Anne Sexton Cinderella

1076 Words3 Pages

In the poem “Cinderella”, Anne Sexton illustrates the unrealistic expectations that fairy tales put into the minds of young women. The story of “Cinderella” has many versions in both print and film. Millions of dollars are generated annually with romance novels and romantic comedies commonly dubbed chick flicks. All versions share a similar story, a young lady meets a man and her life is then happy, fruitful, carefree and complete. These images are nothing more than fairy tales but they set expectations on young women that are unattainable. The poem was written in 1971, there was a growing awareness of women’s liberation and feminism at the time but, sadly, in 2016, I feel that the majority of women are still aiming for the fairy tale …show more content…

This reincarnation of Cinderella’s mother forces blindness upon the stepsisters, a punishment to them for their ill will towards Cinderella. (McGowan 325) There are people in this world who truly do not like to see others happy, they do not like to see them succeed in life, these kinds of people exist in everyone’s life. Cinderella’s story is yet again giving a misleading message to young women that once you are married, negativity will no longer follow you, life will be happy and without enemies. The story has the usual happily-ever-after ending. This happily ever after is the dream that some women chase their entire lives, the idea that once they find a man they will be complete. The ending further emphasizes the unrealistic ideas young women may have about marriage, Cinderella and the prince are not subject to diaper changes, house cleaning or arguments, the tedious parts of marriage do not exist for them. (Aguero 3) “Clearly such a happy ending is achieved only by keeping the couple frozen in time.” (Keely 72) Sexton ends the poem with “That story” as she did at the beginning of the poem showing her contempt for the message the story of Cinderella sends to young

