Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine. In Perrault’s version Cinderella is all the qualities a woman of good standing …show more content…
In Villandon’s version Finetta, called such because of her genius, was skilled in singing, dancing, and playing music as well as embodying great judgement, presence of mind, and courage. Finetta had saved her kingdom by discovering a trap within a treaty her father was going to sign and helped him edit the treaty in their favor. A discovery no man on either side had found. She again showed her independence by protecting herself with a great hammer against Rich-Craft, rather than having a man defend her. L’heritier in this instance showed that woman can still retain their femininity while also exemplifying masculinity. Illustrated by, “and, though her eyes sparkled with rage, she appeared to Rich-Craft a most enchanting beauty.” In a way Villandon portrays her idea of good versus evil by rewarding those who exemplified good traits, such as Finetta and her husband Bel-a-voir, while punishing those who exemplified bad traits, such as Rich-Craft and the sisters. For example, the sister’s embodied traits such as being a gossip, lazy, and thoughtless. Those traits put the rest of the castle in danger and as a result they were sent away by the king and they eventually died. Rich-Craft came to his end due to his malice and pride, if he hadn’t let these govern him …show more content…
Perrault’s was to be instructive to young girls on how to behave in French court and ultimately find a husband. Villandon’s on the other hand was to show young girls that they could be their own hero’s and compete in a man’s world while still retaining their femininity. Both of these authors were writing during a time when children went from being regarded as young adults to a being with a pure soul that needed to be saved and both authors had a different idea on what they needed to be saved
Society often views individuals that do not conform to its expectations as separate from the societal group. The Story of the Marquise-Marquis de Banneville, by Charles Perrault, François-Timoléon de Choisy, and Marie-Jeanne L’Héritier follows two main characters, one of which does not fully conform to binary gender presentation. The Girl with the Golden Eyes, authored by Honoré de Balzac, portrays an “oriental” woman as an object to be purchased and used. In Le Roman de Parthenay Ou Le Roman de Melusine, written by Coudrette, the heroine is a half human, half fairy who holds great power. In this paper, I argue that the majority of biologically female protagonists in these novels exist in-between the expectations society has for them, which
Condemning the so called “princess culture” seems to be a new trend in the 20th century; many people are convinced that society stereotypes children and forces them into being someone they are not. Besides gender specific toys and colors, especially fairytales are often criticized harshly. The author of the article “One Day my Prince will come”, Marcia K. Lieberman, claims that women in fairytales are portrayed as passive and weak and that this image influences the self-image of young children. However, I disagree with Lieberman’s opinion. Even though many fairytales glorify the image of a passive, obedient woman, there is always a moral to the story – and many other great fairytales have an independent and active heroine. Two great
In "Cinderella" by Charles Perrault, the story depicts an imaginative fairytale through the hardships of a mistreated daughter and the magic of a fairy; in essence, Cinderella demonstrates that focusing on materialism is more important and more effective other than working up the path to majesty. Cinderella is a character who is often mistreated by her stepmother and god sisters. Bearing unsuitable personalities, they treat her harshly, leaving all of the chores to her. However, she admits that her tattered clothes are not worthy of a formal event, and continues to be belittled by her stepsisters. Portrayed with low self-esteem and insecurity, she does not respond harshly to their cruel insults. As a result, the main character relies on romanticizing her dream of going to the ball with the help of magic by her fairy godmother.
Cinderella by Charles Perrault In our world, fairy tales have been around for many centuries, most of the times they are stories for children; however, an adult can feel identified with those fairy tales. In today’s century there are many versions of the old fairy tales that we all used to know. For some people, fairy tales are stories that show how reality works in the real world, one of the themes that is repeatedly used in fairy tales is the Good vs. Evil. The. Charles Perrault, best known for his work Contes de ma mama l’oye (Mother Goose Tales), which was a book full of popular fairy tales, one of the fairy tales that people can find in this book is Cinderella. Many people might say that Cinderella let her stepmother and her stepsisters treat her in a bad way; however, the real meaning of Cinderella is how the good triumphs over the evil.
Watching old shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show, it is obvious that our current ideas about gender roles has shifted away from the idyllic family of the husband working and the wife staying at home to look after all the domestic needs. This is mostly because of the economy which as forced many women, whether they want to be or not, to join the work force to keep food on the table and a roof over their families head. While women have embraced this change and used it to show that they can do the same jobs males can, it has been harder for men to accept that they are no longer the sole provider for a family anymore, as pointed out in the article Why We Need to Reimagine Masculinity. It has become a necessity for many people
3. Perrault, Charles. "Cinderella." From Fairy Tales. Penguin Books, 1957. Reprinted in Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. pp. 307-312. See citation 1.
