CINDERELLA’ +e enduring appeal of “Cinderella” derives not only from the rags-to-riches trajectory of the tale's heroine but also from the way in which the story engages sith classic family conflicts ranging from sibling rivalry to sexual jealousy. Cinderella's father may not have much of a part in versions af the tale told today, but the role of the (step)mather and (step)sisters, tubo dominate the tale as persecutors of the innacent heroine, is writ large. If Cinderella's biological mother is dead, ber spirit reappears as the magic donor who provides the beroine with the gifts she needs 1 make a splendid appearance at the ball. With the good mother had, the evil mother takes over-—alive and active—undermining Cinderella in very possible fashion yet unable to binder her ultimate triumph. In this splitting of the mother into two polar opposites, psy- cholrgists have seen a mechanism for helping a child work through ‘he conflicts created in the process of maturing and separating from parents. The image of the good mother is preserued in all her nurtur- ing glory, even as feelings of helplessness and rerentment are given expression through the figure of the predatory wicked stepmatber. Fairy tales place a preminm on surfaces, and Cinderdlla's beauty, «long with ber magnificent attire, singles her ont as the fairest in 1, Cinderella, ‘Aschenpuctel is the name the Grimms used for their Cinderella, The term was originally used to desigoate a lowly kitchen maid, a servant who had to tend the ashes at the hearth. In German, the prefix “aschen-” can also be attached 0 “brother” or “sister” co designate a sibling who has been degraded or forced into a subordinate role, Cinderella isthe quintes- sential innocent, persecuted heroine who moves from rags and a state of squalor to riches.THE ANNOTATED BROTHHR S Gaiy Ma the Land. Through labor and good looks, the heroine works he ap the social Ladder of sucess. If the story in its oder vesany 2 not capture the dynamics of courtship and romance in taday' an st remains source of fascination in its documentation of fanrag aut love amd marriage in a carl time, Perrault’ wayyy 1697 from Tales of Mother Goose is among the first ful lie elaborations of the sory. It was followed by the more violens ae recorded in 1812 by the Brothers Grinm. The Grimms delghy iy desribing the Wood inthe shoes of he stepssers, who try to hice their heels and toes in order to get perfect fit. The German version alco gives us a far less compassionate Cinderella, one wha dees np forge ber stepsistrs but invites them to ber wedding, where dovs ‘peck out their eyes. Yet for all that, the Grimms’ Cinderella is far ‘more resourceful than Perrault's Cendrillon, on whom Disney mad. dled his cinematic bervine of 1950. In the German tale, Cinderella decides, om ber own, to go to the ball, and she returns on foot, on ber own schedule, without the need for a carriage. She eludes both the prince and her father when she leaves the ball, and she furber demonstrates her agility and resourcefulness by using the doveote amd sree to fool her pursuers. The Grimms noted that some Cinderella tales include a postmari- al episode. One such episode reveals that Cinderella opens a chamber forbidden to her, discovers a well. ‘filled with blood, and is thrown down it by her treacherous sister, who takes ber place. When guards hear Cinderella's cries for help, they rescue her and punish Ber sis- ter. Another tale tells how the stepmother and stepsister kidnap the queen's first two children and then send er into exile with ber third child, The king suceeds in locating his lost wife and lives bappily ver after with her after punishing the two women, These sequels bar «a close resemblance 10 the second part of Perrault's “Sleeping Beant)” which relates the trials and tribulations of a new queen at the bands of her cannibalistic mother-in-law. The first Cinderella we know was named Yeb-bsien, and ber story was recorded in China araund s.d, 850 by Tuan Cheng shi: Yeb-bsien wears a dress made of kingfisher feathers and tiny shoesRELLA einonet? sade le She manages to survive the assaults of ber stepmater : ey sister, who are killed by flying stones, Like Western Cinder. a Yeh-bsien is bumble creature, who discharges the bousebold lla, and is sjected 10 humiliating treatment at the bands of her cores ‘ pnt and stepsister, Her salvation appears in the form of a J vfont-long fish that provides ber with gold, pearls, dresses, and ji, The Cindeellas who follow in Veb-bsien's fastaps are all