An Analysis Of Jane Yolen's Cinderella

Cinderella is a folktale that countless people can relate to, whether they completely know it or not. As Jane Yolen argues, the tale has so many different variations, which is why it has spread across the world and become so popular. It’s popularity is with people of all ages, since the story is relatable to anything that is going on. Cinderella is the adventure of a young girl, who is treated as a servant, that has the desire to attend the ball. Her stepmother and stepsisters try to keep her as far away from that ball as possible, giving her extra work and chores to do around the house. Cinderella dreams of going to the ball, until a fairy godmother appears to help her. The fairy godmother provides everything Cinderella needs to attend the ball and feel beautiful. She warns that Cinderella must be back before midnight, or else the magic will expire and her dress, shoes, etc. will

disappear.

At the ball, Cinderella meets the Prince, who instantly falls in love with her and they spend the whole night together. At midnight, Cinderella runs away, but leaves behind a glass slipper, which the Prince encounters while looking for Cinderella. The Prince goes on a search for his true love and finally finds her, they marry, living happily ever after. The plot line of this tale has been used over and over again in movies, books, and tv shows since people like the story so much.

Cinderella has adapted over the years to fit what our society views as the correct Cinderella folktale. Some modifications to the plotline have been positive, but unfortunately, others have been negative. In the article, “A Girl, A Shoe, A Prince: The Endlessly Evolving Cinderella”, Linda Holmes discusses the durability of the Cinderella story and

