A Comparison Of Cinderella And Charles Perrault's Cinderella

Chapter 1

The Cinderella that I will be focusing on is the most commonly known European version, the story told by Charles Perrault. The Brothers Grimm also have a well-known adaption but it differs in many respects. Perrault’s Cinderella starts with the wistful maiden being treated poorly by those around her, specifically her stepmother and two stepsisters. Her father dies and in turn she becomes the house maid. Cinderella is not allowed, by the command of her stepmother, to attend the three ball’s set for the Prince’s potential engagement. In Perrault’s story the stepsisters ask Cinderella if she would like to attend, only for Cinderella herself to shoot the notion down; “you only jeer me” said Cinderella, “it is not for such as I am to

2). This painting would be a further inspiration for the live-action adaption of Disney’s Cinderella (2015) starring Lilly James. Very little is recorded on the artist’s research or influences so I am taking an educated guess that these, along with french style dresses and late 40s glamour, were the sources of inspiration for the character’s design. The French style has always been attached to Cinderella, due to Perrault, and these visuals have mainly been seen in the fashion of Cinderella. The large gowns signal the transition from meek to extravagant. Fashion designers such as Dior would also have been a huge inspiration to Disney for Cinderella’s style as they were power houses in the fashion world. How fabric was depicted in art, such as in the above painting, would have been a key influence in showing luxury and expense. It is hard to design a dress without referring to the fashion of the time. Disney’s The Little Mermaid also sees fashion of the time being expressed over historical accuracy. Ariel’s pink dress, along with her wedding dress, is very much of the 1980s. She sports large puffed sleeves and a low neck line, similar to Princess Diana’s wedding dress. Disney would also have taken great inspiration from children’s books at the time as many of the animators, such as Mary Blair (fig. 3), also illustrated books. Animation and children’s books have always gone hand-in-hand. This is because many of the animation’s source material is based on literary works. The two main children’s book publishers in Britain at this time were Ladybird and Puffin, whilst Curwen Press was transatlantic. British artist Hilary Stebbing was another illustrator of the time. Her work bares resemblances to both Blair’s work and Disney’s Golden Book Series (Figs. 4 - 5). This series was