WIERD VERSIONS OF CINDERELLA
Classical versions, the stereotype’s construction:
The story is told in many cultures, which points out the universality of the themes found in the tale. In modern times the meaning of the story has focused on romantic love. All the same, in class societies the prince recognizing Cinderella’s beauty would have implication of social position.
Bibliography:
1634-1636 Basile, "Cendrillon"G. In Dundes 1988.
1696-1697 Madame D’Aulnoy “Finita Cenicienta”. In Aulnoy 1991.
1697 Perrault, C. “Cinderella, or The Glass Slipper” In Dundes 1988.
1812 Grimm, J y W. “Ash Girl”. In Dundes 1988.
1817 Rossini, G. “La Cenerentola”. In Rossini 1971.
1884 Gregor, W. “The Red Calf” (« Rashin Coatie »). In Philip 1995.
1950 Disney, Walt, “Cinderella”. In Disney 1950.
This very famous tale is one of the most popular, and it is considered the best-known story as well as one of the oldest in times.
Cinderella, the young woman oppressed and mistreated by the rivalry of her ugly stepmother and evil stepsisters who have a negative power over her, but at the end of the story she manages to be happy by getting married to the charming prince, has a large number of variations according to the social and cultural backgrounds where they take place, throughout the five continents and different time.
Certain groups have been identified in those versions:
• The protagonist of the story is the suffering heroine, though at the end she is recognized through a shoe and there is a turning point in her life.
• Incest also appeared in the story: the father wishes to marry her daughter and leads her to run away and be trapped in such a dreadful situation.
• King Lear’s theme: the daughter is exiled by her father because he considers her love insufficient.
• Male characters star in some versions.
Cinderella may have originated in classical antiquity:
In the 1st Century BC the Greek historian Strabo recorded what is considered the oldest well- known version of the story: the tale of a Greco-Egyptian girl called Rhodopis: One day her fellow servants left Rhodopis washing clothes in a stream while they all went to a function sponsored by the Pharaoh Amasis. An eagle took the girl's rose-gilded sandal and dropped it at the feet of the Pharaoh in the city of Memphis. Then he asked the women of the kingdom to try that sandal on in order to see which one fitted. Rhodopis succeded and the Pharaoh fell in love with her and they finally got married.
The story later appeared again showing that Cinderella theme remainded popular throughout time. perhaps the origin of the fairy tale figure can be traced back as far as the 6th Century B.C. (Ancient story-teller Aesop).
During the Middle Ages, another version of the story appeared, about in 890 in the famous “One Thousand and One Nights”: stories which dealt with the theme of a younger sibling hated by two jealous elders. In some tales the characters are female and in others they are males. One of the stories has a tragic ending since the younger brother dies after having been poisoned by his elder brothers.
There is another version originated in Japan, which tells the story of a girl who escapes from her evil stepmother with the help of Buddhist nuns and joins their convent.
The earliest European tale “The Cat Cinderella” (“La Gatta Cenerontola”) appeared in the book by the Italian collector Giambattista Basile. in 1635. The story laid the foundations for the future versions published by Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.
In 1697 the most popular version of Cinderella was written by the French Charles Perrault: “Cinderella” or “The Little Glass Slipper”. Although the author added many elements to the original story, like a fairy godmother, a pumpkin, mice and a glass slipper, it became popular everywhere. It is thought that in Perrault’s original version Cinderella wore a pair of fur (pantoufle en vair), but when the story was translated into English vair was mistaken for verre (glass) resulting in glass slipper and the story has remained like that ever since.
Whenever the girl finished the housework , she sat in the cinders which caused her to be called Cinderella.
In 1812 another version of the story was written by the German Brothers Grimm. It was called “Ash Girl”, though this time there is not a fairy godmother but a hazelnut tree that grows on her mother’s grave and granted Cinderella’s wishes.
Apart from that, there is also a Chinese version, “Ye Xian”, in which the fairy Godmother is personified by a fish (instead of the pigeons of the Brothers Grimm story). The fish is the reincarnation of the dead mother who had been killed by the stepmother. In this culture people feel admiration towards little feet.
