In the article “Cinderella: Not so Morally Superior,” author Elisabeth Panttaja explains what is going on behind the scenes of Cinderella and how Cinderella found her destiny. Panttaja emphasizes that Cinderella’s mother may be physically absent but intervenes to make sure that Cinderella has a happily ever after. Panttaja reasons that Cinderella’s mother is actually the one who has control over the story in the end. Cinderella’s mother will do whatever it takes to get her daughter on top of the social pyramid. Cinderella’s mother grows into a tree to watch over her daughter and then puts magic birds on her tree to protect Cinderella from harm, such as when the magic birds pluck out the eyes of the stepsisters.…
Throughout Elizabeth Panttaja’s article, the audience is provided with impressive mental illustrations in which portray the Cinderella society recognizes today as deceptive. The idea Pantajja is presenting to her intended audience comes from the foundation of the original Cinderella titled “Ashputtle.” Panttaja discloses that “Cinderella….has little to do with her being a standup citizen and more to do with her intense loyalty to her dead mother and a string of subversive acts; she disobeys the stepmother, enlists in forbidden helpers, uses magical powers, lies, hides, dissembles, disguises herself and evades pursuit”(Panttaja #60). The superior statement may be directly interpreted as Pantajja believes firmly that Cinderella is horribly misbehaved, disrespectful alongside deceitful.…
Everyone knows the story of Cinderella, the girl who finds her prince with the help of a magical fairy god-mother, transforming her previously horrible life to a fabulous depiction of every little girls dream. Generations of children around the world have heard the story Cinderella countless times, however most people are unaware of the multiple versions of this legend. The European version of Cinderella ,“Aschenputtel” written by the Grimm Brothers consists of the female protagonist being treated as a servant, yet somehow manages to leave her cruel family behind for her Prince whom she lives happily ever after with. Another version of Cinderella is the Native American tale “The Algonquin Cinderella”, where the female protagonist is also mistreated by her family, however she is fortunate enough to “find” her own prince in her village. Although both stories present similar morals, both vary in details such as characters, settings,and use of magic.…
The story of Cinderella is an interesting one as it perfectly depicts the example we’ve been given in class of the “hero’s journey”. Throughout the plot, it begins with her family struggles. Her mother has perished and her father marries a woman who is not fold of Cinderella in the slightest. In addition to this, the woman has two daughters who are spoiled…
To begin with Cinderella has always been that girl mistreated very poorly but has never give up. Her stepmother begins to show her true colors after her and her father got married. “She employed her in the meanest work of the house” (Perraultt). Cinderella step mother was very mean and only cared about her real daughters in the French story. But in the Chinese story Yeh-Shen real mother died. And her father married someone else and her stepmother did not like Yeh-Shen so she mistreated her and killed Yeh-Shen’s fish which was her only friend she had. “She would also scoured the dishes, tables, etc.…
We also discussed the father dying and the step mother raising her, the issue of abuse did come in the form of Cinderella forced to clean the house, live on scraps and be treated as a servant instead of a child. In result of these I do believe Cinderella is suffering from a deep depression that began at a very young age. I do not feel she ever complete dealt with her mothers or fathers death in a way any child should. Cinderella admitted that she never talked about the deaths or mistreatment done by her step mother; she simply kept it to herself. She tried to deal by developing people pleasing skills, maybe in hopes to forget about the pain. As you would imagine Cinderella although we see her as a beautiful girl does exhibit low self esteem and this will be an issue that will take time to overcome. Before our first meeting Cinderella has married, she went to a ball (this was the first time away from home and social contact) and danced with the prince till midnight at which she decided to leave without even telling him her name. To her surprise, the prince did track her down and asked her to marry him in which she said yes. This happened during the second meeting of the two; the prince was the first man to ever pay attention to her and as result married him after 1 week of knowing him. I do believe this quick marriage is…
The purpose of this paper is to make a comparative analysis of two perspectives on the children 's story of Cinderella. It contrasts the time periods and cultures of France and Germany, whereas one was told to royalty and another to peasants. The constants of each version, such as the shoes and the prince will be compared as well.…
Once again, it is up to her fairy godmother and the prince to rescue her from a life of cruelty. Marriage is her ultimate goal, as it is seemingly her only chance at escape. The movie revolves around beauty and impressing others. Cinderella could have easily gone to the ball in her everyday clothes, but instead she knew that she needed to wear something fancy to impress the men she might meet. Additionally, the prince falls in love with her before they even speak, contributing even more to the idea that beauty is the most important. Despite the fact that she disobeys her step-mother’s orders to not go to the ball, Cinderella still manages to embody innocence and remain submissive to those around her (Baker-Sperry…
In cinderella this young teenage girl wants to live up to her dream, but never get's because of her stepmom and stepsisters. Always in the end she ends up achieving what she was trying to work so hard for in the beginning. In all conclusion the story of cinderella shows the theme in literature to be sometimes predictable and other times unrecognizable.…
