Cinderella!
Cinderella History
Cinderella is one of the most well-known
stories around the world. This story appears in the folklore of many
cultures. There are between 350 and 1500 different versions of this
story in the world today.
The story is based around a kind young
lady (the heroine), who suffers at the hands of her step-family
after the death of her mother. In some stories her father is absent,
while in other versions he neglects Cinderella.
The heroine has a magical guardian who
helps her triumph over her nasty family and receive her greatest wish by
the end of the tale. The guardian is sometimes a representative of the
heroine's dead mother. In most tales she is referred to as the Fairy
Godmother. Most of the tales include a magical event sparked by an
article of clothing (usually a shoe or glass slipper) that causes
the heroine to be recognized for her true worth.
The earliest recorded version of the
Cinderella tale comes from China. It
was written down by Tuan Ch'eng-shih
in the middle of the ninth century A.D (850-60 Common Era). From the way
it was written, it is thought that readers were already familiar with
the story and that this version was the first to be written down. In the
Chinese story the heroine is called Yeh-shen and there is no fairy
godmother. Instead, there is a magical fish who helps Yeh-shen. A golden
shoe leads the prince to her and they marry.
was written down by Tuan Ch'eng-shih
in the middle of the ninth century A.D (850-60 Common Era). From the way
it was written, it is thought that readers were already familiar with
the story and that this version was the first to be written down. In the
Chinese story the heroine is called Yeh-shen and there is no fairy
godmother. Instead, there is a magical fish who helps Yeh-shen. A golden
shoe leads the prince to her and they marry.
The next written down version came from a
Frenchman, Charles Perrault. He wrote the version in 1697 and introduced the
fairy godmother. This story also included the pumpkin
carriage, the animal servants, and the glass slippers. Perrault was told
this story by storytellers and added these extra things for effect. Some people
think that he confused "vair" (French for fur) with "verre"
(French for glass) which would explain how the slipper came to be made of
glass! Also in his version, Cinderella finds husbands for her sisters at the
end.
The Grimm Brothers' version, known
as Aschenputtel or Ash Girl does not have a fairy
godmother. In their story, the heroine plants a tree on her mother's grave
and a white dove helps with the magic. Because of their cruelty to
Cinderella, the
stepsisters have their eyes pecked out by birds.
In modern times, the tale of Cinderella
has been retold in books, musicals, novels, and dreams of
little girls.
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