Gender Conflicts In The Girl With Bangs By Zadie Smith
956 Words | 2 Pages
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
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Cinderella The Legend By Hurston
421 Words | 1 Pages
This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are
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Compare And Contrast Anne Sexton And The Brothers Grimm's Cinderella
1358 Words | 3 Pages
As the world has transformed and progressed throughout history, so have its stories and legends, namely the infamous tale of Cinderella. With countless versions and adaptations, numerous authors from around the world have written this beauty’s tale with their own twists and additions to it. And while many may have a unique or interesting way of telling her story, Anne Sexton and The Brother’s Grimm’s Cinderellas show the effects cultures from different time periods can have on a timeless tale, effects such as changing the story’s moral. While Sexton chooses to keep some elements of her version, such as the story, the same as the Brothers Grimm version, she changes the format and context, and adds her own commentary to transform the story’s
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Literary Analysis Of Anne Sexton's 'Cinderella'
1211 Words | 3 Pages
Sarcasm, mockery and satire are common themes used throughout “Cinderella”. The reader asks: Why does the author use this style of writing? How do these literary elements enhance the author’s overall theme and tone? Sexton’s use of multiple literary devices demonstrates her beliefs about fairy tales and enables the reader to clearly see the absurdity of such tales. She does not try to make the reader decipher what she wants them to take from the story, she lays it out directly. By the author using her own hyperboles and satire, the reader is able to see the impracticalities of the original story in a different way. The comical remarks made by Sexton such as: “That is the way with amputations. / They don’t just heal up like a wish”, add humor and light-heartedness to the
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Anne Sexton's Retelling of Cinderella
1004 Words | 3 Pages
Michelangelo, perhaps the most gifted sculptor and painter of all times, once said that "geniuses stand on the shoulders of other geniuses." As Michelangelo built upon the brilliance of his predecessors, Anne Sexton does the same with her poem "Cinderella". Fairy tales originated as oral traditions and were passed along and sculpted by thousands of story tellers. Each raconteur changes elements in the story to fit their individual needs. Sexton reinvents "Cinderella" as a poem and integrates the story with her own opinion and commentary. Sexton's version of this classic story contrasts the rosy images of human happiness conjured by fantasy with the banality, decay, and despair of everyday life. She conveys this message with a sadistic tone and modern language, while drawing upon her own hardships and American culture.
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Anne Sexton: Cinderella
1183 Words | 3 Pages
As the poem begins, Sexton starts with how the Prince and Cinderella are living happily ever after, but compromising the original naïve direction, she gives the poem a modern context bringing the reader back to reality. While it is obvious to the audience the discrepancies in Sexton’s version, it brings out many jealousies many of us struggle with, such as wealth and everlasting happiness. Sexton makes her audience notice early on many of the pre-conceived notions and expectations we bring to fairy tales. Sexton knows that real life gives no reason to be perceived as happiness, because why learn something that will never amount to use in reality? This tale is Sexton’s answer to her audiences of the “happ...
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Anne Sexton
1279 Words | 3 Pages
The third decade of the twentieth century brought on more explicit writers than ever before, but none were as expressive as Anne Sexton. Her style of writing, her works, the image that she created, and the crazy life that she led are all prime examples of this. Known as one of the most “confessional” poets of her time, Anne Sexton was also one of the most criticized. She was known to use images of incest, adultery, and madness to reveal the depths of her deeply troubled life, which often brought on much controversy. Despite this, Anne went on to win many awards and go down as one of the best poets of all time.
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A Two Tale Comparison
1449 Words | 3 Pages
In present day society, where political correctness and equality are at the top of the priority list, by reading essays such as the one by Karol Kelley we find that this might not have been the case in earlier days. Fairy tales such as Cinderella have been found guilty of possessing subliminal socialization traits. Classifying genders as inferior and molding young girls into the female that society expects them to be. In Charles Perrault’s version, which is considered the most common, Cinderella is seen as passive, limited, dependent and inferior. As critics argue, these traits can hinder a child’s self esteem. Karol Kelley states that the “expectations and the promises
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Princess or Peasant?
820 Words | 2 Pages
Cinderella should not have a happily ever after is because she is a passive person and doesn't stand up for herself. Cinderella is possibly eighteen or older and she still continues to get bossed around by her stepmother and stepsisters when we both know she can easily move out and start a new life. She is shown as passive person every single time her family bosses her around to do something and does what they say. Cinderella is considered the maid of the house but has just as many rights as every person living there, if not more! Cinderella could say "no, I will not cook you breakfast. No, I will not make your bed. No, I will not wash and fold your clothes or clean the floors. I am not a maid I am your equal, stop pushing me around." Instead she listens to her stepmother and stepsisters. Another time Cinderella shows she is passive is when she gets ready for the ball and her stepmother says "no, you can not go. Are you crazy?" She could of stood up for herself and been like "look, I am eighteen I am going to that ball." Instead she is just a coward and lets them beat her up. Someon...
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Feminism and Fairy Tales
1259 Words | 3 Pages
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
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Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Critics
1097 Words | 3 Pages
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
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The Many Versions of Cinderella
928 Words | 2 Pages
Each person in the world has heard of Cinderella, no matter what kind of version it may be. Cinderella is the one fairy tale story that has been popular and will always be the one tale that has to be told to children. Words and story lines might be twist and turn, but in the end the knowledge of the story will be learned in similar ways. As we all know when one story is told another is created, when one is at its best then another is at its worse. One version will always be better than another, but no matter what version it might be the story will be told.
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Cinderella Syndrome
727 Words | 2 Pages
How did we get here? In 1697, French writer Charles Perrault updated an age-old fairy tale about a young woman named Cinderella to appeal to his contemporaries, French nobility and bourgeoisie. So many of the early versions of the tale boasted a very resourceful young woman who played an active role in her destiny. Perrault, however wrote his Cinderella as a well-mannered, docile, selfless women who would fit seamlessly with the ideal 17th century upper-class society. Historically, fairy tales have reflected the values of society in which they were written or revised mirroring its preoccupations, obsessions, ambitions, and shortcomings. What do these updates say about our culture’s view of women and marriage?
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Cinderella Literary Analysis
712 Words | 2 Pages
The story teaches us that society expects women to be passive. Cinderella’s abuse by her stepsisters and stepmother cause her to live in grief silently without expressing her emotions. She does nothing to fight for her freedom except sing about all the dreams of happiness that she hopes will come true someday. She only wishes for things to change rather than attempt to do anything to change it for herself. Cinderella waits to be rescued by Prince Charming instead of fighting for her own freedom. This teaches women that they should suffer in silence without doing anything for themselves.
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Cinderella Character Analysis
1002 Words | 3 Pages
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
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Anne Sexton Cinderella

Gender Conflicts In The Girl With Bangs By Zadie Smith

Cinderella The Legend By Hurston

Compare And Contrast Anne Sexton And The Brothers Grimm's Cinderella

Literary Analysis Of Anne Sexton's 'Cinderella'

Anne Sexton's Retelling of Cinderella