Cinderella
One of the very oldest of all fairy tales is Cinderella. Versions of the lovely maiden who eventually marries royalty have been floating around in every culture for centuries. Often considered the very oldest version of the story is Rhodopis, which is the tale of a greek girl who is sold into slavery and eventually (by virtue of her slipper being brought to the Pharaoh and him decreeing that the woman who fits in the slipper shall be his wife) marries Pharaoh Ahmose II of Egypt. This story was first recorded by Greek historian Strabo in 1st century B.C.
Flash forward a couple thousand years, and Cinderella is still just as popular in today's society. Two of the most popular versions are the classic Grimm's version, and perhaps the most widely recognized is the Disney version. Below is a list of the differences between the two tales.
Flash forward a couple thousand years, and Cinderella is still just as popular in today's society. Two of the most popular versions are the classic Grimm's version, and perhaps the most widely recognized is the Disney version. Below is a list of the differences between the two tales.
- Unlike in the Disney version, in the original tale, Cinderella knew her mother before she died. Her mother told her that if she was good and prayed then God and her mother would always be looking out for her. Because she was good and prayed, the tree that she planted at her mother’s grave rewarded her with dresses, each more wonderful than the last, when it came time for her to go to the three balls.
- There is no fairy godmother who randomly comes, and magically poofs Cinderella a new dress and carriage for no reason at all in the Grimm's tale. She got the things she had for the ball by wishing to the birds in the tree at her mother’s grave. They were always part of her life, and she knew they were there. She earned the right to make the wishes by going to her mother’s grave each day and weeping and praying as her mother instructed her to do.
- Originally, there were no mice there to help Cinderella make her dress for the ball and clean the house. She is instead required to pick lentils out of the ash, which is done with the help of some doves. The doves do sing songs, but do not speak to Cinderella like the mice in the Disney movie. Another difference is that there is no mention of the stepmother's cat in the original tale.
- The father in the Grimm’s tale is alive and condones the behavior of the wicked stepmother. He does nothing to step in and assist Cinderella, and even tries to convince the Prince that it could not possibly be the cinder girl who owns the beautiful slipper.
- In the Grimm's version, the stepsisters were severely punished for their behavior at the end of the story. First they are punished by their own (and their mother's) greed and vanity by being forced into cutting off a toe and a heel by their mother. As if that wasn’t enough, the doves at the end of the story also punished them. They have their eyes pecked out and are forced to live out the rest of their lives blind because of their malice and wickedness.
- In the Grimm's tale, the prince himself went on the search for his bride, as opposed to the Grand Duke who went on the adventure to find the future Queen in the movie. Another similar difference is that the prince would have been fooled twice if not for the little doves that watched over Cinderella in the Grimm's version. They pointed out that the sisters had mutilated their feet in order to get in the shoes by sining a song as the Prince rode by with each of the stepsisters.
- There is a clear moral and religious lesson in the original tale that is lacking from the Disney version. In the Disney version, the moral is basically if you dream and wish hard enough things will work out in your favor. This is not the case in the Grimm’s version of the tale. Cinderella earned her chance to go to the ball by minding her mothers dying wish for her to, “be good and pray.” Because Cinderella was a model child who prayed and did as she was told, she was rewarded with her happily ever after. Her sisters were used to demonstrate what would happen if your life was filled with wickedness, greed, and malice. This is one of the clearest examples of Disneyfication. They bled the story dry of all of the moral values and replaced it by cheerful and uplifting songs and sayings.
Click button above to open a window containing the text of the Grimm's fairy tale.
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