Cinderella
Perrault's "Cinderella" and the American Dream
The Cinderella story has existed since the age of antiquity and has been told in many different cultures in as many different fashions. Yet, in America, one version stands out above the rest. Charles Perrault's version, popularized by Disney in 1950, became the standard, sentimental (Disneyfied) "some day my Prince will come" spawning fairy tale that became the classic progenitor of other animated features like Sleeping Beauty. While Walt Disney's animated feature helped cement Perrault's "Cinderella" in the minds of generations of Americans, the Cinderella fantasy had actually been produced in film around the world several times since the beginning of the twentieth century. Each was unique, yet, it is Perrault's that continues to perpetuate the kind of idealized dream-come-true fantasy that fits so well in the idealized world of Americana. This paper will show how of all the various Cinderella stories that have been published around the world, Charles Perrault's stands out as one of the most popular among Americans. By examining its language and context, the storyline and its relation to the "American Dream," and comparing it to other popular versions, this paper will detail why Perrault's "Cinderella" has proven so popular.
The Story, Language, and Context
Charles Perrault's "Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is actually of French origin. Its story is quite similar to the Italian and German versions, yet the language and context of the English translation has made it particularly endearing to Americans.
The story itself is divorced from the gruesome twists of the standard European (Grimm) tale. The grotesque is replaced by "sweetness" and moralizing -- a popular ploy of American literature. Rather than an ending that sees the stepsisters hack off their toes to make their feet fit in the shoe, Perrault gives a much cleaner version -- even making the shoe a slipper made of glass: it is dainty, sophisticated, and relatively painless (and free of violence). The two morals at the end of the tale reinforce the overall idea that good always triumphs over evil, is always sweet and pretty, and never suffers the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" for very long -- but is rewarded with glory and riches.
Likewise, the language is sharp, simplistic, and panders to a kind of simplistic, Puritanical worldview popular in America, where the line that separates good and evil is clearly defined, and Cinderella is defined by superlatives:
Once there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband, two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. He had likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world.
Cinderella not only proves to be the most beautiful girl at the ball, but also proves her moral character by returning good for evil. She embraces her wicked stepsisters, pardons their faults and sins against her, and even matches them with "two great lords" that same day. There is in Perrault's "Cinderella" none of the horror that awaits the wicked.
The context of the story is also unique: says Jen Waters, "Because Perrault's book Tales of Mother Goose, which contains "Cinderella, or the Glass Slipper," was translated into English before other versions, this is the telling that was destined to be assimilated into American culture."
Perrault's version differs from the later Grimm telling: rather than a tree that grants Cinderella her wishes (as in the Grimm fairy tale), it is Cinderella's fairy godmother. The French Cinderella is also more enlightened, cultured, virtuous, gracious, comely, elegant, and all around praiseworthy than her other European counterparts. She is the product of French aristocracy -- a creature of seventeenth century good breeding (despite the fact that she must dwell in the ashes of the cellar, from which she gets her name). There is nothing rude, pompous, or uncivil about her -- and her enchantments are of a far more personal note. It is not the tree (or the tree of life, an ancient Christian/Germanic symbol like the Jesse tree -- from which the Gift of gifts, Christ, descended), but a fairy godmother that bestows on Cinderella the magic coach and gown and slippers that allows Cinderella to win the Prince. All of these distinguishing features make Perrault's "Cinderella" a singular work.
American Culture, the American Dream, and the Storyline of "Cinderella"
By the time Perrault had written...
Cinderella / Transformation Stories Variants on the "Cinderella" Story The Cinderella story is one that is much loved throughout the world; more than seven hundred versions exist. Many of these versions have been told for centuries. The story has universal appeal because of specific elements that are part of human nature. It is a story in which good triumphs over evil. It is a story that shows that dreams really can come
Media presentations of justified violencemay also change the belief that violent behavior is wrong, encouraging the development of pro-violence attitudes. […] Violence is acceptable because it is not real, therefore "victims" do not really suffer (Funk et al. 26). Given this serious -- and well-documented -- consequence of even imaginary violence, writers and readers of fairy tales should exercise care that their depictions of violence are truly relevant to the
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