In the Scottish Celtic myth, there is a story about Gean , Donn and Critheanach. The first ones are the stepsisters and Critheanach is Cinderella.
The following is a brief revision of the patriarchal versions written by Basile, Perrault and Brothers Grimm.
lll“The Cat Cinderella” by G. Basile.
This is the story of a young woman called Zenolla who kills her wicked stepmother following the instructions given by her nursemaid, Carmosine and gets her father gets married to this woman. After reaching her objective Carmosine becomes as an evil woman as her predecessor. That is the moment when she introduces her own daughters who catch all her love and attention. Up to this time the protagonist is called Cat Cinderella. One day her
father goes on a trip and asks his daughters what they want him to bring them . The girls ask for expensive and luxury presents, except for Cat Cinderella who wants him to pray the fairies’ dove to send her something special that she does not name. However he forgets so and it is the captain of the ship who reminds him her daughter’s wish. When coming back he meets the fairies and they give him a date for her to be planted and taken care by the girl. T hat is what she does and after four days it has the size of a woman. A fairy appears from the tree and teaches Cat Cinderella a poem to be said whenever she feels sad bur warms her to do so without been discovered by her stepsisters.
A few days later a ball is organized in the kingdom. Cat Cinderella’s stepsisters get ready to go though they don’t allow her to attend there, so that she asks the fairies to help her. When she arrives at the palace the king fell in surrender at her feet. One of the servants wants to know who that gorgeous woman is, so she drops some coins and runs away. The following night something similar happens, she prevents the servant from making questions to her by throwing jewels and precious stones at him. The third night she leaves a slipper on the stairs. The king organizes a new ball where all women attending the party have to try it on. This shoe-test allows the king to meet Zenolla again. They get married and her stepsisters die of envy.
In this version the narrator insists on the protagonist’s beauty which causes passion in the king but envy in her stepsisters.
lll“Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper” by C. Perrault.
There was a widower who had a beautiful and sweet tempered daughter . After some time he married a vain and naughty woman who also had two evil daughters. These girls and her mother forced the pretty girl to work hard all day long. While doing the housework she sat on the cinders which caused her to be called Cinderella. She suffered her stepmother and stepsisters’ jealousness and envy, but she couldn’t tell anything to his father about such a cruel situation because the woman had entire control over her husband.
One day the Prince organized a ball at his kingdom and invited all the young ladies so that he could choose his future wife. When the two stepsisters got the invitation they immediately made Cinderella to prepare them. The poor girl also dreamt of going to the party but her wicked stepsisters told her that a servant never attended a ball.
When everybody left to the royal palace Cinderella started to cry desperately in the kitchen. A fairy Godmother appeared and decided to help her by turning a pumpkin into a coach, a rat into a coachman, lizard into footmen and mice into horses. Though the most important thing was the change she caused on the girl for she turned her rags into a unbelievably beautiful dress which matched with a pair of glass slippers. The Godmother told Cinderella to have fun but she warmed her to come back before midnight since the spell would disappear.
At the ball, the complete audience were fascinated at Cinderella’s beauty, especially the prince who kept by her side during the whole night, even her sisters were not able to recognize her at all. Before the clock stroke twelve, she left the ball and came back home. There she thanked her Godmother for her help.
The next evening there was another ball and Cinderella again managed to go because of her fairy Godmother’s help. When the prince saw him he became even more interested in her. That night she did not take into account her godmother’s advice for she left the palace at the final stroke of midnight. While running she lost one of her glass slippers on the stairs. Outside the palace, the prince asked his guards about that woman, they answered they had only seen a simple country girl passing by. The prince picked up the slipper and kept it but he promised to find the owner of that glass shoe and marry her. In the meantime Cinderella hid the other slipped which remained in a perfect way even after the spell had gone.
The prince himself tried the shoe on all the young women in the land. When he arrived at Cinderella’s her stepsisters tried it on in vain. Then the beautiful girl asked if she could also try, and in spite of her stepsisters taunted her, she did that and of course, it fitted her perfectly well. After that, Cinderella decided to show them the other slipper.
