THE SLIPPER'S
SHADOW.

Tick. Tock. Ding. Ding. Ding, and the forgotten glass slipper was picked up by the son of the king. The story of Cinderella is one of love, luck, and kindness; however, hidden beneath this children’s fairytale are multiple sinister relationships built on deceit. These vile relationships were between Cinderella and her prince, as well as her stepsisters. This perpetuates a false narrative to the younger audience that relationships built on lies, distrust, and stereotypical gender roles have a chance at “happily ever after.”

The relationship between the prince and Cinderella started from the moment their eyes met. This meeting, however, was not a true portrayal of Cinderella, rather the ideal she aspired to achieve. Her new clothes were “...gold and silver, all beset with jewels” (Perrault, par. 26). She was also given the infamous glass slippers, which helped her reconnect with the prince after her deception. Beforehand, her clothes were “nasty rags” (Perrault, par. 25), but that was a representation of how she looked the rest of the year. Cinderella used her fairy godmother’s magic to deceive the prince by dressing up beautifully for the ball; while, of course, it is normal to look one’s best when attending a formal event, Cinderella attempted to hide her true self when the clock struck midnight:

“She thought that it was no later than eleven when she counted the clock striking twelve. She jumped up and fled, as nimble as a deer. … She reached home, but quite out of breath, and in her nasty old clothes, having nothing left of all her finery but one of the little slippers, the mate to the one that she had dropped” (Perrault, par. 40).

As soon as she realized that her beautiful clothing turned to tattered rags, Cinderella fled the scene, leaving her ideal life behind. She did not trust the prince to love her for herself. In reality, this robs the prince of the opportunity to get to know Cinderella. In the modern era, individuals meet for the first time on a date; while it is recommended to look your best, it is not advisable to portray what you are not. This illustrates to the children audience that it is alright to purposely mislead others for your benefit.

In fact, the relationship between the prince and Cinderella emphasizes differential gender roles. Karol Kelly’s analysis in “A Modern Cinderella” expresses the ideology that Cinderella is incapable, specifically because she is a woman. Her incapability stems from requiring the assistance of the prince (and arguably the fairy godmother) to save her from her wretched stepmother. This sense of powerlessness is easily picked up by younger audiences, which psychologists have classified as the Cinderella Complex: the ideal that women inherently require dependency from an internal, subconscious viewpoint (Kelley 2). Again, this is harmful towards the younger audience as they start to integrate these stereotypical differences of a distant past into the modern era. Especially from a feminist perspective, individuals (specifically women) should be able to have the opportunity to pursue their own identities, without the hindrance from stereotypical expectation. There should be an understanding that should stem from the acceptance that differences are present in both genders; however, the capabilities are only limited by one’s own willpower.

In addition to her deceitful relationship with the prince, Cinderella shared a spiteful relationship with her stepsisters since the beginning of the narrative. This relationship, while more apt to the truth of the characters’ social dynamics in the short story, is still malicious. In paragraph 39, “Cinderella, indeed, well expected such an answer, and was very glad of the refusal; for she would have sadly put to it, if her sister had lent her what she asked for jestingly” (Perrault). The fact that she [Cinderella] does not expect her sister to lend her a dress for a simple occasion of a ball shows how spiteful her stepsisters’ actions are towards her. This is a negative depiction of a sibling relationship, since Cinderella turns the other cheek and “[forgives] them with all her heart” (Perrault, par. 48). However, the relationship’s improvement was only after Cinderella’s stepsisters flattered her when they realized that she was marrying the prince. From the younger perspective, this may encourage those who are in similar situations as Cinderella to stay quiet in the face of bullies like her stepsisters with hope for a better outcome later in life, and potentially, vengeful retaliation.

The depiction of Cinderella’s beauty is relative to the stepsister’s beauty. In the fairytale, no one is prettier than Cinderella, even if the individual is dressed in riches.

