Comparison Of Cinderella

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Folktales are stories inspired by popular culture, typically passed on by word of mouth. The Egyptian Cinderella is a folk tale that suggests breaking social and racial barriers. Fairy Tales are stories, like myths, that provide supernatural explanations of everyday events, often with a moral outcome, or the portrayal of justice. The Disney version of Cinderella is a fairy tale that implies mistreatment of people. These narratives share in common the idea of inequality and mistreatment. For example, in the Egyptian Cinderella, Rosy Rhodopis was kidnapped from her home in Greece and taken to a house to work with other servant girls. She was considered a slave while the Egyptian girls were considered servants. They “taunted and teased Rhodopis …show more content…

Both her mother and father are dead, therefore she is forced to live with her stepmother and her “evil” step sisters. Cinderella, treated as a slave and kept in rags by her selfish stepfamily, dreams of going to the Prince 's ball. She gets her wish courtesy of her Fairy Godmother, who does the pumpkin-into-coach bit, then delivers the requisite "be home by midnight" warning. Thoroughly enchanting the prince at the ball, Cinderella must leave at midnight, leaving a glass slipper behind. The next day, the prince begins a search for the owner of the glass …show more content…

When he came to her house, her stepmother locked Cinderella upstairs. But with the help of her animal friends she was able to escape and try on the shoe. Obviously a perfect fit. The prince married her at one and they lived happily ever after. Although these excerpts are similar in actions and behavior, what they mean culturally is different. The cultural/symbolic meaning of The Egyptian Cinderella is that you are worthy. Rhodopis was not Egyptian, not rich or royal. She was a slave not even a servant. The Pharaoh saw how beautiful she was and made her his queen. While the meaning of Disney’s Cinderella is representing key issues with gender roles. For instance, the idea that women do all of the cleaning, sewing, and cooking; in this case it was Cinderella doing those chores rather than her hierarchy (stepmother and stepsisters). Another issue is marriage being the ultimate goal in a woman’s life. Back in 1950, it was normal for women to marry early and be a “housewife”, but society today is not the same. Women are just as prominent in almost all aspects of life as men are. The cultural message in both stories is beauty is within the eyes of the

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