The Evolution of the Ultimate Rags to Riches Fairytale

Folklores have held a presence within literature throughout history; these stories have been created not only for entertainment purposes but also to instill moral values. Cinderella is a classic story that has been altered and interpreted differently throughout the centuries. The story of Cinderella focuses around a young girl stricken with misfortune when her mother dies and her father remarries a wicked woman with two horrible daughters. Sadly, her father is killed as well and Cinderella is left with her new stepfamily. The story follows Cinderella’s life with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters with the climax of the tale being a Royal Ball happening within their kingdom. The Ball leads to Cinderella falling in love with the Prince of the Kingdom. This story follows a clear path, but the moral outcome reflected in the story seems to vary depending on different time periods. Cinderella is viewed as the ultimate rags to riches fairytale and has attracted audiences throughout the ages. 

For educational purposes, this exhibit utilizes three interpretations of a Cinderella tale. These three sources being: the Scottish Chapbook, the Grimm Brother’s tale and Walt Disney’s film adaptation, all of which portray a similar story that has been adapted to fit the society of their respective time periods. The Chapbook was published in Glasgow and printed for the bookseller. This short novel was extremely popular within Scotland during the 19^th century. This was a period in history where literacy rates where extremely high in Scotland specifically. The Grimm Brother's version was published in 1812 and shows a darker side to the Cinderella story, using both self-mutilation and spiritual convolutions to display the moral of their story. The Grimm Bother's version of Cinderella has been attached to this exhibit and should be read for comparison purposes. The Walt Disney clip below shows a scene that displays the relationship between Cinderella and her stepmother/stepsisters. This clip gives clear indications of Cinderella’s struggle within her home life and shows a modern interpretation of the story. Walt Disney’s version uses aspects from both the Chapbook and the Grimm Brother's adaptations. All three interpretations although similar in the development of the actual telling of the story, conclusively create/highlight different moral outcomes and life lessons to fit their respective time periods.

The core story of Cinderella has been consistent throughout time, having key characters and major events seen throughout all adaptations. Changes occur within the endings and Cinderella’s reaction to her ugly stepsisters and stepmother. These variations change the moral of the story according to the adaptation. In one version, forgiveness is a key lesson and in another good triumphing evil is the core theme. Cinderella is a clear example of a classic fairytale that has been adapted throughout time periods and continuously changed to reflect the morals and themes of society. 

References

Henke, Jill Birnie, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith. “ Construction of the female self: Feminist reading of the Disney Herione.” Women’s studies in Communication 19, no.2 (1996).

MacWhinney, Brain, et al. “Automated analysis of the Cinderella Story.” Aphasiology 24, no.6-8 (June 2010): 856-868.   

Parsons, Linda T. “Ella Evolving: Cinderella Stories and the Construction of Gender-Appropriate Behavior.” Children’s Literature in Education 35, no.2 (June 2004): 135-154. 

 *we claim no rights to this YouTube clip and recognize that it is the property of Walt Disney, we will take down said clip upon request if necessary.