The Story of ‘Cinderella’: Early Traditions
‘Cinderella’ is considered to be the most popular and famous fairy story of all. The earliest oral traditions of the story of ‘Cinderella’ can be traced back to China in the 9th Century AD, and Greece in the 6th Century BC. There is an oral version, the story of ‘Rhodopis’, from the Greek geographer Strabo, which features a Greek slave girl who marries the King of Egypt. In 1634, the Italian poet Giambattista Basile published his classic fairytale collection, ‘Pentamerone’, which included ‘Cenerentola’. Charles Perrault produced a French version of this fairytale, ‘Cendrillon’, in 1697. Later, the Brothers Grimm published the story of ‘Cinderella’ in 1812.
Walt Disney’s ‘Cinderella’
With its happy and upbeat ending, ‘Cinderella‘ has been a hugely popular fairytale. On February 15th 1950, Walt Disney released the first animated film version of this appealing story. It won the Golden Bear for Best Music Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in June 1951. ‘Cinderella’ was phenomenally successful, and was re-released in 1957, 1965, 1973, 1981 and 1987. This demonstrates the enduring cultural popularity of the story of ‘Cinderella’ at that time.
Cinderella’s Triumph Over Evil
‘Cinderella’ has clearly-defined good characters. Cinderella herself, her Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming are good. But the cruel step-mother and step-sisters are evil. This is a common feature of classic fairytales which often involve poor but virtuous characters. The popular fairy story theme of love and hard work overcoming obstacles is clearly developed as Cinderella toils uncomplainingly for her hard-hearted relatives. In this story, mercy and kindness are shown to have a greater power to bring eventual happiness than selfishness and cruelty. The triumph of good over evil, with Cinderella’s marriage to the Prince, is a deeply satisfying conclusion to the story of ‘Cinderella’.
Magic in the Story of ‘Cinderella’
In addition to these essential fairy tale characteristics, the important elements of fantasy and magic permeate the story of ‘Cinderella’. As in other well-known fairytale classics, magic is deployed to improve the lives of the story characters. Cinderella’s wicked step-mother excludes her from the palace ball. This gives her no chance to meet the Prince, despite her noble birth. So Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother comes to her rescue. Common items such as a pumpkin, white mice and rats are changed by magic into a magnificent coach and horses, with a footman and coach driver. Cinderella’s rags are metamorphosed into a gorgeous ballgown, just as she herself is finally transformed from a ragged servant to a royal princess – a magical ending that will not stop at midnight!
The story of ‘Cinderella’ is illustrated in one of our beautiful children’s story cards, ‘Midnight’, available here.