Cinderella

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Cinderella is a popular fairy tale; embodying a classic folk tale myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward, which received literally hundreds of tellings before modern times. The earliest version of the story originated in China around AD 860. It appeared in The Miscellaneous Record of You Yang (酉阳杂俎) by Tuan Ch'eng-Shih, a book which dates from the Tang Dynasty. The best-known version was written by the French author, Charles Perrault in 1697, based on a common folk tale earlier recorded by Giambattista Basile as La Gatta Cennerentola in 1634, but the animated film from Walt Disney Productions, (see Cinderella (1950 film)) has become the standard contemporary version.

1 Plot
2 Discussion
3 Vehicles
4 External links

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Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Image:Cinderella.png

The familiar plot revolves around a girl deprived of her rightful station in the family and given the cruel nickname "Cinderella" by her wicked stepmother and step-sisters. Forced into a life of domestic servitude, whence the nickname, as she was forced to tend the fireplace, Cinderella accepts the help of her attendant spirit ("fairy godmother") who transforms her to attend a royal ball and attract the attention of the handsome prince. In some versions of the tale, there are three balls, though most tellings mention only one.

Unfortunately, the magic comes to an end at the first stroke of midnight. In the three-ball version, Cinderella keeps a close watch on the time the first two nights and is able to leave without difficulty. However, on the third (or only) night, she loses track of the time and must flee the castle before her disguise vanishes. In her haste, she loses a glass slipper which the prince finds. He declares that he will marry only the girl whose petite foot fits into the slipper.

Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters (in some versions just the stepsisters) conspire to win the prince's hand for one of them. In the German telling of the story, the first stepsister fits into the slipper by cutting off a toe, but a magical bird tells the prince to notice the blood dripping from the slipper, and he returns the false bride to her mother. The second stepsister fits into the slipper by cutting off her heel, but the same bird gives her away. In all variants, Cinderella arrives and proves her identity by fitting into the slipper (in some cases she has kept the other, as in the Disney retelling). The evil stepsisters are sometimes punished for their deception by having their eyes pecked out by crows, or in other cases forgiven.

It is also worthy of noting that in some versions of the story there is no fairy godmother; rather Cinderella's dress and shoes come from a tree that grows over her mother's grave. Thus her mother (sometimes represented as a bird) is the supernatural force who assists the girl to find her prince. The midnight curfew is also absent in many versions; Cinderella leaves the ball to get home before her stepmother and stepsisters, or she is simply tired.

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Discussion

The glass slipper is unique to Perrault's version; in other versions of the tale it may be made of other materials (in the version recorded by the Brothers Grimm, German: Aschenbroedel and Aschenputtel, for instance, it is gold) and in still other tellings, it is not a slipper but a ring or a bracelet that gives the prince the key to Cinderella's identity. Interpreters unaware of the value attached to glass in 17th century France and perhaps troubled by sartorial impracticalities, have suggested that Perrault's "glass slipper" (pantoufle de verre) had been a "fur slipper" (pantoufle de vair) in some unidentified earlier version of the tale, and that Perrault or one of his sources confused the words; however, most scholars believe the glass slipper was a deliberate piece of poetic invention on Perrault's part.

The original Chinese version of the story emphasized that Cinderella (or Yeh-Shen as she was called) had the smallest feet in the land. Small feet were an important aspect of beauty in Chinese culture, leading to practices such as foot binding. The translation of the story into cultures with different standards of beauty has left the significance of Cinderella's shoe size unclear, and resulted in the implausibility of Cinderella's feet being of a unique size for no particular reason. Humorous retellings of the story sometimes use the twist of having the shoes turn out to also fit somebody completely unsuitable, such as an amorous old crone.

The idea that "Cinderella" embodies myth elements was explored in The Uses of Enchantment (1989) by Bruno Bettelheim, who made many connections to the principles of Freudian psychology. In more recent times, as Freud's concepts have found more support as myth and poetry than as neurological science, it has seemed to mythographers less useful to explain one myth in terms of another myth. Instead, cultural elements ("memes" to some writers) may be disentangled from the Cinderella tale. Each social group, in re-telling "Cinderella," has emphasized or suppressed individual elements and has given them interpretations that are especially relevant within each society. Mythographers return to Cinderella for hints of the social ethos embodied in it, and the familiar story proves to be a useful case example for young students beginning to understand how myth works. Thus serious uses come from what appears on the surface to be a trivial wish-fulfilment narrative.

