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Cinderella

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For other uses, see Cinderella (disambiguation).
Cinderella
Gustave Doré's illustration for Cendrillon
Folk tale
NameCinderella
Aarne–Thompson grouping510a
CountryWorldwide
Published inThe Pentamerone (1634)
Mother Goose Tales (1697)
Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812)

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" (French: Cendrillon ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre) is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world.[1] The title character[2] is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The word "cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes are unrecognised, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. The still-popular story of "Cinderella" continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements, allusions, and tropes to a wide variety of media.

Early versions

The Cinderella theme may well have originated in classical antiquity. The Ancient Greek historian Strabo (Geographica Book 17, 1.33) recorded in the 1st century BC the tale of the Greco-Egyptian girl Rhodopis, "rosy-cheeked", who lived in the Greek colony of Naucratis in Ancient Egypt. It is often considered the oldest known version of the story:

They tell the fabulous story that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis. While the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap. The king, having been stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal. When she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis and became the wife of the king...[3][4]

Herodotus, some five centuries before Strabo, supplied further information about Rhodopis in his Histories, writing that Rhodopis came from Thrace, and was the slave of Iadmon of Samos, and a fellow-slave of Aesop. She was taken to Egypt in the time of Pharaoh Amasis, and freed there for a large sum by Charaxus of Mytilene, brother of Sappho, the lyric poet.[5][6]

The story later reappears with Aelian (ca. 175–ca. 235),[7] showing that the Cinderella theme remained popular throughout antiquity.

The magical significance of the pumpkin in the Cinderella story (which has led to a modern expression for a person who desires an early bedtime, 'after midnight, I turn into a pumpkin') might derive from the 1st century comic work of Seneca 'On the Pumpkinification of Claudius', playing on a pun for the word for deification and the word for pumpkin.[8]

Another version of the story, Ye Xian, appeared in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Tuan Ch'eng-Shih around 860. Here, the hardworking and lovely girl befriends a fish, the reincarnation of her mother, who was killed by her stepmother. Ye Xian saves the bones, which are magic, and they help her dress appropriately for a festival. When she loses her slipper after a fast exit, the king finds her slipper and falls in love with her (eventually rescuing her from her cruel stepmother). Another version of the story, which is similar to the Chinese version, exists in the Philippines. The story is known as "Mariang Alimango" (Mary the Crab). In this version, the spirit of her dead mother reincarnates as a crab, hence the title, and serves as her "fairy godmother".

Several different variants of the story appear in the medieval One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights, including "The Second Shaykh's Story", "The Eldest Lady's Tale" and "Abdallah ibn Fadil and His Brothers", all dealing with the theme of a younger sibling harassed by two jealous elders. In some of these, the siblings are female, while in others, they are male. One of the tales, "Judar and His Brethren", departs from the happy endings of previous variants and reworks the plot to give it a tragic ending instead, with the younger brother being poisoned by his elder brothers.[9]

Aspects of Cinderella may be derived from the story of Cordelia in Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain. Cordelia is the youngest and most virtuous of King Leir of Briton's three daughters, however her virtue is such that it will not allow her to lie in flattering her father when he asks, so that he divides up the kingdom between the elder daughters and leaves Cordelia with nothing. Cordelia marries her love, Aginippus, King of the Franks, and flees to Gaul where she and her husband raise an army and depose her wicked sisters who have been misusing their father. Cordelia is finally crowned Queen of the Britons. However her reign only lasts five years. The story is famously retold by Shakespeare, but given a tragic ending.

Cenerentola, Cinderella and Aschenputtel

Aschenputtel at her mother's grave, with birds

In 1634, Giambattista Basile, a Neapolitan soldier and government official, wrote Lo cunto de li cunti (The Story of Stories), or Pentamerone. It featured the tale of Cenerentola, which features a wicked step mother and step sisters, magical transformations, a missing slipper, and a hunt by a king for the owner of the slipper.[10]

One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault in 1697. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story, including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of glass slippers.[11]

Another well-known version was recorded by the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century. The tale is called "Aschenputtel" ("Cinderella" in English translations) and the help comes not from a fairy-godmother but the wishing tree that grows on her mother's grave. In this version, the stepsisters try to trick the prince by cutting off parts of their feet in order to get the slipper to fit. The prince is alerted by two pigeons who peck out the stepsisters' eyes, thus sealing their fate as blind beggars for the rest of their lives. In this story, the prince is tricked twice but is spared by the birds. This lowers the Prince's status and he seems less heroic, raising Cinderella's status as a strong-willed individual.[12]

In Irish Gaelic myth/lore, there is a story of Geal, Donn, and Critheanach, or Fair, Brown and Trembling. The Stepsisters' Celtic equivalents are Geal and Donn, and Cinderella is Critheanach.