Her stepmother and stepsisters begged Cinderella to forgive them for all their cruelties and this noble woman did so. She got married to the prince and her stepsisters married two lords. They all lived happily ever after.
key elements:
As in Basile’s story, marriage is the most valuable aim for women.
There is a moral and physical contrast between Cinderella and her stepsisters. Beauty is a treasure but goodness is priceless and without this value nothing is possible.
The story is told in many cultures, which points out the universality of the themes found in the tale. In modern times the meaning of the story has focused on romantic love. All the same, in class societies the prince recognizing Cinderella’s beauty would have implication of social position.
Bibliography:
1634-1636 Basile, "Cendrillon"G. In Dundes 1988.
1696-1697 Madame D’Aulnoy “Finita Cenicienta”. In Aulnoy 1991.
1697 Perrault, C. “Cinderella, or The Glass Slipper” In Dundes 1988.
1812 Grimm, J y W. “Ash Girl”. In Dundes 1988.
1817 Rossini, G. “La Cenerentola”. In Rossini 1971.
1884 Gregor, W. “The Red Calf” (« Rashin Coatie »). In Philip 1995.
1950 Disney, Walt, “Cinderella”. In Disney 1950.
This very famous tale is one of the most popular, and it is considered the best-known story as well as one of the oldest in times.
Cinderella, the young woman oppressed and mistreated by the rivalry of her ugly stepmother and evil stepsisters who have a negative power over her, but at the end of the story she manages to be happy by getting married to the charming prince, has a large number of variations according to the social and cultural backgrounds where they take place, throughout the five continents and different time.
Certain groups have been identified in those versions:
• The protagonist of the story is the suffering heroine, though at the end she is recognized through a shoe and there is a turning point in her life.
• Incest also appeared in the story: the father wishes to marry her daughter and leads her to run away and be trapped in such a dreadful situation.
• King Lear’s theme: the daughter is exiled by her father because he considers her love insufficient.
• Male characters star in some versions.
Cinderella may have originated in classical antiquity:
In the 1st Century BC the Greek historian Strabo recorded what is considered the oldest well- known version of the story: the tale of a Greco-Egyptian girl called Rhodopis: One day her fellow servants left Rhodopis washing clothes in a stream while they all went to a function sponsored by the Pharaoh Amasis. An eagle took the girl's rose-gilded sandal and dropped it at the feet of the Pharaoh in the city of Memphis. Then he asked the women of the kingdom to try that sandal on in order to see which one fitted. Rhodopis succeded and the Pharaoh fell in love with her and they finally got married.
The story later appeared again showing that Cinderella theme remainded popular throughout time. perhaps the origin of the fairy tale figure can be traced back as far as the 6th Century B.C. (Ancient story-teller Aesop).
During the Middle Ages, another version of the story appeared, about in 890 in the famous “One Thousand and One Nights”: stories which dealt with the theme of a younger sibling hated by two jealous elders. In some tales the characters are female and in others they are males. One of the stories has a tragic ending since the younger brother dies after having been poisoned by his elder brothers.
There is another version originated in Japan, which tells the story of a girl who escapes from her evil stepmother with the help of Buddhist nuns and joins their convent.
The earliest European tale “The Cat Cinderella” (“La Gatta Cenerontola”) appeared in the book by the Italian collector Giambattista Basile. in 1635. The story laid the foundations for the future versions published by Perrault and the Brothers Grimm.
In 1697 the most popular version of Cinderella was written by the French Charles Perrault: “Cinderella” or “The Little Glass Slipper”. Although the author added many elements to the original story, like a fairy godmother, a pumpkin, mice and a glass slipper, it became popular everywhere. It is thought that in Perrault’s original version Cinderella wore a pair of fur (pantoufle en vair), but when the story was translated into English vair was mistaken for verre (glass) resulting in glass slipper and the story has remained like that ever since.
Whenever the girl finished the housework , she sat in the cinders which caused her to be called Cinderella.
In 1812 another version of the story was written by the German Brothers Grimm. It was called “Ash Girl”, though this time there is not a fairy godmother but a hazelnut tree that grows on her mother’s grave and granted Cinderella’s wishes.
