A Two Tale Comparison Essay Research Paper

A Two Tale Comparison Essay, Research Paper

A Two Tale Comparison

Thinking back to our childhood, we all remember hearing many kinds of fairy tales. Some

of them inspired us others confused us, and most of them taught us valuable lessons. Through out

centuries tales and stories have been used as a valuable tool to pass on our culture to new

generations. There is a strong belief that these fairy tales mirror and influence society. All cultures

interpret tales in their own unique way. They add and subtract various aspects of the tale to fit the

needs of their particular society. The same tale in the United States is different from the tale told

in Asia. A good example of tale evolution can be seen in one of the most famous tales ever told

which is “Cinderella”. As a professor of women’s history Karol Kelley points out in her essay

Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella “There are some 700 versions of Cinderella”.This fairy tale

as many others has been changing for many years, and in recent years Cinderella has come under

some criticism for its depiction of women’s roles in society.

In present day society, where political correctness and equality are at the top of the

priority list, by reading essays such as the one by Karol Kelley we find that this might not have

been the case in earlier days. Fairy tales such as Cinderella have been found guilty of possessing

subliminal socialization traits. Classifying genders as inferior and molding young girls into the

female that society expects them to be. In Charles Perrault’s version, which is considered the most

common, Cinderella is seen as passive, limited, dependent and inferior. As critics argue, these

traits can hinder a child’s self esteem. Karol Kelley states that the “expectations and the promises

of the Cinderella story are psychologically harmful to women.” (p648). The fact that Cinderella is

a limited character may give the girl an impression that she should be happy with what she has

and not have any or aspirations in her life. That is, until her Prince comes to rescue her. Since

these comments were made, the Cinderella story has been modified and changed. In order to see

how gender roles have changed in fairy tales from the old to the new, let’s compare the classic

version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault to a recent version which is a movie that was released in

1998 called “Ever After”which was directed by Andy Tennant . Even though there are some

similarities in the way they classify gender, a significant effort has been made in the movie “Ever

After” to modernize the tale and change the way women are portrayed.

One of the traditional stereotypes that is evident in the classic version of Cinderella is the

passive nature of the girl. Cinderella’s step-mother and her step-sisters constantly mistreat her

which would normally cause a person to react in a rebellious and aggressive way. This is not the

case in this situation. Cinderella absorbs and suppresses the anger, and never lets it show. She

continues to be lovable and caring. “People would laugh if they saw a Cinderbottom at the ball”

Charles Rerrault (p599). After her sister tells her that cinder bottoms like her would not belong at

a ball, she offers to do their hair in preparation for the big night. Teaching kids to hide their

emotions is one of the negative traits of this story. This also teaches the acceptance of an inferior

role in society. Most of these hints are geared towards young girls, who are supposed to see that

they shouldn’t have any aspirations, but wait until their suffering will pay off in a glorious way.

This passiveness takes a different turn in “Ever After”. From the beginning Danielle shows her

toughness and aggressive approach from beating up her male friend when she was young, to

throwing apples at the prince and punching her evil sister in the face. An explosion of emotions

also occurred when the Baroness crossed the line. Another good example of Danielle’s

aggressiveness and daring personality is exposed when she goes to buy back and rescue her

peasant friend. She was not afraid to stand up for what she believes and tell her opinion to the

Prince. She did not let the royalty of the Prince intimidate her. She is not only generous, but she is

also not scared to take risks.

As in most versions of Cinderella, she is beautiful, and characterized as the perfect fit for

the Prince. This indicates that girls should only be pretty objects for men to look at. Girls are

supposed to live up to the expectations of beauty and perfection, which could hinder ones self

esteem deeply if one feels they are not what they are supposed to be. In the movie “Ever After”

things have changed. Danielle is not simply beautiful, and she is not flawless. Danielle is

developed into a strong, mature and smart woman. She is not just a beautiful face but a whole lot

more. She teaches the Prince about literature and moral values. She shows him how to treat other

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