Fairy Tale Spotlight: Cinderella (Perrault Version)

Finally, we get to the version of these tales which most are familiar with. For that, I had to return back to Charles Perrault. This is likely the version of Cinderella that Disney based their movie off of. It is a lot cleaner than the original Donkey-Skin stories and involves less archaic magic. The magic is still there, however.

And now, I give you the synopsis of Cinderella as told by Charles Perrault:

There is a gentleman who is widowed but then remarries. The woman he marries is proud and haughty and has two daughters who are the same. His own daughter is nothing like that, but kind and sweet. These were traits she gained from her own mother who apparently was very charming.

After the wedding, the step-mother unleashes her temper and takes it out on her husband's daughter. She does so because she already knows of her own daughter's ill-tempers and thinks all the kindness makes them look even worse by comparison. She gives her all the worse chores in the household and forces her to sleep in the attic instead of a bedroom. The daughter puts up with all of the mistreatment and does not, even once, complain to her father because he is entirely under the thumb of his new wife.

In her free time, the daughter spends her time sitting among the cinders of the hearth. For this reason, she becomes known around the house as Cinderbum. The younger sister, who is not as rude as the older, prefers calling her Cinderella instead. This is the name that sticks, because even in her rags, Cinderella looks more beautiful than either sister.

One day, the prince gives a ball and invites anyone of a good family. This includes the two step-sisters. They immediately rush about in excitement trying to decide what to wear. Each tries to wear a dress more beautiful than the other. They also look for extravagant ways to accent their hair and face. Interestingly, they ask Cinderella for much of this advice because they think she had good taste. Cinderella gives them advice, and the advice is perfect. Cinderella even offers to do their hair, and they accept.

While Cinderella is helping them with their hair:

Step-Sister: "Cinderella, wouldn't you like to go to the ball?"

Cinderella: "For pity, sisters--you are making fun; that kind of thing is not for me."

Step-Sister: "Quite right--how everyone would laugh, to see Cinderbum going to the ball!"

The step-sisters end up going to the ball without Cinderella. Once they are out of sight down the road, the maiden begins to cry. Now, her godmother notices her tears and asks her what is wrong. Cinderella tries to tell her but she is so choked up that she cannot get the words out. It is now revealed that her godmother is a fairy and she asks Cinderella if it is because she cannot go to the prince's ball. The maiden confirms this.

Cinderella is then instructed to get the godmother a pumpkin. Once done, the insides are scooped out and then it is turned into a large stagecoach. The godmother then finds a mouse trap with rats in it and picks out the one with the longest whiskers. This rat is turned into a fat coachman. Cinderella is then told to retrieve 6 lizards from outside, and these are transformed into 6 footmen who hold onto the stage coach as if trained to do so all of their lives. At this point, the godmother is pleased and tells Cinderella that she has all she needs.

However, Cinderella explains that her rags will never do for a prince's ball. The godmother simply touches the maiden's dress with her wand, and it instantly transforms into a dress made of gold, silver and jewels. She then gives Cinderella a pair of slippers made of glass. Now ready for the ball, Cinderella steps into the stagecoach, but the godmother warns her that she must leave the ball by midnight or else everything will become as they once were. And so Cinderella sets out.

At Cinderella's arrival, her very presence brings the entire ball to a halt. Even the music stops playing as everyone stops to look at this image of beauty. The king himself could not help but be enamored and even admits it to the queen. The prince escorts her to the most prominent place in the hall and they dance. When dinner is served, the prince does not eat but simply stares at this woman, lost in her beauty. However, Cinderella does eat and even sits with her step-sisters, offers them fruit, and talks with them in a very pleasant way. The step-sister are surprised that the one chosen by the prince was paying them so much attention, for they have no idea who she is.

When it becomes close to midnight, Cinderella says her goodbyes and leaves. When she goes home, she thanks her godmother and says she wants to go back tomorrow because the prince asked her to. Before the godmother can answer. the step-sisters knock on her door. Cinderella opens and acts as if she had been sleeping all the while.

They tell Cinderella of how wonderful the ball was and of the mysterious princess that had showed up and was so nice to them. Cinderella asks what the woman's name was, but neither one of them knows. They explain that the prince did not know her name either which had upset him. He would give everything to find out her identity. Cinderella asks if she may borrow a dress so that she could see this princess also, but the step-sisters laugh and refuse. This was the outcome that Cinderella had wanted anyways.

On the second day of the ball, it happens much in the same way as the first, but this time Cinderella's dress is far more beautiful, thanks to her godmother. She makes merry with the prince and has so much fun that she loses track of time. On the first stroke of midnight, Cinderella realizes her mistake and dashes out without even saying goodbye. In her rush, she looses a glass slipper on the steps. The prince picks it up.