Plot (taken from Perrault)

Oliver Herford illustrated the fairy godmother inspired from the Perrault version

(See above for many variations)

Once upon a time, there was a widower who married a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She had two daughters, who were equally vain. By his first wife, he'd had a beautiful, young daughter, who was a girl of unparalleled goodness and sweet temper. The Stepmother and her daughters forced the first daughter to complete all the housework. When the girl had done her work, she sat in the cinders, which caused her to be called "Cinderella". The poor girl bore it patiently, but she dared not tell her father, who would have scolded her, since his wife controlled him entirely.

One day, the Prince invited all the young ladies in the land to a ball so he could choose a lovely wife. As the two Stepsisters were invited, they gleefully planned their wardrobes. Although Cinderella assisted them and dreamed of going to the dance, they taunted her by saying a maid could never attend a ball.

As the sisters swept away to the ball, Cinderella cried in despair. Her Fairy Godmother magically appeared and vowed to assist Cinderella in attending the ball. She turned a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turned Cinderella's rags into a beautiful gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Godmother told her to enjoy the ball, but warned that she had to return before midnight; otherwise, the spells would be broken.

At the ball, the entire court was entranced by Cinderella, especially the Prince, who never left her side. Unrecognized by her sisters, Cinderella remembered to leave before midnight. Back home, Cinderella graciously thanked her Godmother. She then greeted the Stepsisters, who enthusiastically talked of nothing but the beautiful girl at the ball.

When another ball was held the next evening, Cinderella again attended with her Godmother's help. The Prince became even more entranced. However, this evening she lost track of time and left only at the final stroke of midnight, losing one of her glass slippers on the steps of the palace in her haste. The Prince chased her, but outside the palace, the guards had seen only a simple country wench leave. The Prince pocketed the slipper and vowed to find and marry the girl to whom it belonged. Meanwhile, Cinderella kept the other slipper, which had not disappeared when the spell had broken.

The Prince tried the slipper on all the women in the kingdom. When the Prince arrived at Cinderella's villa, the Stepsisters tried in vain to win over the prince. When Cinderella asked if she might try, the Stepsisters taunted her. Naturally, the slipper fitted perfectly, and Cinderella produced the other slipper for good measure. The Stepsisters begged for forgiveness, and Cinderella forgave them for their cruelties.

Cinderella returned to the palace, where she married the Prince, and the Stepsisters also married two lords.

The first moral of the story is that beauty is a treasure, but graciousness is priceless. Without it, nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.[13]

However, the second moral of the story mitigates the first one and reveals the criticism that Perrault is aiming at: "Another moral: Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother."[14]

Types

Folklorists have long studied variants on this tale across cultures.[15] In 1893, Marian Roalfe Cox, commissioned by the Folklore Society of Britain, produced Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-Five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin and, Cap o'Rushes, Abstracted and Tabulated with a Discussion of Medieval Analogues and Notes.[15]

Further morphology studies have continued on this seminal work.[15]

Cinderella is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine. Others of this type include The Sharp Grey Sheep, The Golden Slipper, The Story of Tam and Cam, Rushen Coatie, Fair, Brown and Trembling and Katie Woodencloak.[16]

Adaptations

Massenet's opera Cendrillon
Pantomime at the Adelphi
Cinderella Christmas exhibit in Minden, Louisiana

The story of "Cinderella" has formed the basis of many notable works:

Opera

Ballet

Ice Show

Verse

Theater

Pantomime

Cinderella debuted as a pantomime on stage at the Drury Lane Theatre, London in 1904 and at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1905. Phyllis Dare, aged 14 or 15, starred in the latter. In 1926, Cinderella was caught on film in the London Palladium, starring Lennie Dean in the lead role.

