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Cinderella
The Salvation of Cinderella: Moral Character and Virtue
Two entirely different versions of the same basic theme show that gender norms and social roles remain relatively constant and consistent across cultures. The Disney version of the "Cinderella" story, which was originally a European folk tale, is about a girl who lives with her mean old stepmother and step sisters, who work Cinderella like a slave and treat her terribly. Cinderella eventually gets her comeuppance, when with the help of a fairy, the prince chooses her for his wife. They live happily ever after. The same tale is told from an African perspective in "The Maiden, the Frog, and the Chief's Son." A girl lives with her stepmother and step sister, who work the girl like a slave. Though the intervention of magical frogs, the girl wins over the heart of the local prince and they live happily ever after. Aside from their remarkable similarities in theme, the motifs of these two stories are nearly identical including the leaving behind of a shoe. This suggests some sort of cultural diffusion, rather...
Regardless of their literary histories and their patriarchal overtones, both "Cinderella" and "The Maiden, the Frog, and the Chief's Son" teach a powerful lesson about the importance of good moral character.
In both "Cinderella" and "The Maiden, the Frog, and the Chief's Son," the protagonist is depicted as a sweet, humble, and meek girl. She is young, but pubescent. However, in neither story does the girl show signs of anger or resentment toward her father or stepmother, when she would have every right to rebel. Neither of the girls becomes embittered, or takes out their anger treat others poorly. Instead, both Cinderella and the star of "The Maiden, the Frog, and the Chief's Son" remain kind and open-hearted. Their strong moral character shines through, attracting the attention of the supernatural realm.
The supernatural realm is the place of real power in both…
Works Cited
"Cinderella"
"The Maiden, the Frog, and the Chief's Son."
Cinderella / Transformation Stories Variants on the "Cinderella" Story The Cinderella story is one that is much loved throughout the world; more than seven hundred versions exist. Many of these versions have been told for centuries. The story has universal appeal because of specific elements that are part of human nature. It is a story in which good triumphs over evil. It is a story that shows that dreams really can come
Cinderella archetype is manifest in characters like Mathilde Loisel in Guy De Maupassant's "The Necklace," Cinderella in Charles Perault's "Cinderella," Wassilissa in Russian folktale "The Beautiful Wassilissa," and Princess Ann in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. Guy De Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" is about a working class woman, Mathilde, who longs to be wealthy but learns a hard lesson about the illusion of glamor. Perrault's Cinderella is about a
Cinderella Perrault's "Cinderella" and the American Dream The Cinderella story has existed since the age of antiquity and has been told in many different cultures in as many different fashions. Yet, in America, one version stands out above the rest. Charles Perrault's version, popularized by Disney in 1950, became the standard, sentimental (Disneyfied) "some day my Prince will come" spawning fairy tale that became the classic progenitor of other animated features like
Cinderella: Or, On the Virtues of Shutting Up and Sitting Down There are many ways of critiquing folktales. However, they all agree on one central point: the tale is told to children so that they will behave. In less coercive terms, one might say the story is that so that the child will grow up to be a functional part of society. Either way, it boils down to the same thing.
The second significant difference between the French and Germany version of Cinderella is the tone used by the authors. Perrault provides a sense of triumph for Cinderella, a caring guardian in the fairy godmother and a positive moral at the end of the story. The Brothers Grimm use grotesque descriptions to illustrate the evil of the stepmother and stepsisters. They force Cinderella to separate lentils while they attend the ball. They
Morrison-Summary 'Cinderella's stepsisters' Toni Morrison's 'Cinderella's stepsisters', was actually a speech given by her at Bernard College. The occasion was chosen carefully as the speech could be most effective in this setting. In this essay, Morrison, highlights the similarities between Cinderella's stepsisters and modern, educated young women of today. Discarding all generally accepted notions about the stepsisters, the author explains that stepsisters were "not ugly, clumsy, stupid girls with outsized feet" (590)