Comparing Cinderella And The Grimm Brothers

Cinderella, a popular, worldwide, fairytale, which came to life through the works of Walt Disney, was not always as pleasant as it seemed. The original story of Cinderella came from The Grimm Brothers, in which the main ideas were the same, but the details were less magical and much more gruesome. Another part of the stories that were very similar was Cinderella’s overall personality, but it was showcased in each story in different ways. Cinderella’s personality may be considered one of the most influential and memorable parts of both stories. Her personality has set a standard for women all over the world. The portrayal of Cinderella in both The Grimm Brothers version and the Disney version have had a large impact on how society views women. In psychology there are many different approaches to determine someone’s personality. These approaches include the trait approach, the biological approach, psychoanalytic approach, phenomenological approach, and the learning and cognitive approach. According to Funder (2016), “The trait approach to personality begins by assuming that individuals differ in their characteristic patterns

Since, Cinderella is considered to be in the stage of adolescence, she has already gone through five of Erikson’s stages of development. In the Grimm Brothers version, we can see that Cinderella developed trust from her mother when she was this age because she felt safe being around her. In Disney’s version of the story, Cinderella’s mother is not mentioned, so her relationship with her mother cannot be identified. Erikson’s second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which is developed in early childhood. In both versions of the story, it seems like Cinderella developed shame and doubt because she did not develop self confidence. This is shown in her interactions with her stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella did not have the confidence to stick up for