In the traditional pantomime version the opening scene is set in a forest with a hunt in sway and it is here that Cinderella first meets Prince Charming and his "right-hand man" Dandini, whose name and character come from Gioachino Rossini opera (La Cenerentola). Cinderella mistakes Dandini for the Prince and the Prince for Dandini.

Her father, Baron Hardup, is under the thumb of his two stepdaughters, the Ugly sisters, and has a servant named Buttons, who is Cinderella's friend. Throughout the pantomime, the Baron is continually harassed by the Broker's Men (often named after current politicians) for outstanding rent. The Fairy Godmother must magically create a coach (from a pumpkin), footmen (from mice), a coach driver (from a frog), and a beautiful dress (from rags) for Cinderella to go to the ball. However, she must return by midnight, as it is then that the spell ceases.

A version debuted in the USA at the El Portal Theatre, NoHo in 2010. It was produced by Lythgoe Family Productions of So You Think You Can Dance fame and MPI Entertainment.

Musical theatre

The Rodgers and Hammerstein version has also been staged live at times. A successful version ran in 1958 at the London Coliseum with a cast including Tommy Steele, Yana, Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Williams and Betty Marsden. This version was augmented with several other Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs plus a song written by Tommy Steele, "You and Me" which he sang with Jimmy Edwards. Bobby Howell was the musical director. A 2005 version featured Paolo Montalbán and an ethnically diverse cast, like the 1997 TV version. Broadway Asia Entertainment produced a staged International Tour starring Lea Salonga and Australian actor Peter Saide in 2008.

Films

Over the decades, hundreds of films have been made that are either direct adaptations from Cinderella or have plots loosely based on the story. Almost every year at least one, but often several such films are produced and released, resulting in Cinderella becoming a work of literature with one of the largest numbers of film adaptations ascribed to it.

Books

  • Cox M.-R. Cinderella. Three Hundred and Forty-five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin, and Cap 0’ Rushes, abstracted and tabulated, with a discussion of mediaeval analogues, and notes, by Marian Roalfe Cox. L., 1893.
  • Rooth A.B. The Cinderella cycle. Lund: Gleerup, 1951.
  • 50 Ways To Retell A Story: Cinderella by Alan Peat, Julie Peat and Christopher Storey: Published by Creative Educational Press Ltd 2010. ISBN 978-0-9544755-5-0.

Novels

Short stories

Comic books

  • Cinderella appears as a character in Bill Willingham's Vertigo series, Fables. Cinderella (or "Cindy", as her fellow Fables call her) is the third and final of Prince Charming's ex-wives and is Fabletown's resident super spy. Her cover is the ownership of her own shoe store, the Glass Slipper, and she maintains a bitter persona in order to throw off the suspicions of the rest of her community. She also appeared in her own spin-off comic, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.
  • Cinderalla by Junko Mizuno
  • Ludwig Revolution by Kaori Yuki. In this version, Cinderella's feet are too large and the series' protagonist lends her his shoe for the evening, acting as her Fairy Godmother. Also, the Prince doesn't hold the ball to find his wife, but to find the woman with large feet who killed his pet lizard, Isolde.

Songs

Some popular songs that make reference to the story of Cinderella include:

Cinderella jumprope song

There is a jumprope song for children that involves Cinderella:

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow,

by mistake she kissed a snake, how many doctors will it take? 1, 2, 3,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10 etc. (Go to 20 then go down to the next line)
Cinderella dressed in blue, went upstairs to tie her shoe, made a mistake and tied a knot, how many knots will she make? 1, 2, 3, etc.
Cinderella dressed in green, went downtown to buy a ring, made a mistake and bought a fake, how many days before it breaks? 1, 2, 3, etc.
Cinderella dressed in lace, went upstairs to fix her face, oh no oh no, she found a blemish, how many powder puffs till she's finished? 1, 2, 3, etc.
Cinderella dressed in silk, went outside to get some milk, made a mistake and fell in the lake, how many more till she gets a break? 1, 2, 3, etc.

The counting continues as long as the jumper avoids missing a jump. If they do then the counting starts again.

Variations:

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went downtown to meet her fellow (or "to buy some mustard").

On the way, her girdle busted. how many people were disgusted.