how it can be adapted to fit any story. Holmes describes, “In a sense, the classic tale often treated like our quintessential cultural romance had to be substantially adapted to allow for the existence of romantic love as we imagine it now, which does not occur in the complete absence of communication.”(Holmes 11). In this article, Holmes is trying to convey the idea that the tale is shifted to the views of society, at that moment in time. With the plot being so popular, it can easily be revised to accommodate for adjustments in opinion over time. Jane Yolen also talks about this idea in her article, she discusses, “However, to truly mark this change on the American “Cinderella”, one must turn specifically to the mass market books, merchandised products that masquerade as literature but make as little lasting literary impression as a lollipop. They, after all, serve the majority the way the storytellers of the village used to serve. They find their way into millions of homes.” (Yolen 24). Jane Yolen is bringing the true explanation for the changing tale to light in her article. She understands that people’s opinions and ideals are diverse, so the mass media are required to create something that all people will enjoy. The whole point of changing the plot is so storytellers can please society with the tales that they are writing about. One of these variations includes the movie, Rocky.
The film Rocky starring Sylvester Stallone, is also thought to be a Cinderella story, it encompasses a love story, as well as overcoming something that refrains following your dreams. Rocky Balboa, a small time boxer, is living the life of a “bum” in Philadelphia. He fights in small clubs, for little money, just scratching the surface of getting by. Until, one day, Apollo Creed, the heavyweight champion, decides to select Rocky to fight against him for the championship. Rocky begins to train himself for the match of a lifetime, hoping he will be able to deliver a show. Meanwhile, Rocky also has a crush on his best friend Paulie’s sister, Adrian, and wants to invite her out on a date. Adrian is apprehensive and shy, but finally goes on a date with Rocky, because Paulie sets it up for her. Rocky finally receives the help of Mickey, a trainer, to help him realize his full potential for this fight. On New Year’s Day, Rocky fights Apollo Creed and goes all 15 rounds, but the split decision crowns Apollo heavyweight champion of the world. At the end of the fight, Rocky calls out to Adrian, who is pushing through the crowd to reach Rocky, they then confess their love for one another. The movie Rocky is based on the success story of Rocky Balboa, however, through the lens of the Cinderella folktale, it becomes evident that the movie includes two different “Cinderella stories”: Rocky’s story and Adrian’s story. By portraying both Cinderella's, it is apparent how Cinderella’s personality has been altered through time to accommodate for the changing ideals in our society.
The first version of Cinderella in Rocky is Rocky Balboa, he represents to old CInderella, who was a go getter and did things for herself, just like Rocky does things for himself. Jane Yolen points out in her article, “Hardy, helpful, inventive, that was the Cinderella of the old tales, but not of the mass market in the nineteenth century.” (Yolen 25). Yolen describes how the old Cinderella was hard-working, inventive, assertive, and took situations into her own hands, Rocky Balboa fits directly into this characterization. When he finds out about the fight against Apollo, he takes matters into his own hands. He does not wait around for a trainer to come help him, instead he decides to do it on his own. Rocky becomes “inventive”, using meat carcasses as punching bags to better prepare himself for the fight. This illustrates the hardy and inventive side of “Cinderella”, since he invented a new training tool and worked hard on his own, without the necessity of assistance from someone else. Furthermore, Madonna Kolbenschlag, who wrote “A Feminist’s View of “Cinderella”,” communicates in her article that in a Cinderella story, Cinderella matures throughout the plot. She describes, “Like most fairy tales, Cinderella dramatizes the passage to maturity. Her sojourn among the ashes is a period of grieving, a transition to a new self.” (Kolbenschlag 3). Kolbenschlag is showing how throughout the story Cinderella matures, realizing a new self and becoming a better person. Rocky Balboa goes on this journey through his hard-work towards the fight. Rocky matures throughout his training because he becomes dependent on himself and works hard to achieve his dreams. The movie ends with Rocky confessing his love to Adrian, his ultimate desire. Rocky is the Cinderella character in this version, but is also the ‘Prince’ in the film for Adrian.
The other version of Cinderella represented in Rocky is based on Adrian. Adrian represents the newer, mass marketed, Cinderella. Jane Yolen mentions in her article, “For the sake of Happy Ever After, the mass market books have brought forward a good, malleable, forgiving little girl and put her in Cinderella’s slippers.” (Yolen 25). Yolen notices how the original tale has been altered to please people and wonders what happened to the old Cinderella. She suggests that since mass media needs to please the public, Cinderella was turned into a different character. The new Cinderella is passive, simple and helpless, she is not capable of achieving anything without her fairy godmother. This applies to Adrian, because Adrian is very shy and in her own world, until Paulie helps set her up with Rocky. Paulie occupies the position of the fairy godmother and evil step-sister by bringing Rocky to their house and telling Adrian she needs to go on a date with Rocky. Without Paulie, Adrian would have never gone on the date with Rocky, and found her ‘Prince’. In “A Feminist’s View of “Cinderella”,” Madonna Kolbenschlag, talks about the view of Cinderella from a feminism side and how Cinderella is such a weak woman, that people should not aspire to be like that. Kolbenschlag describes,“She really believes she belongs where she is. The paradox of this acceptance of a condition of worthlessness in the self, along with a conviction of the ultimate worthiness and heroism of one’s role, is part of the terrible appeal of the fairy tale.” (Kolbenschlag 3). Kolbenschlag intrigues readers by mentioning the characteristic traits of Cinderella are not exactly what women should strive to have, yet women continue to compare themselves to these standards. Like Cinderella, Adrian accepts her lot in life and does not attempt to improve her situation, unless someone else is there to guide her. When Adrian finally is united with Rocky, her prince, she transforms into her true self, as a result of being so in love with Rocky. While Adrian is the newer Cinderella, she may not be the best version of Cinderella.
Both Rocky and Adrian go through a Cinderella story in the film Rocky. Through that journey, the movie shows the binary of where each character begins and where they ends. At the beginning of the movie, Rocky is fighting in a dirty, old, run down place that is not a typical boxing ring. He is called a bum and has nothing pushing him to be the best he can be. At the start of Adrian’s journey, she is very shy and does not stand up for herself at all, working in a pet shop and practically mothering her brother Paulie. At the end of the film, there is a vast difference from where both characters started. Adrian has come out of her shell because of Rocky and is a tiny bit more aggressive with what she truly wants. On the other hand, Rocky is in a historic arena, with people rooting for him to win the championship, he is fighting for his dream and Adrian. This binary of where each character started to where they end up allows viewers to notice the growth and maturity that has brought them to their new self throughout the movie. Adrian started the movie with no power in her own voice, through her journey she gained more voice and opinion in her life. Rocky started the movie as a “bum” with nothing to fight for, and through this journey to the fight he has discovered a new side of his life to fight for. After the fight Rocky discovers that he has a purpose in life, he achieves a new level of self purpose and fulfillment through achieving his dream and being with Adrian. In the end, Rocky is assertively calling out to Adrian to find her, while Adrian is more passive having trouble pushing through the crowd to get to her ‘Prince’. From this we see both characters are Cinderella, but it becomes clear that Rocky is a better version of Cinderella than Adrian. Adrian is still very passive and believes they can not do anything without their fairy godmother, while Rocky has more self fulfillment through the journey and provides many more things for himself.