ie banficiaris of magical donors who provide food, garments, or hater ese it takes to escape an abusive situation at home. In the Grinms’ “Aschenputtel,” a tree showers Cinderella with gifts; in porranlt’s “Cendrillon,” a fairy godmother provides a coach, footmen, and beautiful garments; in the Scottish “Rashin Coatie,” a little red calf produces a dress. Yeb-bsien, Cendvillon, Ashypet, Pepelluga, Mossy Coat, Katie Wondencloak, and Cenerentola: these are just a few of Cinderella's folbloric cousins. If Cinderella has been reinvented by nearly every nun culture, ber story is also perpetually rewritten within any given altwre, Working Girl with Melanie Griffith, Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts, Ever After with Drew Barrymore, and Maid in Manhattan with Jennifer Lopez: these films offer striking evidence that we continue to recycle the story to manage our cultural anxieties and conflicts about courtship and marriage. Few fairy tales have nied the rich literary, cinematic, and musical afterlife of “Cin- della,” and even when the story is not reinvented in imaginative sys, it provides opportunities for new dialogues about what is at stake in romance. he wife of a rich man fell ill one day. When she realized that the end was near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said: Peat child, if you are good and say your prayers faithfully, dear Lord will always help you, and I shall look down2. Then she claed ber ees and passed away Io many fairy cles, the mother is split into two figures: the good dead mother ‘who remains alive through nature and comes to the assistance of the pro and 2 wicked, evil stepmother who is the opposite of a nurturing presence and ise, inscead represents artifice and calculation. 3. rev daughters. In folktales, stepsisters and stepmothers are nearly always fair ‘game for demonization, providing a safe cover for the animosity sometimes felt gical parents and siblings. The like Perrault, often equated fait ‘virtue and associated vice with blackness. 4. From morning anil night sbe had ro work hard. Cinderella is always the houschold radge, 2 creature who not only has 10 discharge domestic chores but whose true concealed by soot, dust, and cin- ders. Thar she is always hardworking and ka can create powerfully artractive figures. d points to the way in which character 5. she didn't com have bed 10 lic down in. Thar Cinderella has to sleep in the ashes connected with the fact that she ‘cootinues to mourn her lost mother. . Ome cay eben the father wa going 10 the fair. The father in the Grimms’ version of Cinderella” remains a presence through- wt the ale, brs home gifts and using 20 an to break down the dovecote and chop down the pear tree where the mysterious the ball is thought to be it's version, we simply fearn that the father remarries and that he is dominated by his wife 7. “Biestifal dreses” Vaniey ranks i simon the cardinal sins of fairy-tale fig- ‘ues, and the ewo sisters distinguish them- wees fom their downtrodden stepsister 122 THE ANNOTATED BROTH KS. OniMy from heaven and al ays be with you." ‘Then she closed yy eyes and passed away Every day the litle girl went to her mother's grave an wept. She was always good and said her praye: . When win. ter came, snow covered the grave with a white blanket, ang when the sun ook it off again in the spring, the rich man remarried. The man’s new wife brought with her ewo daughters? with beautiful faces and fair skin, bue with hearts that were foul and black. This marked the beginning of a hard time for the poor stepchild. “Why should this silly goose be allowed to sit in the parlor with us?” the girls asked. “IF you wane to eat bread, you'll have co earn it, Get back in che kitchen where you belong!” The sisters took away the girl's beautiful clothes, dressed her in an old gray smock, and gave her some wooden shoes “Just look at che proud princess in her finery!” they shouted and laughed, taking her out to the kitchen. From morning until night she had to work hard.’ Every day, she got up before daybreak to carry water, get the fire going, cook, and wash. On cop of that the ewo sisters did everything imagin- able to make her life miserable, ‘They made fun of her and threw peas and lentils into the ashes so that she would have © bend down over the ashes and pick them out, In the evenings when she was completely exhausted from work, she didn't even have a bed to lie down in’ but had to sleep at the hearth in che ashes. She began looking so dusty and dirty that every one called her Cinderella. One day when the father was going co the fair,’ he asked the two stepdaughter what he should bring back for them “Beauciful dresses,"” one of them said, “Pearls and jewels” said the other, “But you, Cinderella,” he asked, “What do you wane” “Father,” she said, “break off che first branch that brustis against your hat on your way home and bring it to Me”puB ANNOTATED DROTHRA, orgy A. H. Watsom, Told Again: Traditional Tales Told by Walter de la Mar Cinderella is exiled to the hearth, where she keeps company with mice acinDERELLA [and so he bought beautiful dresses, pearls, and jewels for she ewo stepsisters. On the way home, while he was riding through @ thicket of green bushes, a hazel branch brushed sgainst him and Knocked his hae off, When he arrived home, he gave his stepdaughters whac they had asked for, and to Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel bush, Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother’s grave, and planted the hazel sprig on it. She wept so hard that her tears fell to che ground and watered it. It grew to become a beautiful tree." ‘Three cimes a day Cinderella went and sat under it and wept and prayed. Each time a little white bird would also fly to the tree, and whenever she made a wish, the little bird would toss down what she had wished for.” Ichappened that one day the king announced a festival that was to last for three days. All the beautiful young ladies in the land were invited so thar his son could choose a bride, When the two stepsisters discovered that they had been invited, they were in high spirits. They called Cinderella and said: “Comb our hair, brush our shoes, and fasten our buckles. We're going to the wedding at the king's palace.” Cinderella did as she was told, but she felt sad, for she too would have liked to go to the ball, and she begged her step- mother to let her go. Cinderella,” the stepmother said. “How can you possibly go to a wedding when you're constantly covered with dust and dirt? How can you plan to go to a ball when you have neither @ dress nor shoes?” Cinderella kept pleading with her stepmother, and she finally relented: “Here, I've dumped a bowl of lentils into the ashes. If you can pick out the lentils in the next two hours, then you may go Cinderella went into the garden through the back door and little curtledoves, and all called out: “Oh tame little dove you little birds in che sky, come and help me put by demanding finery and jewels. Cinder- lla, by contrast, makes the modest choice and thereby prepares the way for her acces- sion to a throne, B. 1 grew to become a heantiful tre, A. good stretch of time passes between the faeher’s remarriage and Cinderella's attendance at the ball, The girl muse suffer for many years before she is liberated from the persecutions of her wicked stepmother and is elevated to a higher social rank Unlike her stepsisters, who are invested in beautiful clothing and precious scones, Cinderella turns to the beauty of nacure as she mourns, and, in the process, reaps rewards from her surroundings. The tears watering che tree on the grave become & source of glittering garments that tran- scend ordinary dresses and diamonds and enable her to use beauty to reestablish justice in the word. 9. whenever she made a wish, the little bird would tas down what she bad wished for In other versions of "Cinderella," narure comes to the rescue of the heroine. Some- times it is a calf, a cow, a fish, a goat, or some other animal thar is connected ro the mother and becomes Cinderella's magic helper or donor. In the Scottish “Rashin Coatie,” a calf supplies the heroine with, beautiful clothes. 10. “Ifyou cam pick out rhe lentils in the next 19 hours, then you may go.” Picking out Jentils from che ashes is one of the many impossible tasks delegated to fairy-tale figures. In some versions of “Cinderella,” the heroine is required to spin or to sift grain, Nore that this particular task is not only impossible but also degrading. Yet oral dime w birds are ordered to sore out the esting ‘good Lentils from the “bal” ones. 125THE ANNOTATED BROTHERS GRimy n: Traditional Ves Told by Walter de a Mare an es that exaggerate their grotesque Featurethe good ones into the little por, the bad ones into your little crop.” ‘two little white doves came flying in through the kitchen ‘window,|! followed by licele eurtledoves. And finally all the birds in the sky came swooping and fluttering and settled down in the ashes. The little doves nodded their heads and