Apart from that, there is also a Chinese version, “Ye Xian”, in which the fairy Godmother is personified by a fish (instead of the pigeons of the Brothers Grimm story). The fish is the reincarnation of the dead mother who had been killed by the stepmother. In this culture people feel admiration towards little feet.
In the Scottish Celtic myth, there is a story about Gean , Donn and Critheanach. The first ones are the stepsisters and Critheanach is Cinderella.
The following is a brief revision of the patriarchal versions written by Basile, Perrault and Brothers Grimm.
lll“The Cat Cinderella” by G. Basile.
This is the story of a young woman called Zenolla who kills her wicked stepmother following the instructions given by her nursemaid, Carmosine and gets her father gets married to this woman. After reaching her objective Carmosine becomes as an evil woman as her predecessor. That is the moment when she introduces her own daughters who catch all her love and attention. Up to this time the protagonist is called Cat Cinderella. One day her
father goes on a trip and asks his daughters what they want him to bring them . The girls ask for expensive and luxury presents, except for Cat Cinderella who wants him to pray the fairies’ dove to send her something special that she does not name. However he forgets so and it is the captain of the ship who reminds him her daughter’s wish. When coming back he meets the fairies and they give him a date for her to be planted and taken care by the girl. T hat is what she does and after four days it has the size of a woman. A fairy appears from the tree and teaches Cat Cinderella a poem to be said whenever she feels sad bur warms her to do so without been discovered by her stepsisters.A few days later a ball is organized in the kingdom. Cat Cinderella’s stepsisters get ready to go though they don’t allow her to attend there, so that she asks the fairies to help her. When she arrives at the palace the king fell in surrender at her feet. One of the servants wants to know who that gorgeous woman is, so she drops some coins and runs away. The following night something similar happens, she prevents the servant from making questions to her by throwing jewels and precious stones at him. The third night she leaves a slipper on the stairs. The king organizes a new ball where all women attending the party have to try it on. This shoe-test allows the king to meet Zenolla again. They get married and her stepsisters die of envy.
In this version the narrator insists on the protagonist’s beauty which causes passion in the king but envy in her stepsisters.
lll“Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper” by C. Perrault.
There was a widower who had a beautiful and sweet tempered daughter . After some time he married a vain and naughty woman who also had two evil daughters. These girls and her mother forced the pretty girl to work hard all day long. While doing the housework she sat on the cinders which caused her to be called Cinderella. She suffered her stepmother and stepsisters’ jealousness and envy, but she couldn’t tell anything to his father about such a cruel situation because the woman had entire control over her husband.
One day the Prince organized a ball at his kingdom and invited all the young ladies so that he could choose his future wife. When the two stepsisters got the invitation they immediately made Cinderella to prepare them. The poor girl also dreamt of going to the party but her wicked stepsisters told her that a servant never attended a ball.
When everybody left to the royal palace Cinderella started to cry desperately in the kitchen. A fairy Godmother appeared and decided to help her by turning a pumpkin into a coach, a rat into a coachman, lizard into footmen and mice into horses. Though the most important thing was the change she caused on the girl for she turned her rags into a unbelievably beautiful dress which matched with a pair of glass slippers. The Godmother told Cinderella to have fun but she warmed her to come back before midnight since the spell would disappear.
At the ball, the complete audience were fascinated at Cinderella’s beauty, especially the prince who kept by her side during the whole night, even her sisters were not able to recognize her at all. Before the clock stroke twelve, she left the ball and came back home. There she thanked her Godmother for her help.
The next evening there was another ball and Cinderella again managed to go because of her fairy Godmother’s help. When the prince saw him he became even more interested in her. That night she did not take into account her godmother’s advice for she left the palace at the final stroke of midnight. While running she lost one of her glass slippers on the stairs. Outside the palace, the prince asked his guards about that woman, they answered they had only seen a simple country girl passing by. The prince picked up the slipper and kept it but he promised to find the owner of that glass shoe and marry her. In the meantime Cinderella hid the other slipped which remained in a perfect way even after the spell had gone.
