Cinderella

Synopsis

• Rhodopis is ridiculed and mocked by the other slaves, who force her to do all the most humiliating work.
• One day, the Pharaoh invites the populace to a great feast, but the slaves stop Rhodopis from joining. While the poor girl is by the river doing the laundry, the god Horus, in the form of a falcon, steals her slipper and drops it into the pharaoh’s lap, who is seduced by the divine nature of the incident.
• He then goes in search of its owner, and after many attempts he reaches Rhodopis and takes her as his wife.

Cinderella and Footbinding?

"He told those about him to put it on; but it was an inch too small even for the one among them that had the smallest foot. He ordered all the women in his kingdom to try it on; but there was not one that it fitted. It was light as down and made no noise even when treading on stone."

Small Feet

In Yeh-Shen the king has never even seen the girl who wore the shoe, his mad crusade to find the owner is fueled only by his love of the slipper and the assumption that the wearer must be beautiful because of the shoes small size.

Chinese Footbinding?

“There are a thousand buckets of tears for one who binds her feet” ~ old Chinese saying.

Cultural

Connections

• The process took about 2 years, starting with little girls as young as 2, though many were usually about 5
• First, the feet were soaked in a warm mixture of animal blood and herbs, after which the toenails were cut and the feet massaged. Then, apart from the big toe, the other toes were broken and curled under the foot. The foot was then brought level with the leg and the arch broken. Only then was the foot bound, with the bandages wrapped around the feet, pressing the broken toes tightly against the sole of the foot. The ends of the bandages were sewn tightly so they could not be undone. The feet were regularly unbound, washed, massaged and re-bound, each time more tightly.
• All done with no anesthetic, no painkillers to attain the ideal – a 3 inch long foot, which would remain bound for life.

Why a Fish or Carp?

Carp

• In the story, Yeh Shen catches a fish and keeps it in a pond. It is believed that people began to hold carp in ponds during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD- close to when this story was recorded).
• After some genetic mutation, some of these carps displayed a gold tint rather than a silver coloration. People began to breed the gold variety and would keep them in a body of water, such as a pond. A fish represents wealth and prosperity because the word in Chinese for “fish,” is so close to the word for “abundance."
• Fish also symbolize harmony, marital happiness and reproduction because they multiply rapidly and sometimes swim in pairs.
• Chinese legend says people placed messages in the bellies of the fish, and thus the fish has come to symbolize communication with a distant friend or loved one.

Why a slipper or shoe?

"Shoes are often transformative not just because they're made of glass or rubies: they’re a symbolic means through which women find grounding in the world, and have their lives changed, for better or worse." ~ Elizabeth King

Slippers & Shoes

For better: Cinderella moves from wooden shoes made for performing menial housework to the finest shoes

For worse: Magical shoes sometimes serve as gruesome tasks in order to atone for perceived sins. Shoes made of iron often signify both persistence and self-sacrifice.

Women’s shoes operate as symbols of social rank.

Donkeyskin's Cultural Taboo

Donkeyskin

"The king noticed it himself and, burning with a desire that drove him mad, he took it into his head that she ought to marry him...But the young princess, saddened by this kind of love, grieved and wept night and day"

• The father-daughter relationship often determines the actions and behavior taken by women in fairy tales.
• In "Donkeyskin", the theme of incest is exposed, showing the king's inappropriate lust for his daughter. He longs for his daughter, driving her to use tactful cleverness through disguise to escape this twisted love. The king's so called "love" is so strong for the princess that he would give up nearly all the wealth possible for her.
• The princess' fleeing not only takes away any possibility for the king to marry again, a desire of his, but she also takes away his power, his wealth, the other fortune. When the princess flees, she takes his power.

Bird Symbolism

Bird Symbolism

• Birds were considered to have otherworldly abilities letting them fly as messengers and communicators between heaven and earth.
• Birds became important as a way for humans to read signs from the spirit realm, and they were held in awe and even feared. Different birds communicated different warnings.
• For Grimm brothers birds represented different phases of religious awareness (Owl, Raven, and Dove) Faith, hope, and love (Owl = Athena/wisdom, Raven = Odin and bringers of information, Dove = Heaven/transcendent or Holy spirt/love)

Native American Stories

Native American

The youngest sister is forced by her two older sisters to tend the village fire for hours, causing her hair and face to burn from the cinder sparks. The powerful and magical chieftain is seeking a wife, but he is invisible. Although both sisters claim to know what the chieftain looks like, he is visible only to Rough-Face Girl — because her heart is pure and honest, she is able to see his image in the forest and the sky. Dressing herself in a birch-bark dress and worn moccasins, she walks to meet the chieftain. Her beauty is restored after she bathes in a lake, and she is soon married to the chieftain.

African Stories

African

Mufaro loves both of his daughters, but Manyara is selfish and conceited while Nyasha is kind and sensitive. Nyasha befriends a magical snake named Nyoka while working in her garden. Soon the King of Zimbabwe announces that he is seeking a wife. Both Manyara and Nyasha make the difficult journey to his city. Along the way, the sisters encounter a hungry boy and an old woman. Nyasha happily shares her food and is kind to all she encounters while Manyara refuses to share and is disrespectful.

When the sisters approach the King's room, Nyasha discovers that the king is her friend, the magical snake Nyoka. Nyoka asks for Nyasha's hand in marriage and her selfish sister is forced to be her servant.

English Stories

English

Tattercoats lives with her grandfather who doesn't care for her. He vows never to lay eyes on her because his favorite daughter died while in labor with Tattercoats, so she is forced to beg for food and wear rags. Her only friend is a boy who tends to the livestock. When the Prince announces that he will have a ball to choose a bride, Tattercoats and her friend walk to the palace to watch the procession. Along the way, a wealthy gentleman encounters them, falls in love with Tattercoats, and proposes to her.

She refuses, but does agree to go to the palace at midnight in order that he may see her again. When she arrives at the palace in her tattered clothing, everyone laughs at her. The wealthy gentleman reveals that he is the Prince and selects her as his bride. Her clothes are transformed into beautiful garments and her friend becomes a squire.

Irish Stories

Irish

Cinderlad, one of the only male Cinderella stories.

Becan, a poor boy belittled by his stepmother and stepsisters, rescues a princess in distress after meeting a magical bull. The bull dies and gives his tail to Beacan, who wears it as a belt.

Unlike Cinderella, Becan has large feet and a magical bull for a fairy godmother. He defeats a sword-swinging giant, slays a fire-breathing dragon, and rescues a princess. But before the princess can thank him, he runs off, leaving her with only an enormous boot to aid her in the search for her rescuer.