began co peck, peck, peck, peck, and then the others began co peck, peck, peck, peck and put all the good lentils into the bowl, Barely an hour had passed when they were done and flew back out the window. Cinderella brought the bowl co her stepmother and was overjoyed because she was sure that she would now be allowed to go to the wedding. But the stepmother said: “No, Cinder- lla, you have nothing to wear, and you don't know how to dance. Everyone would just laugh at you.” When Cinderella began to cry, the stepmother said: “If you can pick out ewo bowls of lentils from the ashes in the next hour, then you can go.” Bur she thought to herself: “She'll never be able to do it.” Afcer the stepmother had dumped the two bowls of lentils, into the ashes, the girl went into the garden through the back door and called out: “Oh tame little doves, little turtledoves, and all you litele birds in the sky, come and help me puc the good ones into the little pot, the bad ones into your little crop.” Two little white doves came flying in through the kitchen window, followed by lictle curtledoves. And finally all the birds in the sky came swooping and fluttering and settled down in the ashes. The little doves nodded their heads and began to peck, peck, peck, peck, and then the others began to peck, peck, peck, peck and put all the good lentils into the LL. Two little white doves came flying in through the kitchen window. The color white connects these ewo doves with the bird in the tree that serves as the magical donor for Cinderella's dress12. "Shake your branches, little tee, | Toss gold and silver down on me.” Mf Cinderella finds help by turning to nature, she wears a dress that is associated with the realm of artifice. Gold and silver are spun into fine threads, and jewels often cover her ‘garment. The dress contribuces powerfully to the radiane appearance she makes at the ball. Note that the Grimms’ Cinderella does not rely on a fairy godmother for help, as does Perraule’s Cinderella, but on the tree that she has cultivated and that can be scen as representing the return of hher mother from ehe dead. In modern ver- sions of “Cinderella,” say Pretty Woman, a credit card becomes the magical instru- ment for securing the dresses that will catch the “royal” eye. 13. Cinderella quickly slipped on the dress cand left for the wedding. There is no coach driven by six horses attended by six foot- men in the Grimms’ version of the cae Cinderella simply makes her own way co the ball 14. she bounded into « drseote. The dover cote is home to the birds that sorted the lentils and helped Cinderella perform the impossible task assigned to her. 128 THE ANNOTATED BROTHERS gy Tit bowl. Barely a half hour had passed when they were Fishy and flew back out the window. The girl broughe che bowls back to her stepmother and yay overjoyed because she was sure that she Would now be able go to the wedding. Buc her stepmother said: “I's no use, Yoy can't come along because you don’t have anything to wear ang you don’t know how to dance. You would just embarrass ys Turning her back on Cinderella, she hurried off with her two proud daughters. Now thar no one else was left at home, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave under the tree and cried: “Shake your branches, little tree, Toss gold and silver down on me."!? The bird threw down to her a dress of gold and silver, along with slippers embroidered with silk and silver. Cinder- ella quickly slipped on the dress and left for the wedding.” Her sisters and her stepmother had no idea who she was. She looked so beautiful in the dress of gold that they thought she must be the daughter of some foreign king. It never occurred to them that it could be Cinderella, for they were sure that she was still at home, sitting in the dire and picking lentils out of the ashes, The prince approached Cinderella, took her by the hand, and danced with her. He didn't intend to dance with anyone else there and never even let go of her hand. Whenever anyone else asked her to dance, he would just say: “She's my partner.” Cinderella danced well into the night, and then she wanted to go home. The prince said: “I will go with you as yout escort,” for he was hoping to find out something about the family of chis beautiful young woman, Bue Cinderella man aged to slip away from him, and she bounded into a dove cote.! The prince waited until Cinderella's father arrived and told him that the strange girl had disappeared int theA. H. Watson, Told Again: Traditional Tales