We have all heard the Cinderella story or its many variants. A beautiful girl falls into hard times due to the actions of cruel individuals. The girl works and works to try to fix her predicament herself but is ultimately unable. That is, at least, until she meets Mr. Wonderful, the godsend endowed with just the right amount of perfect to make all a helpless girl’s problems go away. The girl is immediately enchanted by Prince Charming and sets out to prove herself to the prince in order to earn his love and, of course, help. The man himself does little to reciprocate the passion that the poor girl displays for him until the girl’s troubles overcome her and the prince heroically rushes off to her aid. The prince marries the girl, now rid of …show more content…
Danielle is treated nearly the same as all other non-feminist Cinderella, however, unlike the typical Cinderella attitude of “acceptance of a condition of worthlessness,” Danielle does not let her step-family’s attitude towards her define how she views herself (Kolbenschlag 319). Instead of fearfully obeying her step-mother’s whims, Danielle finds happiness in interacting with friends and going on adventures. Why, then, does Danielle obey since she does not fear her step-mother? Surely someone as strong willed as Danielle would find a way to get rid of her step-mother or at least run away without having to rely on Prince Henry to make her a princess? It is revealed near the end of the movie that Danielle still vainly hoped that her step-mother had some love for her, so she did not run away. It is also revealed that Danielle was waiting for the prince to come and fix her problems for her. It would be a major flaw in Danielle’s credibility as a feminist if her plan was to wait it out for a man to come rescue her. Thankfully, Danielle is not one of the, “insipid beauties waiting passively for Prince Charming,” that Yolen warned about (Yolen 324). Danielle, while not waiting idly, is hoping Prince Charming will come and take her eldest step-sister as his bride and that the rest of her step-family will go with them, leaving her and her father’s estate alone. Danielle’s innovative plan does nothing but strengthen her standing as a feminist and reveal that behind her beauty lies a cunning intellect capable of manipulating the patriarchy to her own use. Later, of course, Danielle inevitably marries Prince Henry and escapes her step-family that way, however, Danielle did not choose escaping her family over her feminist ideals. This is best demonstrated by Danielle’s first act as princess being to send her step-mother and eldest step-sister off to work as workers in a convent.
The low angle displays her superiority and courage, and the close-up portrays her fearful facial expression for the welfare of Prince Henry and her instinct to defend him. This further reinforces the inverted gender roles embodied throughout the story and feminist empowerment, where the woman’s role as the saviour is ignited. A close-up shot followed by a tracking shot depicts Danielle’s counterattack one on the gypsies, displaying heroic behaviour typically portrayed as a male dominant trait, hence reiterating the subverted gender roles as Danielle succeeds the role as the main fighter in the scene. Such behaviours by Cinderella in the original fairy-tale were inexistent; instead she abstained from any form of vengeful behaviour. This was in order to maintain her submissive identity as the behaved and dutiful daughter, and proceeded to abide to the marginalising notions of the Patriarchy. When the battles ends at the conclusion of the scene, one of the gypsies informs Danielle that “(She) can take whatever (she) can carry” upon their departure. She follows their instructions, lifts Prince Henry and departs; which is a comedic scene depicted by a medium
In the article, “Fairy Tales and a Dose of Reality,” Catherine Orenstein attempts to show the contrast between the modern romanticism of marriage and the classic fairy tale’s presentation of them (285). She looks at the aristocratic motivations for marriage and the way these motivations are prominent in Cinderella. She then looks at the 20th century to highlight the innate difference of our mentalities, showing a much more optimistic and glorified relationship. In the article, “Cinderella: Not So Morally Superior,” Elisabeth Panttaja claims that Cinderella’s success can be attributed to her craftiness (288). She shows her and her mother as an equal to the stepfamily, analyzing each family’s goals and values. She attempts to show their similarities,
Cinderella is a childhood fairytale created through Disney that highlights fairy godmother magic, animated nature with talking animals, and happily ever after ending. While the latent meaning we grow
It all begins with “Once upon a time” and ends with “and they lived happily ever after”. “Cinderella” is a very widely known story that many children around the world look up to and admire through their entire life. The history of this story, how scholars interpret this tale, and how the authors have retold the story are all key points to keeping this story fresh and popular. Most of the time when people hear the story of “Cinderella”, they think about the Disney version and maybe it is time that changes. All in all, the story brings light to everyone’s life even if they only know the original “Cinderella”.