The prince himself tried the shoe on all the young women in the land. When he arrived at Cinderella’s her stepsisters tried it on in vain. Then the beautiful girl asked if she could also try, and in spite of her stepsisters taunted her, she did that and of course, it fitted her perfectly well. After that, Cinderella decided to show them the other slipper.
Her stepmother and stepsisters begged Cinderella to forgive them for all their cruelties and this noble woman did so. She got married to the prince and her stepsisters married two lords. They all lived happily ever after.
key elements:
As in Basile’s story, marriage is the most valuable aim for women.
There is a moral and physical contrast between Cinderella and her stepsisters. Beauty is a treasure but goodness is priceless and without this value nothing is possible.
lll"Ash Girl” by the Brothers Grimm. 
The story also starts with the suffering heroine whose father had to go on a trip and asked his daughters to choose a present. The stepsisters wanted dresses, pearls and jewels, but Cinderella only asked for something his father touched with his hat when coming back home. That object was a branch of a hazelnut tree. Cinderella thanked her father, planted it on her mother’s grave and watered it with her own tears. After a few days it became a tall tree. Every day Cinderella sat under the hazel nut tree , wept and prayed. There was a little bird which always came there, too and sat on the tallest branches. Whenever the girl expressed a wish the bird threw down to her.
One day the king organized a festival and invited all the beautiful young women to it, he wanted his son to choose a bride. As soon as the stepsisters learned about it they made Cinderella to help them to get dressed and comb their hair. Cinderella did so but she asked her stepmother if she could also attend to the ball. The wicked woman told the suffering girl that she would let her go only if she was able to pick up a dish of lentils she had emptied into the ashes for her in two hours.
Cinderella went to the garden and asked the pigeon and all the birds and doves to help her with that difficult task and in less than one hour the kitchen was clean and bright and the birds disappeared. Later the girl took the dish to her stepmother, but she told Cinderella that she couldn’t go because she didn’t have anything to wear and everybody would laugh at her. The poor girl started to cry so the woman emptied two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes again and told her to pick them up if she really wanted her stepmother to help her with the clothes. The evil woman was sure the girl couldn’t do that again.
While weeping Cinderella begged the pigeons, the doves and the birds to help her and hardly had half an hour passed before they had finished and all flew out. Now Cinderella hoped to go to the festival with her stepsisters. However her
stepmother did not allow her go to for she couldn’t even dance. After that the stepsisters and the stepmother left proudly to the ball.
Alone Cinderella went to her mother’s grave and began to weep under the hazel tree, and prayed for a gold and silver dress. Immediately the bird came to her and gave her a gold and silver dress matching with a pair of slippers. She put on the dress and hurried to the festival.
When she arrived there nobody recognized her and everybody thought she was a foreign princess. The prince walked to her, took her hand and danced with her all night long.
Late in the evening she wanted to go home but the prince said he would go with her. The beautiful girl escaped from him and sprang into the pigeon-house. When the prince told his father what had happened, the king decided to hew the pigeon-house into pieces with an axe, but there was no one inside it. When they went home they found Cinderella sitting in the ashes since one more time the bird had helped her.
The next day when everybody had left home to attend to the festival again, Cinderella came back to the tree and repeated her wish. The bird threw down and gave her a more beautiful dress than on the previous day, and when she appeared in the royal palace everybody was even more astonished at her beauty and the prince took her hand and spent the whole evening dancing with her.
When she got ready to leave the prince told her he wanted to go with her, but again she managed to escaped by climbing a tree from which magnificent pears hung. The prince tried to follow her but he couldn’t. He told his father that he thought she had climbed up the pear-tree and the king thought of Cinderella, took an axe and cut down the tree, though nobody was there. When they got into the house the girl lay among the ashes wearing her grey dress as usual.
On the third day Cinderella was able to go to the ball again after being given a more splendid dress and golden slippers. And again the people at the festival was amazed at her unequalled beauty. The prince danced with no one else but her. When it was time to leave Cinderella escaped so quickly that the prince couldn’t follow her, but this time he had smeared the stairs with pitch so when she ran down one of her shoe got stuck on the steps. The king’s son picked it up and the following day both the king and the prince decided to knock at all the young women’s houses to find the owner of the golden slipper.
