Popularised by the Brothers Grimm in their 1812 collection of folklores, Cinderella is the epitome of the classic fairy tale. After the death of her mother, Cinderella is forced into servitude by her evil stepmother and sisters. Cinderella, who is pious and virtuous, is antithetical of her vain and callous stepfamily. The beauty and grace of Cinderella is observed by a prince who quickly falls in love with her. Under the aegis of the Prince, Cinderella escapes the servitude forced upon her by her family and enjoys a life of royalty and luxury as a princess. This classic tale mirrors cultural expectations of the behaviour of women and depicts the different expectation of men and women within society.
Textual features evident in the base text promote an invited reading of Cinderella. The text suggests that women who are beautiful and obedient are the desirable and that women should strive to conform to this mould. These good women, who are docile and passive, specifically in the domestic sphere, are elevated within the text. The independence and character of a woman is secondary to her beauty and ability to serve
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This approach is supported by Margery Hourihan’s (1997) argument that inverting binaries is not responsible as, ‘[t]he trouble with dualism is that if you simply turn it on its head it is still dualism’ (p. 205). Specifically, traditional masculine and feminine attributes, such as independence and dependency, were not reversed within the base text (Planned Parenthood, 2016). The transformation did not construct Henry, the Prince in the original text, as submissive and dependent on Cinderella. Rather, they both are presented as being independent and capable of living without the other, with Cinderella asserting that they ‘couldn’t pass up the [career] opportunities [they had] been given’ in response to their inability to move in
In James Poniewozik's "The Princess Paradox" (323-325) the author explains how the idea of a feminist, independent woman becoming a fairy tale princess is a paradox and that society is engaging in a paradox through the belief of it. He utilizes the recent bout of Cinderella retellings to show the paradox of how girls cannot be both completely independent and a fairytale princess, and yet society perpetuates the paradox through believing that this is not only possible, but realistically attainable as well. Poniewozik exposes the contradictions that surround these new Cinderellas to defy these "realistic" stories that society has come to embrace. By showing how truly constrictive and illogical these fantasies are, Poniewozik also shows how hypocritical society has become for idolizing them and why this new princess is a true paradox.
Cinderella is about a beautiful young girl that is mistreated by her step family. They give her the worst chores, make her sleep in a very dirty room up in an attic, and even give her the name “Cinderella” because they say she is always playing in the cinders of the fire. Cinderella is different though because despite being mistreated, she is still very nice and warmhearted. She represents how you should act in a world full of hate. If you are nice to everyone despite their rudeness and hate you will be rewarded in the end. Since Cinderella was so nice to her step sisters throughout her whole life, when she wanted to go to the ball her fairy godmother granted her wish. Cinderella got to go to the ball and looked absolutely beautiful, beautiful enough to catch the attention of the prince. While at the ball she was still very nice to her stepsisters, giving them food and telling them how nice they looked. When the stepsisters got home from the ball that night, they explain how lovely the mysterious princess was and how they thought she was so beautiful, not knowing that the mysterious princess was Cinderella. Cinderella played it off like she knew nothing of the princess but agreed with them that she must have been very beautiful. The next day came around and the stepsisters returned to the ball the
This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are
Over centuries of children have been enjoying the classic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. The fanciful plots and the vivid details allow children to be entranced by characters and adventures that can only be found in these stories. One of the most beloved fairy tales, which both the Perrault and the Grimms have their own separate versions of, is Cinderella. Cinderella is able to show how both versions are able to feed off the same plots while personifying the century and social economic situation in which they have lived.
Protagonists in fairy tales are considered beautiful, especially when they are princesses. Generally, unbeknownst to the princess, her power is rooted in her beauty. However, control does not come to these characters. “Donkeyskin” by Charles Perrault and “Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm are very different tales; however, their similarities arise from the treatment the princesses receive from their beauty. In both fairy tales, beauty is another form of power that the protagonists don’t quite know how to control.