While Cinderella’s mother and the Fairy Godmother are not named, her stepmother and stepsisters are and hold many conversation with Cinderella and each other that revolve around numerous things like clothing, chores, nature and kindness. But, people still tend to have a problem with the story, thinking it feminist. In the film, the stepmother and step sisters obsess over their own looks and constantly put down Cinderella, even her name is a mockery. Then there is also the fact that the Prince ‘saves’ her from her life of misfortune and misery. But I don’t think that this is the case. Kenneth Branagh, the director of the film, balances the old with the new. He keeps aspects of the original Walt Disney film while modernising the character of Cinderella. The film focuses on the message that you should be kind to others, even if they are not kind themselves instead of beauty. Cinderella is also shown to be kind, courageous and brave with a unique personality which the Prince fall in love with. Yes, she is beautiful, but the Prince does not fall for her beauty but rather is charm. Also, though the Prince does ’save’ her in a sense, she didn’t really ‘need’ saving and Cinderella does a lot of the ‘saving’…
Perrault’s “Cinderella” is essentially a story about women. The women are given identifiers that allow the readers to foresee their actions, while the men in the story are flat and nearly unidentifiable, showing an absence of importance amongst the male characters. “Cinderella” begins by characterizing the women in the story, describing Cinderella’s new stepfamily as the “haughtiest and proudest” (449) and renders Cinderella and her late mother as “gentle, “good,” and the “best in the world” (450). What stands out the most amongst these descriptions is the lack of characterization of Cinderella’s father, who is only described as being “totally under the control of his wife” (450). It is presumed that without Cinderella’s father being so feeble under the rule of his new wife, he would better protect Cinderella from being mistreated by her new stepfamily. In society, men are often portrayed…
First of all, the description given of Cinderella is much more detailed and specific than the description given of Little Red Riding Hood. Readers of Cinderella’s story know that her mother died when she was very young, that her father remarried a woman who doesn’t care much for Cinderella, and that she now has two wicked step-sisters, Anastasia and Drizella, who make the concept of a blended family little more than a nightmare for Cinderella. The reader immediately feels a sense of sympathy for Cinderella. Some readers may have lost a parent themselves, and many have experienced “step” relationships that were less than ideal, to say the least. They may also feel that, like Cinderella, they too have to do all the work in their home, whether it’s washing the dishes or scrubbing a soot-encrusted fireplace. In contrast, readers know very little about Little Red Riding Hood, except that her mother sews, as evidenced by the brightly colored cloak she wears as her trademark, and that her grandmother lives in the woods. Frankly, that’s not much of a description, and certainly not one that allows a reader to feel any kind of connection to her.…
Most Americans could say that they have at least heard of Cinderella and her fairy godmother. In the German Version of Cinderella, “Aschenputtel,” there is no Fairy godmother. In “Aschenputtel,” Cinderella’s mother tells her “Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you." Later in the story Cinderella asks her father to bring home the first twig that brushes his hat. When given the twig Cinderella takes it to her mother’s grave and it grows into a magnificent tree. Cinderella then prays under the tree and pigeons and turtledoves bring Cinderella anything she wishes. These birds represent Cinderella’s mother’s spirit watching over her poor daughter. Animals, such as birds and mice, also appear in the Disney classic, but are more aides then guardians to Cinderella. These animals are introduced as humorous instead of saviors in the Disney version. The animals help her clean the house and do chores. Later on they also are transformed into steeds and drivers to take Cinderella to the ball. These differences give each story its lighter and darker feelings and dynamics affecting the readers’ emotions towards the animals and Cinderella.…
The movie is still keeping the gender stereotype alive and thriving even in people’s homes. In today’s America, where women are in the vanguard of dignified treatment, respect and equality for women, the gender role in fairy tales especially Cinderella is still the same. As Silima Nanda points out, “Ambitious women in fairy tales are always portrayed as evil from within, ugly and scheming, wielding over other women and men” (Portrayal of Women 246-250). While there has been efforts to rewrite fairy tale like Sleeping Beauty for the screen, Cinderella remains the passive girl with an evil stepfamily. The stepmother is typecast as wicked, cannibalistic and self-conceited because she wants a better life for…
Everyone knows and loves the fairytale “Cinderella” where Cinderella starts out as a maid, wearing nothing but rags, and doing nothing but chores. She desires to go to this ball, but her nasty stepmother sends her to work right away, without allowing her to go. Fortunately for Cinderella, her fairy Godmother transforms her into a beautiful princess and lets her go to the ball, where she meets the price of her dreams. He is astonished by her beauty and in the end of the fairytale they fall in love. Everyone is fascinated by Cinderella’s story but one may not realize who is truly the reason for Cinderella’s good fortune. Without the help of her fairy godmother ensuring that everything worked out for Cinderella in the end, she never would have…