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 true. Those are ideas that transcend generations and cultures. Almost anyone can imagine himself (or herself) in circumstances such as Cinderella's: a good person, trying to do the right thing, thwarted by an enemy who is jealous and mean-spirited. The good person eventually triumphs and gets her reward, while the evil-doers also get what they deserve. "Something about the Cinderella story resonates with its audience" (EDSITEment n.p.) Few people get the kind of vindication in real life that Cinderella does, so it is no wonder it is a persistent fantasy.

In addition to the human elements in the story, there is also magic. Children like to believe in the powers of a fairy godmother and adults only wish such a thing existed. It is difficult to imagine a Cinderella without castles, coaches or ball gowns, but that is precisely why students study the variations in the story across global cultures. Students "explore how the setting of a story -- time, place, and culture -- affects the characters and plot" (Butterfield n.p.). Students often take delight in comparing and contrasting the details of different versions of the story.

Americans are perhaps most familiar with the Disney version of the tale, which is sweet and magical. Some comic relief is provided by the mice, who work busily under the direction of the fairy godmother to help make Cinderella's dream come true. Disney's Cinderella represents the post-WWII ideal of an American...

Motherless Cinderella is subjected to harsh words and overwork when her father is remarried to a haughty woman with two horrible daughters. Cinderella is as lovely and kind as they are mean. Cinderella helps them get ready for the ball and weeps with pity after they have gone. Her fairy godmother finds her and enables her to go to the ball, where everyone finds Cinderella enchanting. Unlike the Disney tale, however, Perrault's Cinderella leaves the ball under her own powers. At the end of the story, when all is revealed, Cinderella forgives the two wicked stepsisters and asks them to live with her.
Other versions of the Cinderella tale might seem shocking to fans of the Disney tale. The Brothers' Grimm "Ashputtle," for example, is a darker version of the familiar tale. Ashputtle mourns the loss of her mother and plants a tree branch in her honor, watering it with her tears. A bird makes its home in the tree and it is the bird, rather than a fairy godmother, that makes the magic happen for Cinderella. This second variant is a gruesome one and not recommended for young children. When one stepsister cannot get her foot in the shoe to prove her identity as the girl sought by the prince, she cuts off her toe. At the end of the story, a dove pecks out the eyes of the wicked stepsisters as punishment. There is no forgiveness in the Grimm version.

A third variant is "Yeh-Hsien," a Chinese Cinderella. The chores assigned by her wicked stepmother reflect rural life; she is asked to gather firewood in dangerous places and draw water from deep pools. Instead of…