however, most scholars believe the glass slipper was a deliberate piece of poetic invention on Perrault's part.

The original Chinese version of the story emphasized that Cinderella (or Yeh-Shen [《葉限》/《叶限》 Yè Xiàn] as she was called) had the smallest feet in the land. Small feet were an important aspect of beauty in Chinese culture, leading to practices such as foot binding. The translation of the story into cultures with different standards of beauty has left the significance of Cinderella's shoe size unclear, and resulted in the implausibility of Cinderella's feet being of a unique size for no particular reason. Humorous retellings of the story sometimes use the twist of having the shoes turn out to also fit somebody completely unsuitable, such as an amorous old crone.

There is another story called Chinese Cinderella which describes a real girl's life in a circumstance similar to the Cinderella story. She has a father and an evil stepmother who treats her own children better than she treats her husbands first wife's five children. The main character Adeline Yen Mah (who wrote the book) is targeted for abuse by all her family members and eventually wins over the oppression.

The fairy godmother that aided Cinderella is in the Brothers Grimm's version Aschenputtel's dead mother; Aschenputtel requests her aid by going to her grave, on which a tree is growing, which shakes down the clothing she needs for the ball. This motif is found in other variants of the tale, as well, such as The Cinder Maid, collected by Joseph Jacobs, and the Finnish The Wonderful Birch. Giambattista Basile's Cenerentola combined them; the Cinderella figure, Zezolla, asks her father to commend her to the Dove of Fairies and ask her to send her something, and she receives a tree that will provide her clothing.

Although many variants of Cinderella feature the wicked stepmother, the defining trait of type 510A is a female persecutor: in Fair, Brown and Trembling, the stepmother does not appear at all, and it is the older sisters who confine her to the kitchen. In other fairy tales featuring the ball, she was driven from home by the persecutions of her father, usually because he wished to marry her. Of this type (510B) are Cap O' Rushes, Catskin, and Allerleirauh, and she slaves in the kitchen because she found a job there. In Katie Woodencloak, the stepmother drives her from home, and she likewise finds such a job.

The despised third child who sits among the ashes is not a role limited to daughters. In The Princess on the Glass Hill and others, a third son is also despised and lives in the kitchen. In some variants of The Seven Foals, he is even called "Cinder-lad."

Discussion

The idea that "Cinderella" embodies myth elements was explored in The Uses of Enchantment (1989) by Bruno Bettelheim, who made many connections to the principles of Freudian psychology. In more recent times, as Freud's concepts have found more support as myth and poetry than as neurological science, it has seemed to mythographers less useful to explain one myth in terms of another myth. Instead, cultural elements ("memes" to some writers) may be disentangled from the Cinderella tale. Each social group, in re-telling "Cinderella," has emphasized or suppressed individual elements and has given them interpretations that are especially relevant within each society. Mythographers return to Cinderella for hints of the social ethos embodied in it, and the familiar story proves to be a useful case example for young students beginning to understand how myth works. Thus serious uses come from what appears on the surface to be a trivial wish-fulfilment narrative.

An example of the "uses of Cinderella" is presented by Shirley Climo, The Egyptian Cinderella (1989), aimed at young children: "Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl living in Egypt, is teased by the servants about her coloring. Eventually, one of her rosy-gold slippers is carried to the pharaoh's court. He searches for, and finds, the girl. Based partly on fact (a slave named Rhodopis did marry Pharaoh Amasis) and partly on folk legends, this story is remarkable for its details of life in ancient Egypt and for the Egyptian-style illustrations". As a document, this reveals some contemporary American approaches to historicism, cultural multiplicity, racism, and educating for a spirit of tolerance. The anachronism of a supposed skin-color sensitivity in Egypt itself is revealing.

Earlier, less self-consciously instructive Cinderellas have more revealing mythic content.

The term Cinderella has evolved from its storybook beginnings to become the name for a variety of female personalities. Some girls are described as a Cinderella if they are meek and immediately submissive to stern orders. Others are called Cinderella if they tend to quietly complain. For example, a girl from a wealthy household who has been ordered to wash the dishes as a fulfilment of her once a month chores would be deemed a Cinderella; a fallen princess who has finally met with tough reality.

Cinderella, along with the more general "princess," are shorthand for a particular approach to weddings and Western wedding attire, especially the white dress. A bride with the Cinderella mindset believes that the dress and the occasion exist in order that she may be transformed for the day into a beautiful princess. Detractors of such princess brides argue that the wedding is not solely about the bride; nevertheless, many wedding gown retailers appeal, directly or indirectly, to the Cinderella ideal.

The Cinderella story is much criticised for what many perceive to be a negative, traditionalistic, approach to women. From the point of view of these critics Cinderella is oppressed, and does nothing about it; a magical event takes her to a powerful prince who is so taken with her appearance that he chooses her as his consort (it is assumed that she will accede), decorative, but existing only as an adjunct to him. They believe that she has no personality or character of her own; she is simply pretty and good-natured and mindlessly obedient, and advances because of this. Little girls in Western society are told the story: they can infer that if they are obedient and take care of their appearance they will live Happily Ever After.

On the other hand, others claim that the story should be taken on its own merit, to them Cinderella is not meant to be read into and critiqued as some complex academic social manifesto, but to be enjoyed as a fairy tale and its simple powerful message that good can come to decent people.

Going even further, many do not see Cinderella's personality or actions in a negative light. Simply that she has come under criticism because more confrontational headstrong heroines have become perceived as the new ideal of what a women is expected to be in Disney and American culture in general. To them, Cinderella has many admirable qualities, taking a more calm and discreet approach in fulfilling her wishes, and chooses to be kind even to those who mistreat her.

Vehicles

The story of "Cinderella" has formed the basis of many works:

Opera

Ballet

Pantomime

The subject of Cinderella is very common for British and Australian pantomimes, although this is undoubtedly the number one pantomime, it is not the most popular to produce because of the cost involved. In the traditional pantomime the opening scene is always set in the forest with the hunt in sway and it is here that Prince Charming and Dandini meet Cinderella. Except that she thinks Dandini is the Prince and the Prince is Dandini (all very confusing and not at all politically correct, but then traditional pantomime isn't). Cinderella's father (Baron Hardup) is under the thumb of his two step-daughters the Ugly sisters who are jealous of Cinderella and cruel to her. There are also added characters such as Buttons (Baron Hardup's servant, and Cinderella's friend) and Dandini — the Prince's right-hand man, the character and even his name coming from Rossini's opera ("La Cenerentola"). Throughout the pantomime, the Baron is continually harassed by The Brokers Men (quite often they are named after politicians) for outstanding rent. The Fairy Godmother must magically create a coach (from a pumpkin), footmen (from mice) and a coach driver (from a frog), and a beautiful dress (from rags) for Cinderella in order for her to go to the ball. However, Cinderella must return by midnight as at that time the fairy godmother's magic spell ceases. As with all traditional pantomimes, all turns out well in the end as good triumps over evil.

Musical Comedy

Mara Wilson in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (2005)
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Mara Wilson in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (2005)

Films

Over the decades since the invention of motion pictures, literally hundreds of films have been made that are either direct adaptations from, or have plots loosely based on, the story of Cinderella. Almost every year at least one, but often several such films, are produced and released, resulting in Cinderella becoming a work of literature with one of the largest numbers of film adaptations ascribed to it, perhaps rivaled only by the sheer number of films that have been adapted from, or based on, Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

Books

External links

 

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