ONCE UPON A TIME? THE IMMORTAL LURE OF FAIRY TALES-HUMN F009

Cinderella: How does her tale invigorate gender identities in different cultures?

The fairy tale Cinderellais presented in many variants and forms as some versions feature young men while others feature young women who face different tragic circumstances. The author’s comment on the vanishing of male Cinderellas from our cultural horizons is rational because the modern versions reflect contemporary discourses on identity while deconstructing and critiquing messages portrayed by classic tales. Tatar (104) argues that different cultures have evolved to suppress the paternal erotic pursuit as an attempt to promote maternal tyranny. For instance, the classic tales of Cinderella constructed women as inherently evil or good. According to the earliest versions of Cinderella, women were expected to be silent, selfless, heterosexual, industrious, humble and honest. Most cultures have reshaped the fairy tale in order to transmit the evolving belief systems and shifting moral codes. For example, modern adaptations of Cinderella challenge patriarchal hegemony as a way of promoting gender equality, which answers the question as to why male Cinderellas are vanishing among contemporary cultures.

1. The Story of Yeh-hsien

The Chinese Cinderella is about Yeh-hsien, a kind and clever heroine that is orphaned and left to look after her stepsister and tyrannical stepmother. Yeh-hsien tries to secretly raise a fish with love and food and when the stepmother discovers this secret, she develops the desire to eat Yeh-hsien’s fish. The stepmother proceeds to use the protagonist’s ragged robes in luring the fish, and she ends up eating her stepdaughter’s only friend (Tatar 107). After realizing the wicked actions of her stepmother, Yeh-hsien weeps while crumpling on the ground and suddenly one old man floats from the sky to advice Yeh-hsien that the fish bones contain some powerful magic, which she could use to make her wishes come true. As spring arrives, the protagonist’s stepsister and stepmother order Yeh-hsien to stay behind and look after the fruit trees while they attend the Spring Festival. Yeh-hsien uses fish bones to create shoes of gold and kingfisher feathers, which she wears to secretly attend the festival. Her stepmother recognizes her at the festival and Yeh-hsien flees but loses her slippers. As the slippers is presented before the king, he vows to marry the owner and fortunately, Yeh-hsien becomes a king’s bride.

• Grimm Brother’s Cinderella

A forbidden love, evil stepsisters and magic birds put together Grimm Brother’s Cinderella. The Grimm Brothers portray the protagonist, Cinderella, as a girl that endures almost unbeatable obstacles to find love. In this story, Cinderella has to persevere the continuous mistreatment she receives from her stepsisters and stepmother (Tatar 118). The stepsisters despise and mistreat Cinderella with menial tasks and constant toxicity, which make it difficult for her to attend to the ball. After attending the festival, the stepmother and stepsisters tell Cinderella that she has to get home before they do to avoid being punished for attending the festival. Fortunately, a bird comes along to cater for Cinderella’s wishes due to her good moral behavior. Cinderella finally meets the prince but escapes him to avoid being followed to her humble residence. Finally, Cinderella gets married to the prince and gets to the highest socio-economic ladder.

• Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin

In Donkey skin, Charles Perrault presents a sinister beginning where a beautiful princess puts on a donkey skin in disguise to run away from her father. The princess is presented as a distressed protagonist because her own father wishes to marry her. The princess takes the advice from her fairy godmother and tells her father to present certain gifts if he wants to marry her. Among the gifts requested by the princess is a donkey skin that produces silver and gold coins rather than dung (Tatar 111). The princess uses this donkey skin to run away to the neighboring kingdom. While in the neighboring kingdom, the princess is forced to remain undercover to protect her identity. One day, the prince discovers her and makes inquiries about her. Later on, the prince declares to marry whoever the ring will fit. Several girls attempt to wear the ring but it ends up fitting donkey skin.

• The Story of the Black Cow

The story of the Black Cow is about Brahmin, who was left with a son following his wife’s death but later married another wife who gave birth to a daughter. Both children went to look after the cows each day and when they returned to take their meal, the stepson was given cakes made of ashes but never complained (Tatar 125). One day the boy went to have a bath at the river and part of his golden hair found its way to the river and was swallowed by fish. The fish was later sold to the king and upon cutting it into pieces; the princes saw it and developed the desire to meet the owner. Later on, the son got married to the beautiful princess. This fairy tale shows the extent to which detrimental and destructive females because the stepmother wanted to get rid of the cow since it was nourishing her stepson.

Comparison:

The story of Yeh-hsien shows how traditional tales can be replicated across different cultures and languages. Therefore, this fairy tale presents a platform for understanding legends from different cultures. Comparing Perrault’s version and Grimm Brother’s version, Perrault’s version depicts Cinderella as a forgiving and kin-hearted character while in Grimm Brother’s version the audience is not allowed to sympathize with the narcissistic, greedy and wicked stepsisters. The Grimm Brother’s version successfully presents different statuses and conditions of people including gender discriminations, money, social and political dynamics. Perrault’s Donkeyskin is a classic fable that conforms to traditional fairy conventions that express values of culture and time. While Donkeyskin presents a different conflict and plot, Perrault’s adaptation reflects the historical context with prevalence of immoral marriages during that era. From the characters presented in Perrault’s fairy tale, the audience can learn that portraying good virtues amidst strife and hardship are always rewarded. While most Cinderella stories use girls as protagonists, the “Story of the Black Cow” uses creatures such as a snake and cow, which did not ask for favors as a way of showing her care towards the boy. Later the young boy goes back to find the cow as a way of showing appreciation. The ending of this fairy tale teaches sibling differences, magical animal through its characters to show how virtue can sometimes be ill-fated.

Works Cited Tatar, Maria. The Classic Fairy Tales (Second International Student Edition)(Norton Critical Editions). WW Norton &