- Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper
- Published by: NorthSouth
- Level: Beginner
- First Published in: 1697
Charles Perrault was a famous French poet who wrote Tales of My Mother Goose, which has had an immense impact on literature. Its stories are witty and teach morals. One of them, Cendrillon (or Cinderella in English), is about a kind and gentle-hearted young girl who is tormented by her stepmother and sisters and who, with the help of her fairy godmother, turns into a princess.
Charles Perrault was a famous French poet and author who became known for his collection of Mother Goose fairytales in the 17th century. Tales of My Mother Goose, as his book has become known, has had an immense impact on literature. Its stories are witty and teach morals. One of them, Cendrillon (or Cinderella in English), is about a kind and gentle-hearted young girl who is tormented by her stepmother and sisters and who, with the help of her fairy godmother, turns into a princess.
'Tales of My Mother Goose has had an immense impact on literature. Its stories are witty and teach morals'
The narrative begins when Cinderella’s mother dies and leaves behind her husband and daughter. When he marries his second wife, who has two daughters, Cinderella finds herself downgraded to the role of a servant. She has to do all the housework, get up before daybreak, carry water, light fires, cook, and wash. In French, “Cendrillon” (Cinderella) is the diminutive of “Cucendron” (a messy child).
However, one day, the prince invites all the ladies to a ball, and once there, he falls in love with Cinderella. In this tale, good triumphs over evil, the wicked are punished, and the virtuous are rewarded. Cinderella is unloved and exploited, but she is chosen by the prince. Since she accepted to live like a poor servant, she is compensated for her suffering. However, the tale promotes kindness, and Cinderella forgives her stepsisters, despite their previous wickedness.
Cinderella has another title: La petite Pantoufle de Verre (The Little Glass Slipper). This refers to an important accessory, which eventually becomes an item in the prince’s quest for a bride. Thanks to it, Cinderella becomes a princess. The style of the tale is both formal and popular, and plenty of hyperbolic language is used, as is typical of such tales. Cinderella is described as “ent fois plus belle que ses soeurs” (a hundred times more beautiful than her stepsisters) and “la plus belle Princesse, la plus belle qu'on puisse jamais voir” (the finest princess, the most beautiful that mortal eyes have ever seen).
This tale belongs to the fantasy genre. Cinderella’s godmother is a fairy, and with her wand, she turns ragged clothes into a beautiful dress and crafts a pair of glass slippers. She then transforms a pumpkin into a coach and commands Cinderella to not remain at the ball after midnight, because if she does, the coach will turn into a pumpkin again and her clothes will go back to their previous state. Centuries later, Walt Disney adapted this tale into a movie. It was enormously successful, as was its soundtrack, which sold 750 million copies. The film was also nominated for Best Song and Best Score at the Academy Awards.