(Heard in Jackson Heights,Roseland,Illinois Queens, late 1950s)

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fellow. how many kisses did she give him?
(Heard in Northern Ireland)

Cinderella dressed in yell'a, went downstairs to kiss a fell'a. Made a mistake and kissed a snake, how many stitches (or "doctors") did it take?"

Cinderella dressed in yell'a, went downtown to kiss her fell'a. How many kisses did he get? 1,2,3 etc. (Heard in Leesburg, Florida, Early 2009)

Cinderella dressed in yell'a, tell me the name of your sweet fella a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z (The jumper runs out when the first letter of there crush or boyfriend/girlfriend's name is called and shouts there name at the same time)

Video games

In 2005, Disney released Disney's Cinderella: Magical Dreams for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. Cinderella was also featured in Disney's / Square's video game Kingdom Hearts[22] where she is one of the seven princesses of heart which are needed to open the door to darkness. She, along with her entire world, will also be in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

In other languages

Language Name Romanisation
Arabic رودوبس Roodoopis
Bulgarian Пепеляшка Pepelyashka
Catalan Ventafocs
Chinese 灰姑娘 Huīgūniang
Croatian Pepeljuga
Czech Popelka
Danish Askepot
Dutch Assepoester
English Cinderella
Estonian Tuhkatriinu
Filipino Sinderela
Finnish Tuhkimo
French Cendrillon
German Aschenputtel
Greek Σταχτοπούτα Stachtopoúta
Hebrew לכלוכית\ "סינדרלה"
Hindi सिंडिरेल्ला Sindirēllā
Hungarian Hamupipőke
Indonesian Cinderella
Irish Cinderella
Icelandic Öskubuska
Italian Cenerentola
Japanese シンデレラ Shinderera
Korean 신데렐라 Sindelella
Latvian Pelnrušķīte
Lithuanian Pelenė
Macedonian Пепелашка Pepelashka
Norwegian Askepott
Persian سیندرلا Sinderela
Polish Kopciuszek
Portuguese Cinderela
Romanian Cenuşăreasă
Russian Золушка Zolushka
Serbian Пепљуга Pepljuga
Slovak Popoluška
Slovenian Pepelka
Swedish Askungen
Spanish Cenicienta
Thai ซินเดอเรลล่า Cinderella
Turkish Külkedisi
Vietnamese Công Chúa Lọ Lem
Ukrainian Попелюшка Popelushka

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Zipes, Jack (2001). The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm. W. W. Norton & Co. p. 444. ISBN 978-0393976366.
  2. ^ Although both the story's title and the character's name change in different languages, in English-language folklore "Cinderella" is the archetypal name.
  3. ^ Strabo (23). "Strabo's account of Rhodopis". The Geography. Retrieved 25 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "The Egyptian Cinderella", an embellished retelling.
  5. ^ Anderson, Graham (2000). Fairytale in the ancient world. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-0415237024. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  6. ^ Herodotus. The Histories. Retrieved 25 March 2010., book 2, chapters 134 and 135.
  7. ^ Aelian, "Various History", 13.33
  8. ^ Seneca, Apocolocyntosis Divi Claudii
  9. ^ Ulrich Marzolph, Richard van Leeuwen, Hassan Wassouf (2004). The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 4. ISBN 1576072045.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  10. ^ Linda Hagge, Iowa State, English Department instructor course website, Pentamerone
  11. ^ An modern edition of the original French text by Perrault is found in Charles Perrault, Contes, ed. Marc Soriano (Paris: Flammarion, 1989), pp. 274-79.
  12. ^ Karasek, Barbara and Hallett, Martin, Folk & Fairy Tales. Ormskirk, Lancashire: Broad View Press, 2002.
  13. ^ Perrault: Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper
  14. ^ Perrault: Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper
  15. ^ a b c "If The Shoe Fits: Folklorists' criteria for #510"
  16. ^ Heidi Anne Heiner, "Tales Similar to Cinderella"
  17. ^ Perlman, Janet (1981). "The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  18. ^ Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (2002)
  19. ^ Amanda Seyfried Rumored for Live-Action CINDERELLA
  20. ^ http://music.aol.com/song/robert-lucas/cinderella-blue/978736
  21. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Undercover/dp/B001NTNJY6
  22. ^ Anise Hollingshead, "Review of Disney's Cinderella: Magical Dreams," GameZone (10/03/2005).
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Cinderella".

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