Told by Walter de ta Mi Cinderella leaves the ball and races down che staircase, hoping to outrun the priea THE ANNOTATED BROTHERS oniis M 15. Cinderella climbed up through the dovecote. The old man thought: “Could it be Cinderellay” i branches as nimbly as a squirrd. The pear for an ax and pick and broke into the dovec 5 Bei aaiaiee arte betel wee tnd P lovecote, but ng offers Cinderella cemporary refuge. Birds nd ccs allied with nature, igure as the Cinderella, lying in the ashes in her filthy clothes wich a qj im heroine's salvation fone was inside it. And when they returned home, there y, as lieele oil lamp burning on the mancel. Cinderella had jumpeq down from the back of the dovecote and had run over to the litele hazel cree, where she slipped our of her beautiful dress and then put it on the grave, The bird took the dress back, and Cinderella put on her gtay smock and settled back inty the ashes in the kitchen. The next day, when the festivities started up again and the parents had left with the stepsisters, Cinderella went to the hazel tree and said: “Shake your branches, litele tree, Toss gold and silver down on me. ‘The bird tossed down a dress that was even more splendid than the previous one. And when she appeared at the wedding in this dress, everyone was dazzled by her beauty. The prince, who had been waiting for her to arrive, took her by the hand and danced with her alone. Whenever anyone came and asked her to dance, he would say: “She is my partner.” As night fell, Cinderella wanted to leave, and the prince decided to follow her, hoping to see which house she would enter, But she bounded away and disappeared into the gar- den behind the house, where there was a beautiful, call eree with magnificent pears hanging from its branches. Cinderella climbed up through the branches as nimbly as a squirrel," and the prince had no idea where she was. He waited until her father got there and said to him: “The strange girl escaped, but { believe that she climbed up into the pear tree.” ‘The father wondered: “Could it be Cinderella?” and he sent for an ax and chopped down the cree. But no one was i it. When he went to the kitchen with the prince, Cinderella 130[NDERELLA was, as usual, lying in the ashes, for she had jumped down che other side of che tree, taken her beautiful dress to the bird oa che hazel eee, and slipped on her litle gray smock again, On the third day, when the parents and sisters had lef, Cinderella went to her mother’s grave and said to the litele ree: “Shake your branches, little tree, Toss gold and silver down on me." The bitd cossed down a dress thae was more splendid and radiant than anything she had ever seen, and the slippers were covered in gold, When she got to the wedding in that dress, everyone who saw her was speechless with amazement. The prince danced with her alone, and if someone asked her to dance, he would say: “She is my partner. When night fell, Cinderella was planning to return home, and the prince wanted to escort her, but she slipped away so quickly that he was unable to follow her. The prince had planned a erick. The entire staircase had been coated with pitch, and when Cinderella started running down the stairs, her left slipper got stuck in the tar. The prince lifted it up: it was a dainty little shoe covered with gold. The next morning the prince went with the shoe to his father and said to him: “Only the woman whose foot fits this olden shoe will be my bride.” The ewo sisters were over- joyed co hear che news, for they both had beautiful feet. The elder went with her mother into a special room to try it on. Bur the shoe was coo small for her, and she couldn't get her ‘Cut big toe into it. Her mother handed her a knife and sai your toe off. Once you're queen, you won't need to go on foot any more The girl sliced off her coe, forced her foot into the shoe, sritted her ceeth, and wens out to meet the prince, He lifted her up on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her, But 16. “Only the woman whose fot fits this olden shoe will be my bride.” Like the shoe made of glass, the golden shoe cannot stretch to fi its wearer. In the Grimms version of the story, the prince himself seeks out the owner of the shoe, and Gin- dlerella cakes icin her hand and tees it on ‘The glass slipper in Perraule’s “Cendeil Jon” was thoughe by some scholars co be made of “vair” (an obsolete French term for “fur") eather tha Folklorists have now discredited the view that the slipper was made of fur and endorse the notion that