The Cinderella story is probably the best known and most loved fairy tale in the world. In 1951, the Swedish folklorist Anna Birgitta Rooth published her doctoral dissertation
Cinderella Cycle
which was based on seven hundred versions of the story which she had collected. (Alan Dundes,
Cinderella: A Folklore Casebook,
p. xiii.) Over the years, more tales have been discovered and identified as Cinderella stories so that now there are thousands of them.
The form of the tale that is popular today is that in which a cinder-girl is able to attend a ball through the benevolence of a fairy godmother on condition that she returns before midnight. Either Charles Perrault or his son Pierre Perrault published this story in 1697 and it is now the standard against which most other Cinderella stories are compared. Common characteristics to be found in most of these stories are that of a wicked stepmother who promotes her own ugly, lazy and vain children above that of her step-daughter. This stepchild, who is usually beautiful, hard-working and kind, is consigned to doing all the hard and dirty work and ends up living among the cinders, thus becoming known as Cinderella. The sisters are invited to a ball. Cinderella cannot attend as she doesn't have any appropriate clothes. A fairy godmother appears and arrays her in fabulous clothes but with the condition that she return home before midnight. Cinderella attends the ball and becomes its belle. She has such a wonderful time that she forgets the time until the clock strikes twelve and she leaves in a great hurry. The prince has fallen in love with her but now cannot find her. In her haste to leave, she drops one of her slippers. The prince tries this slipper on all women to find out its owner. Finally, it is tried on Cinderella. It fits. She marries the prince and they live happily ever after.
The first known story of Cinderella comes from China where it appeared in
The Miscellaneous Record of Yu Yang
a book which dates from the T'ang dynasty 618-907 A.D. (Louie Ai-Ling,
Yeh-Shin,
introduction). Bruno Bettelheim, in
The Uses of Enchantment
(p. 236), speculates that "The unrivaled tiny foot size as a mark of extraordinary virtue, distinction, and beauty, and the slipper made of precious material are facets which point to an Eastern, if not necessarily Chinese, origin." The ancient Chinese bound women's feet to make them small as their belief was that small feet made the woman sexually attractive and beautiful. These two aspects of the small feet and the beautiful slipper seem to have influenced the Cinderella stories that abound in Europe.
The next-oldest story of Cinderella is from Egypt and this tale is a fascinating mix of both fact and fable. It is speculated that Rhodopis was born in northern Greece, kidnapped by pirates as a child, and then sold to a rich man on the island of Samos. One of her companion slaves was Aesop. When she was almost grown, she was taken to Egypt where she was bought by a Greek man named Charaxos who gave her many gifts which may have included rose-red slippers. What is fact is that a Greek slave girl, Rhodopis, married the Pharaoh Amasis (Dynasty XXVI, 570-526 B.C.) and became his queen.
The first European Cinderella-type tale was published by Basile in Italy in 1634 where it was included in the
Pentamerone
(Day 1, tale 6) as "La Gatta Cerentola" and is now often referred to as "The Cat Cinderella". The Perrault version was published in Paris in 1697 and the Grimm brothers wrote down and published their story in the early 1800's. This was translated into English in 1826. (I. and P. Opie,
The Classic Fairy Tales,
pp. 117-119) In this unit, the students will study the Perrault retelling and the Grimms' brothers story as well as Cinderella-type stories that are found in many other cultures in the world. The students' bibliography includes twenty-one Cinderella stories that can be used, and there are many others that can be found on the shelves of children's libraries today.
The purpose of this study is to look at the stories, determine how the culture of a story has affected it, then note the similarities and the differences between the various stories read. The reading levels of the various versions of these stories will differ greatly, so the emphasis in this section will not be on developing reading skills but on developing the skills of understanding and appreciating one's fellow human beings.
Suggested Activities
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1. Each student will read his /her story silently.
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2. Have each student make a vocabulary list of the new and unusual words in the story, particularly those with cultural importance. They should then study these words, write down their meanings, and later determine their impact on the story.
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3. Research the customs of each cultural group, especially those relating to family structure, division of labor, courtship and marriage or other practices pertinent to the story. If possible, find out the origin of these traditions. For example, the dowry system in India was originally intended to safeguard the financial stability of the bride. Be prepared to discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of current practices.
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4. Tell the story to the class using the vocabulary appropriate to the country of origin.
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5. Make up a questionnaire that will highlight some of the similarities. Present your findings to the class for discussion and questions. Suggested questions:
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a) What kind of magic turns Cinderella into a desirable beauty?
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b) What happens to the stepsisters? c) Why is beauty so important?
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d) Why is the mother/godmother so helpful?
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e) How does the prince test women to find Cinderella?
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6. Make a chart that will allow for the comparing of the stories involved. Possible headings for the columns would be:
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____
a)
When
does the story take place?
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____
b)
Where
does the story take place?
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____
c) Who are the members of the
family
?
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____
d)
Who
is the heroine of the story?
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____
e)
What
are her character traits?
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f) Who
helps
her?
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g) Is there a
ball
?
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h)What is the
test object
?
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i) What is the
test
?
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j) What are the
animals
that have a major role in the story?
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7. Dress in the dress of the country represented while telling the story.
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8. Have a class discussion on relationships in the story, focusing on sibling rivalry and ways of dealing with it. Other topics for discussion, that arise out of the Cinderella story, may be jealousy, feelings of inferiority, knowing your own worth, rewards, death (as it is usually the death of the mother that brings about the change in circumstances), dealing with an extended family, dealing with beauty or talents, etc.
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9. Role-playing situations that are contemporary versions of Cinderella's problems.
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10. Have a Cinderella party with each person bringing a food dish from the country he/she studied.
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11. Make a multi-cultural mural of the story with each student contributing a part which is unique to the story he/she studied.