Anne Sexton Cinderella

Anne Sexton’s poem Cinderella is an analysis of the falsehood of fairytales and their inapplicable meanings to real, everyday life. Sexton’s poem, as a whole, mocks the classic tale of Cinderella by retelling the story with an analysis intertwined. This big message of fairytales being fake is reiterated throughout the poem through repetition, similes through imagery, and diction.

Sexton’s use of repetition is easily spotted in the last stanza of the poem. Sexton’s negative view is shown through the repetition of the word “never.” Never is repeated in the last stanza four times, and each time is an example of a real relationship that Cinderella and her prince will never have. Sexton is mocking the supposed “happily ever after” (101) that
takes place. Cinderella will “never bothered by diapers or dust” (103), meaning that she and her prince will never have to worry about something so common as children or cleaning. The poem also speaks of Cinderella and the prince “never arguing over the timing of an egg, / never telling the same story twice, / never getting a middle-aged spread ... “ (104-106) Sexton’s repetition of the word never in correlation with normal experiences that happen to an aging couple in love, such as always telling their same stories time after time, and gaining fat in their midsection, is her way of mocking the love story, and stating to the reader that what is in the fairytale is not actually true love. Arguably, the most obvious repetition to suggest that Sexton is mocking the fairytale is “that story.” This phrase is first used by Sexton at the beginning of the poem where she gave other examples of rags-to-riches stories, and ended each example with “that story,” insinuating that every reader would know which stereotypical, over-done cliché she meant. Each of the examples that Sexton gives, such as the “nursemaid, / some luscious sweet from Denmark// who captures the oldest son’s heart. / From diapers to Dior.” (6-10) are stories of false success. Although all of the people go from poor to rich, just as Cinderella goes from unwanted to hopelessly loved, they are still the same person. They have not achieved anything, just as Cinderella has not, and Sexton implies that these stories are ones that we, as readers, all know, and ones that do not exist. These rags to riches -- awful to wonderful -- stories are not real, and do not actually happen. Cinderella’s story does not actually happen. This phrase is also used at the very ending of the poem in line 109, when Sexton describes Cinderella’s happily ever after, and ends it with “that story.” The repetition of this phrase, which is clearly satirizing the pigeonhole otherwise known as a fairy tale, is Sexton’s way of also repeating the overall idea of fairy tales not existing in reality.

Along with repetition, Sexton uses simile to weave the theme of the poem through each stanza.
Cinderella and her prince, are, as Sexton states in line 102, “like two dolls in a museum case …” This comparison of them to inanimate, emotionless objects furthers Sexton’s point of it not being true love. Dolls do not love, dolls do not feel, dolls do not do anything but stay still and simply exist. That is what Sexton suggests Cinderella and the prince will do together; simply exist. The comparison of the museum case to the castle also suggests how shut out from the rest of the world they would be. Cinderella and the prince being like two dolls in a museum case also implies that Cinderella and the prince are just a façade. Dolls in a museum case may look very pretty and perfect, but inside the case, underneath what cannot be seen, the dolls can be weak and rotting away. Cinderella and the prince may look very happy on the outside, and may say they are in love, but the inside of the castle may show a different image; a weaker
one.

Sexton’s simile of Cinderella being like the prince to the Bobbsey Twins (108) implies that Cinderella and the prince, just like the Bobbsey Twins, do not grow. Although, for the Bobbsey twins, this is meant literally, as the twins stop aging after a certain point in the books. For Cinderella, however, it means that her marriage does not ever experience growth. She and the prince are stuck in the false marriage that they continue. What Cinderella and the prince have together is not true love, but rather an image, and therefore, their love does not change and learn as real love does. These comparisons of Cinderella and the prince to dolls and to the Bobbsey twins -- both fake in more ways than one -- are Sexton’s way of rounding out the idea that fairy tales are a false reality. However, Sexton’s most powerful tool in strengthening the theme of her poem is diction.
Sexton’s style becomes very clear in a poem like this one, where she is revising an existing, well known story. The choice of words that Sexton uses at times give a different image than those in other versions of Cinderella, and therefore give a stronger idea of what the poem means. Stanza six of the poem has very clear diction to tie in with the overall idea. The stanza begins with, “Next came the ball, as you all know.” (41) This where Sexton’s choice of words becomes pertinent to understanding the poem. By saying “as you all know,” Sexton strengthens the idea that fairy tales are cliched and overdone, and that every reader knows what is going to happen. The following line says, “It was a marriage market.” (42) The decision to describe the ball as a marriage market, a place where parents take their children with the intention to find them a spouse, instead of a fun gathering or a party adds to the theme. The ball is not a place for Cinderella to go and become her own woman and gain strength and confidence, but rather obviously, a place that Cinderella is going to with the outcome to be finding a
husband.

Sexton’s choice of words is purposeful, and every word and phrase has a meaning that is meant to add to her message. Sexton’s use of repetition, simile, and diction are all intended to create a stronger theme in Cinderella and create a new meaning in a story that has been told many times.