Excerpt from Dissertation:
Cinderella / Change Stories
Variants on the “Cinderella” Story
The Cinderella account is one that is much liked throughout the world; much more than seven hundred variations exist. Several of these versions have already been told for centuries. The story features universal charm because of specific elements which can be part of being human. It is a story in which good triumphs more than evil. It is a story that shows that dreams really can become a reality. Those are ideas that transcend decades and cultures. Almost anyone can see right now himself (or herself) in circumstances including Cinderella’s: a good person, aiming to do the right thing, thwarted by a great enemy that is jealous and mean-spirited. The favorable person sooner or later triumphs and gets her reward, as the evil-doers also get what they ought to have. “Something regarding the Cinderella story when calculated resonates with its audience” (EDSITEment n. p. ) Few people get the kind of vindication in real life that Cinderella does, therefore it is no wonder it is a persistent fantasy.
In addition to the man elements in the story, there is magic. Children like to rely on the power of a fairy godmother and adults just wish such a thing persisted. It is difficult to assume a Cinderella without castles, coaches or ball robes, but that is precisely why learners study the variations in the story throughout global nationalities. Students “explore how the environment of a story – period, place, and culture – affects the characters and plot” (Butterfield n. s. ). College students often take delight in contrasting and different the details of various versions with the story.
Us citizens are perhaps most familiar with the Disney version from the tale, which can be sweet and magical. A few comic alleviation is furnished by the rats, who work busily within the direction of the fairy godmother to help make Cinderella’s dream come true. Disney’s Cinderella signifies the post-WWII ideal of an American young lady – and although the animation was given a ecu setting, Cinderella was created to appeal to American audiences with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and sweet gentleness.
The French variation of the Cinderella story, awarded to Charles Perrault, commences with familiar characters and ideas. Motherless Cinderella is definitely subjected to tough words and overwork when her father is remarried to a haughty woman with two terrible daughters. Cinderella is as wonderful and kind because they are mean. Cinderella helps these people get ready for the ball and weeps with pity when they have gone. Her fairy godmother finds her and enables her to go to the ball, wherever everyone detects Cinderella enchanting. Unlike the Disney story, however , Perrault’s Cinderella leaves the ball under her own power. At the end with the story, the moment all is usually revealed, Cinderella forgives the two wicked stepsisters and requests them to live with her.
Different versions from the Cinderella story might seem shocking to enthusiasts of the Disney tale. The Brothers’ Grimm “Ashputtle, inch for example , can be described as darker type of the familiar tale. Ashputtle mourns the loss of her mother and crops a woods branch in her honor, watering it with her tears. A bird makes its residence in the woods and it is the bird, rather than fairy godmother, that makes the magic happen for Cinderella. This second version is a gruesome one and not recommended for young children. Once one stepsister cannot obtain her foot in the boot to show her identity as the girl sought by prince, she cuts off her toe. At the conclusion of the tale, a dove pecks your eyes with the wicked stepsisters as treatment. There is no forgiveness in the Grimm version.
Another variant is “Yeh-Hsien, ” a China Cinderella. The chores assigned by her wicked stepmother reflect country life; she is asked to collect firewood in dangerous places and
