Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper
Who wrote it?
Charles Perrault
Where can it be found?
The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales
Edited by Maria Tatar
Edited by Maria Tatar
Adaptation?
Only in that Perrault wrote down his version of story that he had heard.
My thoughts in exactly 10 words:
Almost painfully lovely, Cinderella repudiates her soot and metaphorical shackles.
Extended thoughts:
It was Perrault that first introduced the idea of a fairy godmother; apparently most other versions at the time had nature bequeath the gown and slippers to Cinderella (or whatever she was called in each particular version). Perrault, however, makes sure that the main character is so incredible gracious that she deserves all she receives at the end of the story. After all, his moral would not have been quite as convincing otherwise. This version contains none of the gruesome chopping off toes and heals that some do, and is in every way a pleasant story.
Favourite Quote:
“Anyone else but Cinderella would have given them unflattering hairdos, but Cinderella was good-natured, and she put their hair up perfectly.”
Is it annotated?
Yes
Most interesting thing I learned from the annotations:
The focus on extravagance seen in the two sisters (who weren’t actually described as ugly anywhere, just that Cinderella was much lovelier) included a mirror “so tall that you could see yourself from head to toe.” Full length mirrors were a very high priced item in those days and are sign of excess. But it was the way the annotation said: “and there is something almost magical associated with being able to see your image from head to toe” that really jumped out at me. There is a fantasy series that I’ve been reading that I absolutely love, and in it one of the fables about where magic itself came from is the creation of the first full length mirror. So it struck a chord with me.
Moral of the story in my own words:
Being graceful and compassionate are the greatest qualities, but being beautiful and having a nice dress help when trying to catch a man.
Find it on Goodreads
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