One of the two stepsisters wanted to try it on but her toe was so big that she couldn’t put it on. Her stepmother gave her a knife and told her to cut the toe off. She did so and forced her foot into the shoe and came back to the prince who took her as his bride and went away with her. On their way to the kingdom they had to pass the grave and they found two pigeons sitting on the branches of the hazelnut tree. They told the prince that there was blood falling from the shoe, since it was too small to belong to that woman, and that the true bride was still waiting for him. The prince looked at her foot and saw the blood so he decided to come back to the house.
He said that was not the right girl and there should be her sister. Now the second stepsister appeared but as her heel was too large her mother gave her a knife and made her to cut a bit off her heel, the girl obeyed her, put on the shoe swallowing the pain and went to the prince. He took her on his horse as a bride and rode away with her. When they passed by the hazelnut tree they saw the two pigeons crying and saying that there was blood running out of the shoe because it was too small for her, and that the right bride was still waiting for him.
The prince took the false woman home again and asked the father if she had another daughter, but he denied it. Then he added that he had another daughter but it was impossible that she had been to the festival. The prince asked the man to call her and although his wife said she was too dirty to be shown, the king’s son insisted on and Cinderella was called.
The prince gave her the slipper to try it on and it fitted like a glove. When she look into the king’s son’s eyes and he looked at her face, he recognized her and said that she was the right bride. He took Cinderella on his horse and left with her. The stepmother and the stepsisters were horrified with hatred.
When they passed by the tree, the two pigeons flew down and placed on Cinderella’s shoulders.
On the wedding day the stepsisters went to see Cinderella, but the pigeons pecked out their eyes from each so they became blind as a punishment for their behaviour.
Highlighted elements:
Suffering heroine.
Father’s trip and presents: Greed in contrast with unselfishness. Beauty in contrast with ugliness.
Simplicity compensated with the hazel branch.
Heroine tested twice.
Bride-show: different hiding places: the pigeon-tree, the pear-tree and the loss of the golden slipper during the third evening.
Shoe-test : Self mutilation. Heroine’s natural beauty.
Wedding day: punished stepsisters: blood and self mutilation. The pigeons symbolize Cinderella’s mother. The birds’ revenge stresses women rivalry. There is no reconciliation in this tale.
The story also starts with the suffering heroine whose father had to go on a trip and asked his daughters to choose a present. The stepsisters wanted dresses, pearls and jewels, but Cinderella only asked for something his father touched with his hat when coming back home. That object was a branch of a hazelnut tree. Cinderella thanked her father, planted it on her mother’s grave and watered it with her own tears. After a few days it became a tall tree. Every day Cinderella sat under the hazel nut tree , wept and prayed. There was a little bird which always came there, too and sat on the tallest branches. Whenever the girl expressed a wish the bird threw down to her.
One day the king organized a festival and invited all the beautiful young women to it, he wanted his son to choose a bride. As soon as the stepsisters learned about it they made Cinderella to help them to get dressed and comb their hair. Cinderella did so but she asked her stepmother if she could also attend to the ball. The wicked woman told the suffering girl that she would let her go only if she was able to pick up a dish of lentils she had emptied into the ashes for her in two hours.
Cinderella went to the garden and asked the pigeon and all the birds and doves to help her with that difficult task and in less than one hour the kitchen was clean and bright and the birds disappeared. Later the girl took the dish to her stepmother, but she told Cinderella that she couldn’t go because she didn’t have anything to wear and everybody would laugh at her. The poor girl started to cry so the woman emptied two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes again and told her to pick them up if she really wanted her stepmother to help her with the clothes. The evil woman was sure the girl couldn’t do that again.
While weeping Cinderella begged the pigeons, the doves and the birds to help her and hardly had half an hour passed before they had finished and all flew out. Now Cinderella hoped to go to the festival with her stepsisters. However her
stepmother did not allow her go to for she couldn’t even dance. After that the stepsisters and the stepmother left proudly to the ball.
