Austin Bradt ENG 201 Jennifer Braun The Good Daughter

When someone says Cinderella, most people automatically think of Walt Disneys version of a happy, cheery and love-y movie that is supposed to give kids a message that their own story will always end in happiness if they believe but, Disney got the basis for this story from that written by the Brothers Grimm in the early 1800s. Disneys movie message is a far cry from the original message the Grimms were trying to convey; the original story was dark and gritty, and not at all as happy and love-y as the Disney version. The Grimms version begins with Cinderellas mothers death, and her father remarrying the evil step-mother. The two stepdaughters begin to torment Cinderella because of the blackness in their hearts; they make Cinderella do all of the cleaning and washing as well as make her live like a servant. The Disney version of Cinderella follows the story the Grimms give with a few differences, the first of which is that the ball the Prince throws lasts 3 days and no one. Also, when the Prince comes to Cinderellas house with her shoe, the step-sisters actually cut off part of their feet in order to fit inside the shoe. The last major difference is when the step sisters beg Cinderella for her forgiveness because she is marrying the Prince: during the wedding, a pair of doves comes down and plucks the eyes out of the step-sisters, blinding them for their wickedness. When you first look at the story it looks like a simple story of a servant who became a princess, but there is so much more to the story that that. This story shows a direct link to what happens when you do what your parents say, as well as the child being a reflection of the parent
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they come from. Also, looking at Cinderella through the Oedipus complex, it puts the evil step mother in the place of Cinderellas actual mother. Based on all these things, the story gives us an example of how, because Cinderella did what her mother wished, her life turned out for the better. Let us begin with the children being a representation of the parent. The story begins with Cinderellas mother on her death bed telling her daughter to be good and pious, and that God will always take care of her. Throughout the story, Cinderella exemplifies both traits with an ease that is almost surprising. Time and time again, her step-sisters would force her to do some menial task and she would go about it without a word of complaint or refusal. Even when her step mother threw two bowls of lentils into the ashes of a fire and made her pick them out, Cinderella only called to the birds for help and picked the lentils out. Her step-sisters would mock her and belittle her at every chance they got and she was forced to sleep on the floor in front of the fire in order to stay warm. When her father asked her if she wanted a gift from when he went riding, Cinderella only asked for a twig instead of gold, jewels, and fine clothes like her step-sisters. With this twig, Cinderella planted a Hazel bush next to her grave that she watered with her bitter tears; just because Cinderella was good and pious, didnt mean she was happy about it. In this bush came to rest a little bird that would try to grant Cinderella everything she asked; this is one example of how Cinderella was looked after. When Cinderella studiously followed her mothers wishes and remained good and pious, all of her own wishes were granted. When Cinderellas step-mother refused to let her go to the Princes ball, she went to her mothers grave and was granted a magnificent dress and a way to get to the ball. Three nights in a row Cinderella visited her mothers grave and three nights in a row she was given an even more beautiful dress than before and she was able to attend the ball
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and dance with the prince. Each night the Prince fell more and more in love with Cinderella, until he decided that, on the last night, he was going to marry Cinderella. When the prince came looking for the woman he had danced with, Cinderella was able to try on the slipper that had been left and was able to ride away with the Prince as his future wife. When Cinderella visits her mothers grave and prays there, it is her way of reconnecting with the parent she has lost; she prayed for guidance and help, and received both when she was in great need. The grave was Cinderellas way of escaping the life she was living, both metaphorically and physicallyshe was able to escape her home and attend the party, therefore she met the Prince and got married. Cinderellas step-mother is the main antagonist in this story and in many ways is the reason some people have a bad view of their mother-in-law and step-mothers. In western society, there are quite a few people who very much dislike their in-laws for the simple fact that some inlaws dont really like people who are not from their own family. Generally, in-laws who dislike parts of their family treat those parts with contempt and disregard. From Cinderellas stepmother came both stepdaughters, who are bad enough on their own, but the story even says that the step-mothers heart was just as black as both of her daughters combined. The step-mother allowed all of the bad things to happen to Cinderella; the step-mother was supposed to fill in the role of Cinderellas mother, but she became almost a tyrant instead. Forced to clean and wash and wait on everything her family wanted, Cinderella received exactly the opposite of a kind and loving mother. The step-mother was the one who told Cinderella she could go to the ball if she could pick out a bowl of lentils from the fire. After Cinderella did, the step-mother threw two bowls into the ashes, which Cinderella promptly picked out again. After this, the step-mother simply refused to let Cinderella go at all, saying that she didnt have a dress and couldnt dance and would put them, the step-mother and daughters, to shame. The step-mother also was the one
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who told both of her daughters to cut off part of their foot in order to fit it into the shoe that the Prince had presented. Looking at this story as an instance of the Oedipus complex, Cinderella would be the main character yet the mother and father who are not who you they would be. The step-mother becomes the mother figure to Cinderella in a strange way: She is the giver of life, shelter, food, and gifts. By the step-mothers will, the two stepdaughters are more or less malicious to Cinderella, and by her will, Cinderella is granted leniency and privileges. Cinderellas actual mother is dead and so Cinderella cannot go back to herwhich is the main goal in the Oedipus complexyet she has a replacement mother that she must come to terms with and find a way to come to live with in order to move on with her life. Cinderellas step-mother is a perfect example of how the mother can keep her daughter from the world. Without the step-mother, Cinderella would be able to live a normal life as she pleases, and would probably be able to marry whomever she wanted. The step-mother stopped Cinderella from having the meaningful relationship most girls want with their mother; the step-mother was so focused on allowing her own daughters to do whatever they wanted that she pretty much made Cinderella second hand and used her like a maid. Cinderella, looking for the relationship denied to her by her stepmother, repeatedly visits her mothers grave. The father figure in this myth is not necessarily Cinderellas father, but the restrictions that the stepmother puts on Cinderellas actions. These restrictions: the cleaning, the cooking, and the terrible treatment, all serve to keep Cinderella from having a relationship with her father. The step-mother purposely keeps these restrictions in place in order to keep Cinderella, the fathers actual family, away from him. Because of these restrictions, Cinderella was able to gain the magical help from her mothers grave and attend the party, thereby meeting the Prince and getting married.
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At the end of the myth when Cinderella is marrying the Prince, her two step-sisters have their eyes put out by the two doves that help Cinderella through the whole myth. The myth explains this is for the wickedness that is in their hearts, but there could be some relation to the story of Oedipus. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus puts out his eyes because he finally saw the truth: that he slept with his mother and killed his father. Similarly, in Cinderella, the two step-sisters finally see what comes of being good and pious; they come to this realization just in time to have their sight taken for what they have done. If they were able to see how wicked they were before Cinderella married the prince, then maybe they might have not gotten their eyes plucked out. Not to mention that Cinderella would have been living a much more enjoyable life. In addition, if they could see their wickedness then they probably wouldnt have followed their mothers command to cut off part of their foot in order to fit in a shoe. The whole reason that Cinderella ended up with the Prince was because she was good and pious and she did what her mother said. If she would have been just as wicked as her stepsisters, she wouldnt have received help from her mother via the birds and she probably would not have met the Prince. In addition, Cinderella was able to escape the Oedipus complex and was able to move on with her life because she took that chance and disobeyed her step-mother.

The Grimms. Grimms Complete Fairy Tales. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1993. Print.