A young girl is forced to live with her step-mother and step-sisters after her father and mother die. She becomes the maid of the family, tending to their every need. Eventually there is a ball; she acquires a fairy Godmother, goes to the ball, falls in love with the prince, blah blah blah. All you really need to know is that she has a happy ending. A happy ending. No matter how much suffering she went through in her early years, at the end, it all came together and she had no more worries. And this is the problem. Cinderella is not realistic. It never was and never will be. Watching this movie when I was young made me believe there was a prince waiting for me somewhere. I grew up thinking that life was simple and uncomplicated, that I did not need to worry about the future because there was a man that would provide everything I wanted and needed. But as I got older, I realized this was not the case. I saw many of my friend’s parents divorce, people die, and the world fight with each other. My fantasy died off, and I realized I had to work hard for myself, and not others. The poem Cinderella by Anne Sexton made fun of the ending of Cinderella. She states, “Cinderella and the prince / lived … happily ever after … / their darling smiles pasted on for eternity. / Regular Bobbsey Twins. / That story.” (Sexton 11). Notice who she referenced and how she has a sarcastic tone. Cinderella and the prince smiled for others, trying to convince
Walking up dilapidated stairs, my friend and I enter into the chapter room of Beta Sigma Psi, where the Little Sisters of the Gold Rose meets every week. The fraternity house smells of stale beer and sweat, and has clear signs of past parties and shenanigans. However, we have officially become activated members of the service sorority and were attending our first chapter meeting with the entire sorority. In that chapter room we discussed future service events, volunteering opportunities, and then went around the room for anyone to share news and announcements with the group. It was at this moment that I felt like a true active member in LSGR, when everyone was interested in hearing about each other’s lives and wellbeing. While as a rushing
...hough she was brutally mistreated, Cinderella was able to find a solution for her problems and children can to. All they have to do is make the effort, try hard enough and success is possible. Adults should pay attention to this and see if Cinderella can help their children keep a positive attitude toward whatever situation they may be in - exaggerated as it may be. Cinderella doesn't only help show one how to overcome adversity it points out good morals, and sends the message that good always prevails. Both of these messages are crucial in a society that is slowly crumbling. All we can do is watch and hope the messages learned from Cinderella make a difference in the lives of Children all around the world.
Everyone knows and loves the enchanting childhood fairytales of magic, princes, and princesses, but very seldom are privy to the detrimental impacts of “happily ever after” on the developing youth. Fairy tales are widely studied and criticized by parents and scholars alike for their underlying tone and message to children. Peggy Orenstein, feminist author, mother, and fairy tale critic, has made it her personal mission to bring these hidden messages to the surface. In the article, “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” Orenstein dissects the seemingly innocent tale of love and magic, and the princess many know and love, and points out its flaws and dangers. Fairy tales, Cinderella in particular, are not suitable for children because upon deeper evaluation,
of the Cinderella story are psychologically harmful to women.” (p648). The fact that Cinderella is a limited character may give the girl an impression that she should be happy with what she has and not have any or aspirations in her life. That is, until her Prince comes to rescue her. Since these comments were made, the Cinderella story has been modified and changed. In order to see how gender roles have changed in fairy tales from the old to the new, let’s compare the classic version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault to a recent version which is a movie that was released in 1998 called “Ever After”which was directed by Andy Tennant.