Cinderella makes it back home on foot. The stage-coach, driver, and footmen have all changed into their previous forms. Her dress is nothing but rags. Only her glass slipper remains. The prince had sent out guards to look for her, but they return and tell only of seeing some peasant woman. The step-sisters return and tell of the events that occurred. They explain that the prince could not stop staring at the slipper and must surely be in love with its possessor. This was apparently true because, the next day, the prince announces that he will marry whoever's foot fits the slipper.

The step-sisters are the first to try but neither of them can get their big feet inside. Cinderella giggles as she watches them try and then suggests that she should be given a chance, but the step-sisters ridicule her for this. The man sent by the prince notices that this maiden, although dressed in rags, is very beautiful. He asks Cinderella to sit down and places the shoe on her foot. It fits as if it has been molded to fit her. Cinderella takes the other glass slipper from a pocket and places it on her other foot. At once, the godmother appears and touched her wand to Cinderella causing a dress more splendid then the other two to appear.

The step-sisters realize that this is the same woman they had seen at the ball. They throw themselves at Cinderella's feet begging forgiveness for how they had treated her. Cinderella makes them get up, she embraces them, and she forgives them with all of her heart. She also begs them to treat her kindly always to which they agree. She is taken back to the prince where they are married. Cinderella has her step-sisters live in the palace with her and they are married to two lords of the Court.

There is a moral listed with this story that reads as such:

Though beauty's a treasure that women desire,
For everyone's fond of a pretty young face,
Cinderella had gifts with a value much higher,
As she showed in behaving with charm and grace.

Some say, when they're asked what this story might mean,
That these were the gifts that her godmother gave;
Cinderella had learned from her how to behave
With such grace and such charm that is made her a queen.

Young ladies in quest of a prince, you'll discover
That in winning and keeping the heart of a lover
These gifts from the faeries are always the best,
And count for much more than the way you are dressed;
For with them you will get what you're after with ease,
But without them whatever you do will displease.

Perrault oddly includes a second moral which reads as such:

You have a great advantage, I admit,
If you receive from Heaven at your birth
Good breeding, courage, sense, a ready wit,
And other things of comparable worth;
But that is not enough unless you know
How best to use such precious gifts: you need
A godfather or godmother to show
What you must do in order to succeed.

And so ends the synopsis of Cinderella (Perrault Version).

First question is, what in the world happened to the father of Cinderella? The answer likely lies within the Grimm version. He simply became a lukewarm nobody--as one of my regular commentators mentioned. The man was simply too unimportant in the life of Cinderella to even be mentioned this time. This is actually very sad because we know he did exist and could have been a better influence on her. The step-mother is also barely mentioned this time around, and the story focuses entirely on Cinderella and her step-sisters.

On the latter point, did you notice that, although regularly mistreated, Cinderella did not have a particularly bad relationship with her step-sisters? They actually got along rather well. And I did get the impression that Cinderella did love them. And they possibly loved her but with a looming shadow of jealousy for her natural charm and beauty. This dynamic is actually quite plausible and often overlooked in the more modern interpretations of Cinderella where the step-sisters are 100% reprobate. The self-mutilation scenes were also removed for this reason. It would not have made sense. The step-sisters were horrible but not that horrible. They still had good in them.

Remember the three dresses in Donkey-Skin and Allerleirauh? They are in this story too but not as distinctly describes. The first two dresses were seen at the ball and the final dress was seen shortly after she tries on the slipper. This just goes to show that Cinderella is indeed linked to the ancient Donkey-Skin tales.

I do not think this version of Cinderella was a magically adept; although, I do think she does take after her mother. It is unclear if she had previous knowledge that her godmother was a fairy, but she did accept those gifts much easier than most would. The godmother's magic had some archaic qualities to it, but let's just admit it: Much of it was very cute. It is clear that this was the version--or one very similar to it--which inspired the Disney movie the most.

This version of Cinderella was easily the most pure-hearted of the collection. She really went out of her way to be wonderful to everyone. This showed when she chose to hang with her step-sisters at the ball and how she treated them once she was married to the prince. She really was the glorified definition of a proper princess, and a lot of people look to this story for that definition. It also is a great example of what draws us men to women at all.

One thing that was not mentioned in the synopsis was that Perrault briefly named one of the step-sisters Miss Javotte. It happens in the scene where Cinderella begs to borrow a dress to go to the second ball. This never happens again. This is, of course, a French name which means to chatter or gossip. The reason I mention this is that it is EXTREMELY rare for fairy tales to give proper names to anyone but the main character--if even that. This may have been a hidden reference that meant something only to Charles Perrault himself.

With this blog, we have reached the end of the Donkey-Skin tales. Once again, I challenge you to give me your take on this particular interpretation. Take up as much space in the comment block as you like. These fairy tales were made for everyone, and not everyone absorbs them in the same way. I would love to hear different opinions on these tales. They give me just as much insight into them as the stories themselves.

Thank you for reading my long blog! If you enjoyed it or otherwise, you can leave a comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Thank you!