The biological differences that set apart the male and female gender throughout any culture remain eminent. Men are perceived as the stronger and dominant gender; women play the role of the weaker. In each culture the expectation of the manner in which men and women behave are influenced by the ideals and customs of that culture. In most predominant cultures, the man undertakes the role as a leader, and the woman devotes her life to the husband. Throughout history, traditions and literature provide a template to the identities of various cultures. Sleeping Beauty’s classic tale of a beautiful princess takes a central precept that previous patriarchal archetypes dominated during the 17th Century. The archetypal perceptions of women resulted from conscious and unconscious literature influenced by male-dominated perspectives and social standards.
Kolbenschlag considers the “personal and psychological levels” of cinderella's relationship between her two sisters in order to inform us about how cinderella is given certain “meaningless” tasks. (Kolbenschlag 122). These “meaningless” tasks lead up to the acceptance of “mental tasks, and work that diminishes her.” with a condition of worthlessness (Kolbenschlag 122). Kolbenschlag goes further with this idea, making it very clear that many women are traditionally left out.
“Cinderella” the tale of a suffering young girl who finds her prince charming, and lives happily ever after in a big beautiful castle. Truly, the dream of many young female readers. This story is well known all around the world and has many different versions. This paper will specifically focus on the versions by Charles Perrault and Giambattista Basile. One cannot argue that while writing their individual version of Cinderella both Charles Perrault and Giambattista Basile were strongly influenced by the many other tales of Cinderella, and this can be seen by the repetitive plot line, character and morals in both their stories. Giambattista Basile story was called “The Cat Cinderella” and Charles Perrault named his “Cinderella” or “Little Glass
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
As the world has transformed and progressed throughout history, so have its stories and legends, namely the infamous tale of Cinderella. With countless versions and adaptations, numerous authors from around the world have written this beauty’s tale with their own twists and additions to it. And while many may have a unique or interesting way of telling her story, Anne Sexton and The Brother’s Grimm’s Cinderellas show the effects cultures from different time periods can have on a timeless tale, effects such as changing the story’s moral. While Sexton chooses to keep some elements of her version, such as the story, the same as the Brothers Grimm version, she changes the format and context, and adds her own commentary to transform the story’s
Princesses are not the only women that are nullified through their portrayals in fairy tales; wicked witches- often time stepmothers- are shown to be vindictive and evil and therefore must be killed. In her analysis of Stardust and The Brothers Grimm, two film adaptations on Snow White, Susan Cahill points out that what is at stake is “beauty, longevity, and power for the older women,” (Cahill, 59). She further comments on the fact that “intergenerational female conflict is endemic in fairy tales,” (Cahill, 59). This jealousy is a key characteristic of older female characters in fairy tales. Whether it is Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, or Snow White, the female antagonist has a desire for something the younger princess has.
The Grimm brothers were motivated to change the stories up a bit as their tales captivated more people. They incorporated a softer side with a primary moral of the story for the readers (GrimmFairytales.com). It is from these original Grimm versions that modern fairytales, such as Cinderella, originated from. The original version, published in 1812 portrays Cinderella as a poor child who lost her beloved mother; she lived a life of misery as a result of this death. Her father remarried and took on a new life, letting the evil stepsister torment Cinderella.
The origins of the Cinderella story date back around the beginning of the first century, or as far back as oral stories have been told. Many variations
Each person in the world has heard of Cinderella, no matter what kind of version it may be. Cinderella is the one fairy tale story that has been popular and will always be the one tale that has to be told to children. Words and story lines might be twist and turn, but in the end the knowledge of the story will be learned in similar ways. As we all know when one story is told another is created, when one is at its best then another is at its worse. One version will always be better than another, but no matter what version it might be the story will be told.
Cinderella’s mother passed away and her father remarried a woman who had two daughters from a previous marriage. A few weeks passed and a prince is holding a three day festival and all the beautiful young girls in the town were invited. Cinderella wanted to go but her evil stepmother gave her two impossible tasks to complete before she could attend the festival. Cinderella completes the two tasks with the help of her bird friends and her mother’s grave. Cinderella goes to the festival and she dances with the prince all three days. Finally, the prince has fallen in love with her and eventually they get married. Fairytales and Disney productions threaten gender politics and women’s role by portraying women in certain areas like domestic behaviors