Mr. Macpherson
October 25, 14
By: Emily David
Cinderella is one of the most known fairy tales of all time. The main character of this fairy tale is named Cinderella. This fairy tail has proven to be a perfect reflection on Marxist Criticism. Marxism comes out in this story when Cinderella’s father re-married a mean woman who forced her to be the house slave, and cannot go to the royal ball because of her lower social status. This story brings out the power that comes with being in a high social class. The main objective of Marxist Criticism is to look at power relationships, and the power that comes with different social classes. Cinderella shows many different examples of Marxist Criticism throughout the entire story. Throughout Cinderella, the theme of power relationships is very apparent. Cinderella was born into a rich family, but when her father re-married she was to become the household slave. This is where the power of different social classes comes into play. Cinderella’s step mom was jealous of her good looks and she felt the only way she could gain power would be by giving Cinderella harsh treatment, “She could not bear the good qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own daughters appear the more odious”. (Perrault, Cinderella). Cinderella’s stepfamily abuses their power by forcing Cinderella to cook and clean, and do every household chore. She is only given rags to wear and is forced to sleep in a straw bed while her stepsisters sleep in big rooms, “She slept in a sorry garret, on a wretched straw bed, while her sisters slept in fine rooms” (Perrault, Cinderella). All of this shows the struggles that come with having more power in a society than someone else. Despite all of the harsh treatment that Cinderella is given, she is still considered to be far more beautiful and kinder than her stepsisters, which only maddened her stepmother more because it made her own daughters look bad. Being in the higher