the slipper has & ‘magical quality to i¢ and is made of glass Strabo's ancient fable about an eagle thae steals the sandal of a beautiful courtesan ‘named Rhodope, then drops it on the pharaoh, who searches all of Egypt for its owner, reminds us of how feet and verre” (“glass”) footwear are connected co femininity and sexual attractiveness. In. some Cinderella stories, a golden ring, rather than a shoe or a slipper, must fic the erue bride,17. "Roo oo cv, ron on cv, Bld is drip ‘ping from the shoe.” In. “Rashin Coatie,” a Scottish Cinderella tale, the stepmother also forces her daughter to cut off her heel and toes in order to get her foor in the slipper. On the way to church a bird sings: “Minched fit, and pinched fit / Beside the king she rides, / But braw fit, and bonny fit ‘Hn the Kitchen neuk she hides.” The step- sisters are positioned as false brides who are willing to engage in deception in order to win the prince. Their self-mutilation prefigures the pecking out of the eyes by doves at Cinderella's wedding, 132 THE ANNOTATED BROTHERS nay they had to pass by the mother’s grave, and ewo Little Oy were perched on the hazel tree, calling out: “Roo 00 €00, 100 C00 coo, Blood is dripping from the shoe:! The foot's too long and far too wide, Go back and find the proper bride.” When the prince looked down at the git's Foot, he saw tha blood was spurting from the shoe, and he curned his horse around. He brought the false bride back home, and said thay since she was not he true bride, her sister should try the shoe on. The sister went into her room and succeeded in yetting her toes into the shoe, but her hee! was way too big. Her mother handed her a knife coo and said: “Cut off pare of your heel, Once you're queen, you won't need to go on foot anymore,” The gicl sliced off a piece of her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, gritted her teeth, and went out to meet the prince, He lifted her up on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. When they passed by the lietle hazel tree, ewo little doves were perched on a branch, calling out: “Roo C00 c00, 100 ¢o0 00, Blood is dripping from the shoe: The foot's too long, and far too wide, Go back and find the proper bride,” When he looked down at her for, he saw blood spurting from it and staining her white stockings completely red: ‘Then he curned his horse around and brought the false bride back home, *Shi he said. “Don't not the true bride either, you have another daughter?” “No,” said the man, “there's no one left buc puny little Cinderella, the daughter of my firse wife, bu she can’t Pos sibly become your bride.”Lia ~ he prince asked that she be sent for, but the mother sad: “gh no, she’s much too dirty to show her face.” ‘The prince insisted, and Cinderella was summoned, First de washed her hands and face until chey were completely clean, then she went and curtsied before the prince, who handed her the golden shoe. She sat down on a stool, took her jpocout ofthe heavy wooden shoe, and put i into ehe slipper. Icfir perfectly. And when she stood up and the prince looked per straight in the face, he recognized the beautiful gic! with ‘thom he had danced, and he shouted: "She is the rue bride.” The stepmother and her ewo daughters were horrified, and they turned pale with rage. But the prince lifted Cinderella up on his horse and rode away with her. When they passed by the little hazel tree, the two little white doves called out: “Roo c00 €00, £00 ¢o0 coo, No blood at all in that shoe, The foot’s not long and not too wide, The true bride's riding at his side.” After they had chanted those words, the doves both came flying over and perched on Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and there they stayed. On the day of the wedding to the prince, the two false sis- ters came and tried to curry favor with Cinderella and share in her good fortune. When the bridal couple entered the church, the elder sister was on the right, the younger on the left. The doves pecked one eye from each sister. Later, when they left the church, the elder sister was on the left, the younger on the tight, The doves pecked the other eye from each sister. And so they were punished for their wickedness and malice" wich blindness for the rest of their lives. 18. they were punished for their wichednes cand malice, Perraul’s Cinderella is, by contrast, a model of compassion. After her marriage to the prince, she invites the stepsisters co live with her, and chen mar- ries them to ewo great lords of che court.