Fairytales are as ancient as communal living. However, the symbolism of fairytales is very controversial. In the case of Cinderella, I believe that it symbolizes the role of women in society and the characteristics that women should have. In Bruno Bettelheim's article "'Cinderella:' A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts," he depicts the fairytale as a case of sibling rivalry. Feminist Madonna Kolbenschlag, says in her article "A Feminist View of `Cinderella,'" that the fairytale represents women's role in society. Karol Kelley's article "A Modern Cinderella," also claims that the fairytale describes the women's role in society and their characteristics. The topics discussed by the authors are the importance of Cinderella's gender, the meaning of Cinderella's work, the significance of the ashes, Cinderella's transcending her work on the helpful animals, the values of Cinderella that are rewarded, and the idea of goodness.
“Cinderella” is a story that has persisted through the trial of time and remains one of the most widely known fairy tales in the world. The folktale disregards age and manages to instill a sense of fantasy in all that consume it. While “Cinderella” might look simplistic at first glance, the story’s concepts and real life lessons are all but simple. These concepts and lessons can vary in the different versions of “Cinderella”, of which there are numerous. Despite the many variations, the stories of Cinderella have the overarching plot of her exceeding expectations and realizing her dreams, something that is all too relatable to mankind and our desires.
In most known fairy tales, the theme of good and evil is usually present. Many of these stories show heroic princesses, valiant knights, and kind fairy godmothers fighting characters like wicked witches, gruesome monsters or evil wizards. Some of the most classic tales show heroes and heroines fighting against all odds, but their choice to do good leads to triumph. Fairy tales like Grimm's "Snow White" and Perrault's "Cinderella" are some of the best examples of the theme of good vs. evil in fairytales. This essay will compare these two fairy tales and the struggles of good and evil in each. Both tales tell the story of daughters faced with the death of their mothers and must live with an evil stepmother. Both tales show Snow White and
This literary study will define the origins of the folk tale, Cinderella, in Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Originally, Cinderella is an ancient theme that can be found in ancient stories, such as, the Greek story of the courtesan Rhodopis. This tells the story of how Rhodopis lost her sandal and it was retrieved by a king, which culminated into a quest to find and, eventually, marry Rhodopis. This is not unlike the story told by Giambattista Basile in 1634 that tells the story of a Zezolla and the importance of “the slipper test” that the king gives to women to find her. Finally, Charles Perrault wrote the most important version of Cinderella in 1697 when he published “Cendrillon”, which served as the template for the Grimm’s version of 1812. In essence, these various versions of Cinderella define the origins of the story up until the publication
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
Fairy tale heroines are usually portrayed as weak and submissive characters. They are the damsel in distress, the girl who needs to be saved from the wicked stepmother or witch, and the beautiful daughter in need of a husband. This meek, submissive female character reached its peek in Charles Perrault’s Griselda. Griselda is consistently abused through the entire story by her controlling husband, but she takes the abuse without complaint or protest. Her total obedience to her husband is rewarded at the end when she is reunited with her daughter, restored to her position of power, and finally treated with respect by her husband. Although Perrault may have intended Griselda to be a parody, the Grimm Brothers stabilized this obedient, submissive character through stories like Cinderella. Although Cinderella disobeys her stepmother and seems to stand up for herself by attending the ball, she is actually being obedient to a higher moral authority instead of the human authority in the tale. These fairy tales teach readers that obedience is the most important trait a women can have, and even when a female character seems to stand up for herself, she is just being submissive to a higher authority.
One of the many examples of feminism throughout the novel is the way women are treated by men. The novel was written in the early nineteenth century when men played the leading role in society. All women were supposed to do was follow the instructions of men and do nothing le...
Perrault was born to an upper middle class family in Paris, France in 1628. He was a lawyer who wrote verses from the tales he heard. According to him, he did not record the tales as he was being told, rather, “adapted folk material to his own theories of juvenile letters” (Perrault 1977: 5). He wrote a version of Cinderella in 1697 from a moralist point of view, hence the opening,
Cinderella and Feminism written by Kheyfet is a criticism to traditional Cinderella’s story. It points out many thinking that I have never thought about. In Kheyfet’s opinion, Cinderella sets an improper model for little girls. It is a tool used by men to stipulate a female gender. Male chauvinism is hidden behind the story and is successfully impressed to little girl who can’t think critically. I agree with Kheyfet’s viewpoint. I would like to expand on 3 points that expressed me most. They are the early education to children, what characters woman could be, and woman’s wrong attitude to marriage.