The poor girl [Cinderella] bore it all patiently, and dared not tell her father, who would have scolded her; for his wife governed him entirely. When she had done her work, she used to go to the chimney corner, and sit down there in the cinders and ashes, which caused her to be called Cinderwench. Only the younger sister, who was not so rude and uncivil as the older one, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, notwithstanding her coarse apparel, was a hundred times more beautiful than her sisters, although they were always dressed very richly. (Perrault, par. 3)

The juxtaposition of this sense of beauty with the protagonist’s inability to decide her own fate, is the basis for Leslee Kuykendal’s “We Said Feminist Fairy Tales, Not Fractured Fairy Tales!”. Note that when the human woman is powerful, she is regarded as both hideous and evil (Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters); this excludes Cinderella’s fairy godmother because she is a higher-order being and not “truly human” (Kuykendal 39). However, Cinderella is beautiful; therefore, she is beautiful but powerless.

With this surface-level dichotomy in the representation of women with socializations originating from “parents, peers, school, literature, and media,” children will have a difficult time breaking out of these assumed “gender roles” (Kuykendal 38). Gender roles, especially when labeled onto children at an early age, result in a distorted view of our current shared societal beliefs. In fact, Keyola Welch-Rhoom’s analysis through “Feminist or Fractured Fairytales? Comparing Perrault’s Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper and Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess” stated that dominance is required over both warm-hearted and despicable women: the kind-hearted to be owned, while the evil to be punished. Opponents argue that these ideas were simply formulated based on a previous way of living; however, this leads to a false narrative on the incompetencies and potential victimization of a woman. Additionally, these ideals promote beauty as a competition; instead, in the contemporary perspective, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder: everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Despite these negative lessons, Cinderella’s tale also passes on many positive messages to children, including that love can triumph across socioeconomic status, and that showering people with kindness is effective, no matter how badly one is treated by others. The story does end happily: “[s]he was taken to the young prince, dressed as she was. He thought she was more charming than before, and, a few days later, married her. Cinderella, who was no less good than beautiful, gave her two sisters lodgings in the palace, and that very same day matched them with two great lords of the court” (Perrault, par. 49).

Nevertheless, these optimistic morals are inferior to the underlying cynical themes because eventually, these young readers will come to understand that these ideals are actually fleeting in reality: people will be less accepting of individuals who initially deceive them, and showing too much kindness (like Cinderella) can provide others with a loophole to take advantage of one’s noble character.

Bonnie Cullen states that illustrations influence fairytales by allowing for a newer, authentic perspective found within her analysis “For Whom the Shoe Fits: Cinderella in the Hands of Victorian Writers and Illustrators.” The bland nature of a print folktale ultimately leads to the upheaval of various unintentional interpretations. Within a specific adaptation of “Cinderella” from the Brothers Grimm named “Ashputtel,” Cinderella’s stepsisters attempt to bypass this fabled slipper test by cutting off the big toe and heel (Cullen 60). The tale continues the gore and results in the birds, the friends of Cinderella, revealing the deceit of the stepsisters by pecking out their eyes. In this alteration, print allowed for the preservation of overall motifs.

I believe if illustrations were introduced, the need for such carnage would subside; instead, due to the lack of illustrations, this tale mirrors the reality of the world. The deceit from the stepsisters only led to pain (cutting of the feet) and frustration (prince choosing Cinderella) at the end of the folktale. This allows for the introduction of an idealistic sense of justice, a sort of karmic retribution. Cinderella’s mistreatment in the beginning of the tale is paired with her stepsisters’ downfall towards the end, which contradicts Perrault’s “Cinderella.” The golden rule — do unto others as you would have them do unto you — was well versed within this adaptation, allowing for an accurate portrayal of reality.

On the surface, it may seem that Cinderella’s life transformed through the power of magic, love, and kindness; in reality, her transformation originated from lies, distrust, and deceit. These foundations are not found in healthy relationships; therefore, “Cinderella” is fatalistic to building relationships that young, receptive audiences can easily latch onto and idolize within their own lives. These ideals are not transitive outside of the fairytale world due to the sheer complexity of the modern world we live in. With the innovation of technology, the magic of connection and discovering someone’s true identity is only a finger-tap away. Children are better off understanding not only the optimistic elements of “Cinderella,” but also acknowledging the negative aspects of the narrative, so as to not replicate a similar situation with less fortunate outcomes. Young readers should understand that societal ideals, in tandem with dishonesty, are not the keys to a truly happy life, even after the clock strikes twelve.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock...