Cinderella's Stepsisters In Ever After, A Cinderella Spinoff

In nearly every Cinderella story, Cinderella is never treated with the general respect she deserves as a human being. In the movie Ever After, a Cinderella spinoff, Danielle’s life is miserable as she lives in the same house as her stepmother and stepsisters. Because she is the different one in the family, she is treated as a servant and is forced to do chores around the house. On top of this, Danielle’s heartless stepmother and stepsisters are in constant competition with her, and will do anything just to feel better than her. Thus, Danielle is persistently being oppressed and put down by them, which is in no way satisfying her need for a caring family and motherly advice. Danielle’s expectations for a loving mother and family are often not

The baroness is not only oppressing her, but she is also being flat-out cruel toward Danielle when she tells her she has never loved her, despite a mother’s love being the one thing Danielle really wanted. Elisabeth Panttaja, a writer and educator, also states similar ideas in her article “Cinderella: Not So Morally Superior.” Panttaja believes this is a tale of a “strong mother/daughter relationship that actively shapes events” (Panttaja 287). She also believes that in the Cinderella story, her mother is one of the most important characters, despite her not actually existing in the story. This is because Cinderella’s, in this case Danielle’s, mother passing away early on had a significant impact on the rest of her life, as she was stuck with her awful stepmother and stepsisters that are nothing but cruel to her. According to Panttaja, it is actually the “lack of a mother, which Cinderella must overcome in the course of the story” (Panttaja 287). Both Morrison and Panttaja’s ideas are shown in the scene due to the disdain that Danielle’s stepmother treats her with. Morrison and Pantajja would both agree that Cinderella, or Danielle, both underwent hardships that they did not deserve. This is one of the many outcomes of Danielle’s unfortunate living circumstances as well as her need for a loving