Alone Cinderella went to her mother’s grave and began to weep under the hazel tree, and prayed for a gold and silver dress. Immediately the bird came to her and gave her a gold and silver dress matching with a pair of slippers. She put on the dress and hurried to the festival.
When she arrived there nobody recognized her and everybody thought she was a foreign princess. The prince walked to her, took her hand and danced with her all night long.
Late in the evening she wanted to go home but the prince said he would go with her. The beautiful girl escaped from him and sprang into the pigeon-house. When the prince told his father what had happened, the king decided to hew the pigeon-house into pieces with an axe, but there was no one inside it. When they went home they found Cinderella sitting in the ashes since one more time the bird had helped her.
The next day when everybody had left home to attend to the festival again, Cinderella came back to the tree and repeated her wish. The bird threw down and gave her a more beautiful dress than on the previous day, and when she appeared in the royal palace everybody was even more astonished at her beauty and the prince took her hand and spent the whole evening dancing with her.
When she got ready to leave the prince told her he wanted to go with her, but again she managed to escaped by climbing a tree from which magnificent pears hung. The prince tried to follow her but he couldn’t. He told his father that he thought she had climbed up the pear-tree and the king thought of Cinderella, took an axe and cut down the tree, though nobody was there. When they got into the house the girl lay among the ashes wearing her grey dress as usual.
On the third day Cinderella was able to go to the ball again after being given a more splendid dress and golden slippers. And again the people at the festival was amazed at her unequalled beauty. The prince danced with no one else but her. When it was time to leave Cinderella escaped so quickly that the prince couldn’t follow her, but this time he had smeared the stairs with pitch so when she ran down one of her shoe got stuck on the steps. The king’s son picked it up and the following day both the king and the prince decided to knock at all the young women’s houses to find the owner of the golden slipper.
One of the two stepsisters wanted to try it on but her toe was so big that she couldn’t put it on. Her stepmother gave her a knife and told her to cut the toe off. She did so and forced her foot into the shoe and came back to the prince who took her as his bride and went away with her. On their way to the kingdom they had to pass the grave and they found two pigeons sitting on the branches of the hazelnut tree. They told the prince that there was blood falling from the shoe, since it was too small to belong to that woman, and that the true bride was still waiting for him. The prince looked at her foot and saw the blood so he decided to come back to the house.
He said that was not the right girl and there should be her sister. Now the second stepsister appeared but as her heel was too large her mother gave her a knife and made her to cut a bit off her heel, the girl obeyed her, put on the shoe swallowing the pain and went to the prince. He took her on his horse as a bride and rode away with her. When they passed by the hazelnut tree they saw the two pigeons crying and saying that there was blood running out of the shoe because it was too small for her, and that the right bride was still waiting for him.
The prince took the false woman home again and asked the father if she had another daughter, but he denied it. Then he added that he had another daughter but it was impossible that she had been to the festival. The prince asked the man to call her and although his wife said she was too dirty to be shown, the king’s son insisted on and Cinderella was called.
The prince gave her the slipper to try it on and it fitted like a glove. When she look into the king’s son’s eyes and he looked at her face, he recognized her and said that she was the right bride. He took Cinderella on his horse and left with her. The stepmother and the stepsisters were horrified with hatred.
When they passed by the tree, the two pigeons flew down and placed on Cinderella’s shoulders.
On the wedding day the stepsisters went to see Cinderella, but the pigeons pecked out their eyes from each so they became blind as a punishment for their behaviour.
Highlighted elements:
Suffering heroine.
Father’s trip and presents: Greed in contrast with unselfishness. Beauty in contrast with ugliness.
Simplicity compensated with the hazel branch.
Heroine tested twice.
Bride-show: different hiding places: the pigeon-tree, the pear-tree and the loss of the golden slipper during the third evening.
Shoe-test : Self mutilation. Heroine’s natural beauty.
Wedding day: punished stepsisters: blood and self mutilation. The pigeons symbolize Cinderella’s mother. The birds’ revenge stresses women rivalry. There is no reconciliation in this tale.