Refactoring continues. An example of the "uses of Cinderella" is presented by Shirley Climo, The Egyptian Cinderella (1989), aimed at young children: "Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl living in Egypt, is teased by the servants about her coloring. Eventually, one of her rosy-gold slippers is carried to the pharaoh's court. He searches for, and finds, the girl. Based partly on fact (a slave named Rhodopis did marry Pharaoh Amasis) and partly on folk legends, this story is remarkable for its details of life in ancient Egypt and for the Egyptian-style illustrations". As a document, this reveals some contemporary American approaches to historicism, cultural multiplicity, racism, and educating for a spirit of tolerance. The anachronism of a supposed skin-color sensitivity in Egypt itself is revealing.

Earlier, less self-consciously instructive Cinderellas have more revealing mythic content.

The term Cinderella has evolved from its storybook beginnings to become the name for a variety of female personalities. Some girls are described as a Cinderella if they are meek and immediately submissive to stern orders. Others are called Cinderella if they tend to quietly complain. For example, a girl from a wealthy household who has been ordered to wash the dishes as a fulfilment of her once a month chores would be deemed a Cinderella; a fallen princess who has finally met with tough reality.

Cinderella, along with the more general "princess," are shorthand for a particular approach to weddings and Western wedding attire, especially the white dress. A bride with the Cinderella mindset believes that the dress and the occasion exist in order that she may be transformed for the day into a beautiful princess. Detractors of such princess brides argue that the wedding is not solely about the bride; nevertheless, many wedding gown retailers appeal, directly or indirectly, to the Cinderella ideal.

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Vehicles

The story of "Cinderella" has formed the basis of many works:

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Opera

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Ballet

Aschenbroedel by Johann Strauss II
Cinderella (music by Sergei Prokofiev)

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Pantomime

The subject of Cinderella is very common for British and Australian pantomimes. In the pantomime form Cinderella's father (Baron Hardup) is under the thumb of the stepmother. There are added characters such as Buttons (Baron Hardup's servant, and Cinderella's friend) and Dandini (the Prince's right-hand man, the character and even his name coming from Rossini's opera). The fairy Godmother must magically create a coach (from a pumpkin), footmen (from mice) and a beautiful dress for Cinderella in order for her to go to the ball. Her traditional line "Cinderella, you shall go to the ball!" has passed into common usage from gay culture where the meme of the "glamorous transformation" is a source of fascination and humor.

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Musical Comedy

Cinderella by Rodgers and Hammerstein, which was produced for television three times:
- Cinderella (1957) featuring Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley and Edith Adams.
- Cinderella (1965) featuring Lesley Ann Warren, Stuart Damon, Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, and Celeste Holm, considered by Amazon.com to be the best TV version
- Cinderella (1997) featuring Brandy, Paolo Montalban, Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, and Jason Alexander, considered by Amazon.com to be weak despite its diverse cast
In 2005 the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical was adapted for the stage, also starring Paolo Montalban and with an ethnically diverse cast.
Mister Cinders, which was filmed in 1934
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (Cinderella is only a small part of this plot).

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Film

Cinderella, the 1899 first ever film version produced in France by Georges Méliès.
Cinderella, 1911 silent film, starring Florence La Badie.
Cinderella, an animated Laugh-O-Gram produced by Walt Disney, first released on December 6, 1922. This film was about 7 minutes long.
Cinderella (Зо́лушка), Russian musical film of 1947, 84 min, by Lenfilm studios.
The Slipper and the Rose, a 1976 British musical film starring Gemma Craven and Richard Chamberlain.
Cinderella, an animated feature released on February 14, 1950, now considered one of Disney's "classics". A direct-to-video sequel, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, was released in 2002. A Cinderella III is set to be released in 2006.
The Glass Slipper, 1955, with Leslie Caron and Michael Wilding.
Cinderella, 1957 with Julie Andrews
Cinderfella, 1960, notorious because the main character is a man, played by Jerry Lewis.
Cindy, made for television, 1978
Cinderella, 1997 with Brandy and Whitney Houston
Ever After, 1998, starring Drew Barrymore.
Cinderella, a 2000 British production set in mid-20th century and starring Kathleen Turner.
A Cinderella Story, released July 16, 2004, is a modernization of the classic fairy tale featuring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray.
Cinderelmo, a Cinderella story featuring Sesame Street's Elmo and Keri Russell.
Tři oříšky pro Popelku (Three Nuts for Cinderella), Czech movie 1973
Ella Enchanted, starring Minnie Driver and Anne Hathaway (2004)