Throughout time, village elders, parents, or an authority figure have told stories to impart a kernel of wisdom, or to teach a moral code of conduct. To hold the audience's attention, magical characters were invented deeds or quests inserted, villains were defeated, and the boy got the girl. Or in the case of Cinderella, the girl through magical enhancements of grace, patience, and beauty, won the heart of boy. A simple plot written for a simple audience. But according to the article, "Cinderella: Not So Morally Superior" by Elisabeth Panttaja, the author tells us that the sweet-tempered, motherless young woman that we read about as children was an imposter.
In this story Panttaja says it is both mothers that are wicked. Panttaja states the real mother “plots and schemes, and she wins” (Panttaja 660) when it comes to fulfilling the wishes of Ashputtle. But actually the two mothers have the same goal in mind; to have their daughters married off and have a joyful life. To be able to do this, the real mother puts a charm on the prince to make him fall in love with Ashputtle instead of anyone else. The prince did not dance with anyone else all night and would always say “she is my partner” (Grimm 630).
Lieberman’s point is that fairy tales make beauty the basis for which reward is given, not intelligence, work ethic, or anything else a radical feminist would see as an asset. Lieberman also stresses that in popular fairy tales, beauty is associated with being kind and well-tempered whereas ugliness is associated with being ill-tempered and often jealous. This can be easily shown in one of the most popular fairy tales of all—Cinderella. In this, Lieberman argues, Cinderella is oppressed by her cruel, ugly stepsisters and stepmother who force the kind, beautiful girl to do all the chores in the house. Cinderella ends up getting the prize (marriage to the prince) based on looks alone.
Fairy Tale Stereotypes in Anne Sexton’s “Cinderella”: Raggedly Ever After Anne Sexton’s parody on the age-old fairy tale “Cinderella” provides insight into the stereotypical characteristics that are ingrained into the minds of millions of children, characteristics that govern the perception and definition of both men and women. These fairy tales distort the way in which young children view the world, encouraging them to fit their lives into these storybook candy coatings. Girls make every painstaking effort to become either the dainty princesses longing for when their chivalrous princes will come or the obedient maids taking care of the household because these are the heroines’ roles just prior to reaching eternal happiness. In contrast, boys strive to become the “knights in shiny armor” who undertake a daunting quest to save the kingdom or the heroic gentlemen destined to be the kings of vast and wealthy realms. Sexton targets this concept of inequality--especially in the enormous gulf between female and male roles--to illustrate how fairy tales are far from “happily ever after.” In the introductory section of “Cinderella,” Sexton derisively conveys formulaic examples of “once upon a time” fairy-tale success stories.
Lenahan 1 Crystal Lenahan Professor Kirkpatrick English 101 18 October 2012 Queen Bee and the Wannabes What makes a Queen Bee, the queen? Easy, without the wannabe the queen bee wouldn’t be royalty. The Queen Bee is a mixture of charisma, force, money, looks, strong will and manipulation. She can silence other girls and boys with a look, and her popularity is based on fear and control. Unfortunately, the wannabe aims to please the Queen Bee, doing anything to get in her good grace.
The fact that most fail to realize, as pointed by the author, is that these two mothers want the same things: they both want the best future for their daughters, and both mothers are willing to do anything to ensure that it happens. It is, however, Cinderella’s mother who surpasses and comes in first place. Panttaja believes Cinderella succeeds in winning the prince’s hand at the ball not because of the goodness of her character, but because she was able to stay loyal to her mother. By doing this her mother rewards her by giving her the most beautiful appearance in the entire kingdom. Cinderella succeeds through her mother’s magic, deceit, lies, and disguises.
A Jungian analyst, Jacqueline Schectman, examines the tale to find a sympathetic Stepmother in "'Cinderella' and the Loss of Father-Love." The chapter concludes with "Cinderella's Stepsisters" by Toni Morrison, which focuses on the evil women inflict on each other and appeals to women not to treat each other with enmity but to nurture each
As Peggy Orenstein’s three year-old daughter entered the “princess phase,” Orenstein became increasingly frustrated. As a feminist, she worried about the negative effects the princess obsession would have on her daughter and other young girls in their futures. In “Cinderella and Princess Culture,” Orenstein sets out to discuss these effects. She discovers that although it seems as if this princess craze is creating negative gender stereotypes at an early age, maybe princess enthusiasts are really benefitting from their obsession. Orenstein has gotten accustomed to adults assuming her daughter likes pink and princesses.
A lot of unlucky events happen and suddenly she has to save the world. In the beginning of the novel Kelley starts out as a fairly naïve and even tempered girl who believes her life was made for theatre. Kelley is sociable with her cast (she is currently a professional actor) who she calls family and spends most of her time with them. Kelley is very sociable with her theatre friends/ family she tells them everything in her life because she considers them her mentors. This however changes, Kelley becomes fearful and guarded throughout the novel because she finds out she is a fairy.
In the movie a maid named Marisa gets her happy ending. Marisa is the Cinderella in this movie and has many of the characteristics Yolen says Cinderella should have and once had. For instance Marisa is smart and quick-witted in the movie like Yolen said the European Cinderella was. An example of this is at the beginning when she seems to handle all of her duties with ease and is also able to aid her friend, the butler, with his cut. Marisa on the other hand isn’t as independent as the European Cinderella but more like the American one in that sense.