In “Cinderella” by the Grimm Brothers, the moral is that one should never lie or be wicked to others. In the story, Cinderella’s mother passed away and a year later her father gets remarried to an evil woman who has two daughters. The wife and daughters torment Cinderella, making her complete tedious chores. Eventually, Cinderella attends a ball for the Prince and they fall in love. However, she runs away every night and he cannot find her. The Prince finally takes one of her slippers and sets out to find the love of his life. He then goes to her household and asks all the sisters to try the slipper on. The stepsisters try to deceive the Prince but “the blood was streaming from” their feet and they are eventually caught. When Cinderella tries on the shoe it fits perfectly and the two get married. At the reception, two birds peck out the stepsisters’ eyes, punishing them “with blindness as long as they lived.” The archetypes in the story are Cinderella who is the damsel in distress, the Prince who saves her and the evil stepsisters and mother who are the villains. A convention is that true love always...
If Cinderella were to act like the perfect housewife, she’ll have a chance at being royalty. Her mother, although dead, strives to do anything she can for Cinderella to win the battle. As Panttaja mentions, “ Cinderella’s triumph at the ball has less to do with her innate goodness and more to do with her loyalty to the dead mother and a string of subversive acts: she disobeys the stepmother, enlists forbidden helpers, uses magic powers, lies, hides, dissembles, disguises herself, and evades pursuit.” This is surely not being good or pious. In the end, Cinderella’s mother has formed Cinderella into a bad person just to marry the prince. The prince claims to not want to marry someone he does not love, but was it truly love between him and Cinderella? The prince is “enchanted by the sight of her in her magical clothes”(Panttaja 288), but who provided that clothing is her mother; once again. Possibly using magic to create fake love is a severe invasion of not only privacy but also character. Panttaja mentions that her mother's magic brings the desired outcome, which is obviously true; but it may have also been possible that the prince was under her spell of some sorts. The prince had a very obsessive behavior towards tracking down his bride, and in Grimms’ version, the prince is found repeating, “she’s my partner”, three times. This shows with further evidence that magic, not love, is at work
Throughout history, fairy tales have grown to captivate the hearts and minds of many. A Cinderella Story is set firmly in reality and in the present day; in fact, it's every bit a fantasy as the original story. This film refrains from any allusions to magic, but instead lets serendipitous occurrences provide the engine on which this fairy tale creates its plot. The impression A Cinderella Story is in place of a well-thought out story and characters that anyone could relate to or believe. Although the target audience of the film are teens, females, and romantics, A Cinderella Story can be praised and savored by all audiences because of its ingenious screenplay, acting, and melodic soundtrack.
The classic tale of Cinderella is well known for the fight of overcoming great obstacles despite great odds. However, there are always a few ill-hearted people who go out of their way to cease any competition that they might face, as seen with Cinderella’s step-sisters. Samuel Jackson says is his distinguished quote, “The hunger of imagination…lures us to…the phantoms of hope,” to help develop a more defined view of a fairytale. The story of Cinderella fully embodies the ideals of a true fairytale by encompassing magic, hope, and struggle between good and evil throughout the duration of the plot.
In today 's society, it is normal for young children to believe in fairytales. These fairytales are normally seen throughout books and movies but also through parents reading them as bedtime stories. These tales in our society have unrecognized hidden guidelines for ethics and behaviors that we provide for children. One such children 's story is Disney’s Cinderella, this film seems to be a simple tale of a young woman whose wishes work out as to be expected. This tale reflects the expectations of women 's actions and beliefs of a proper women.
Cinderella’s mother passed away and her father remarried a woman who had two daughters from a previous marriage. A few weeks passed and a prince is holding a three day festival and all the beautiful young girls in the town were invited. Cinderella wanted to go but her evil stepmother gave her two impossible tasks to complete before she could attend the festival. Cinderella completes the two tasks with the help of her bird friends and her mother’s grave. Cinderella goes to the festival and she dances with the prince all three days. Finally, the prince has fallen in love with her and eventually they get married. Fairytales and Disney productions threaten gender politics and women’s role by portraying women in certain areas like domestic behaviors