THE IMAGE OF FAIRY TALE PRINCESS AND

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE HEROINE

IN CONTEMPORARY FILM

by

Momoko Tamura

A thesis submit ted to the

Facul ty of the Graduate School of

Hiroshima Jogakuin Universi ty

in part ial fulf i l lment of the requirements

for the degree of

Master of Arts

January 2017

CONTENTS

Introduct ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Chapter I Cinderel la in Li terature: Charles Perraul t ’s “Cendr il lon ou la

pet i te pantoufle de verre” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

1. Backgrounds of “Cendri l lon ou la pet i te pantoufle de verre” . . . .2

2 . Cendri l lon: Bri l l iant and Graceful Heroine ………………………4

Chapter II Modernized Cinderel la : Walt Disney’s Cinderel la

(1950)………………………………………………………………………...10

1 . Good Cinderel la and Evi l Stepfamily ……………………….…….10

2 . Cinderel la and her Stepsis ters ……………………………………...12

2 .1 . The Dresses of Lights and Darkness………………………….14

2.2 The Charm of the Blond………………………………………...15

3 . Cinderel la and her Stepmother……………………………………..19

3 .1 . The Ideal Housewife vs . the Old-fashioned Mist ress………21

Chapter III Cinderel la af ter Walt Disney: Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la

(2015)…………………………………………………………………………27

1 . Contemporary Fairy-tale Princesses on the Screen ……………..28

1 .1 . Contemporary Cinderel la 1: Ever After (1998)……………..29

1.2. Contemporary Cinderel la 2: Into the Woods (2014)………..31

2 . Cinderel la (2015) : beyond Tradi t ional ism vs. Revis ionism …... .35

2 .1 . Grace and Kindness in the Modern World ……………………36

2.2. Kindness as Resolut ion and Resis tance ……………….……..38

2.3. The Parents’ Legacy…………………………………………….39

2 .4 . Ideal ism and Pract ical Choice s……………………………….41

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………45

Bibl iography…………………………………………………………………47

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Introduction

In 2015, Disney s tudio released a l ive -act ion f i lm Cinderel la

d i rected by Kenneth Branagh. In the f i lm, the heroine is amazingly

good and kind. She keeps her mother ’s bel ief “have courage and be

kind,” and t r ies to be gent le with her cruel s tepfamily. Her sweetness to

people and animals may make the audience smile w armly.

Cinderel la’s goodness and kindness has been considered as her

important t rai t in some versions. In the story of the Grimm Brothers ,

Cinderel la keeps being good, fol lowing her mother ’s words. The

graceful and sweet at t i tude of Perraul t ’s Cinderel la t o her s tepsis ters

equates with Branagh’s heroine. Walt Disney’s Cindere lla is also

represented as kind and gent le.

This thesis aims to analyze the image of Cinderel la’s goodness

incorporated in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la (2015), examining the

other tales and f i lms. Chapter I discusses Charles Perraul t ’s

“Cendri l lon ou la pet i t e pantoufle de verre” whose image of graceful

and sweet-natured Cinderel la inspired Branagh’s f i lm. Chapter II

considers Disney’s animated feature Cinderel la , which is the original

o f Branagh’s adapta tion. In Chapter III, contemporary f i lmic variat ions

including Cinderel la (2015) are discussed. The thesis examines how the

t radi t ional Cinderel la embodies the views of goodness , and also how

Branagh’s vers ion inheri ts the goodness from t hem.

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Chapter I Cinderel la in Literature

Charles Perraul t ’s “Cendri l lon ou la pet i t e pantoufle de verre”

Alongside the Grimm Brothers’ “Aschenput tel ,” Charles

Perraul t ’s “Cendri l lon” is the most famous and authori tat ive vers ion. It

has been adapted to popular Cinderel la f i lms including Walt Disney’s

Cinderel la (1950) and Kenneth Bran agh’s Cinderel la (2015). The

movies inheri t the s toryl ine , the motifs , and the characters from the tale

of Perraul t . Moreover, Perraul t ’s story played an important role to

concrete the image of “good Cinderel la” seen in these f i lms. Therefore ,

discussing the detai l s of Perraul t ’s “Cendri l lon” is essent ial to consider

Branagh’s Cinderel la and i ts original vers ion: Disney’s Cinderel la .

1. Backgrounds of “Cendril lon ou la peti t e pantouf le de verre”

Charles Perraul t was a man of let ter s in France in the 17th

century, an off icial in Louis XIV’s court , and a member of the early

French Academy. His “Cendri l lon ou la pet i t e pantoufle de verre”

(“Cinderel la or the Li t t le Glass Sl ipper”) was publ ished as one of eight

fai ry tales in Histoires ou contes du temps passé. Avec des morali tés

(Stories or Tales of the Old Times wi th the Morals ) in France in 1697.

“Cendri l lon” and the other contes in the book are based on old s tories

that had been told among people in France. Each conte consis ts of a

s tory part in prose and a moral part in verse.

The tales and the morals in Histoires ou contes du temps passé

projected the culture in the French court in the late 17th century. For

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example, in “Cendr i l lon,” the detai ls of the s tepsis ters’ hai rs tyle and

dresses show the fashion in Louis XIV’s court ( Niikura 278). Moreover,

in the French court at the t ime, the term cal led conte de fée (“fai ry

tale”) appeared, and “became fashionable among the men and women”

(Stein 167). French oral tales were successively t ransformed i nto the

l i terary form, and announced in the salons. Many contes de fée were

wri t ten by the ladies such as Marie -Catherine d’Aulnoy and Perraul t ’s

niece Marie-Jeanne L’héri t ier. Perraul t joined in the salons of d’Aunoy

and of L’héri t ier, and of other ladies (Zipes, “Perraul t ” 379). In this

way, Perraul t ’s tales can be associated with the fai ry - tale populari ty in

the French court in the 17th century.

Perraul t ’s fai ry tales show his i ronical view of the court society.

The 17th century was the period that the F rench moral iste wri ters

inquired and sat i r ized people and human l ives . As Yoko Kudo points

out , Perraul t also has the eyes of the moralis te , and describes human

temperament and the inner subt let ies of the characters ( Kudo 183). The

morals of the tales also come from his observat ions on the human

world.

The two morals of “Cendri l lon” describe the ideal and the

real i ty of the French court . The f i rs t moral tel ls the ideal that inner

grace is worthier than outward beauty. The moral s t resses “[s]ans elle

on ne peut r ien, avec el le , on peut tout .” (“we cannot succeed without

the grace, but we can make everything possible with i t”; Perraul t 164).

But , another moral denies this l ine; i t says that the grace is wasted

without a godmother ’s help. Another moral ref lects the court society

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which was diff icul t for the court iers to survive without p atrons (Kudo

183). In another moral , Perraul t sharply represents the bi t ter real i ty in

the court .

Histoires ou contes du temps passé outwardly seems an

educat ional book for chi ld ren because of the morals and the preface

that refer to the tales’ value for chi ldren. But i t i s substant ially placed

in the l i terary fashion of the French moralis tes in the 17th century, and

inquires what the human being is .

2. Cendri l lon: Bri l l iant and Graceful Heroine

Cendri l lon is featured by the perfect ion of beauty and goodness .

Perraul t describes her beauty in comparison with her s tepsis ters :

Cendri l lon, avec ses méchants habi ts , ne laissai t pas

d’être cent fois plus belle que ses sœrs , quoique vêtu es

t rès magnfiquement (Perraul t 158).

Even in her ragged clothes , she [Cendri l lon] looked a

hundred t imes more beaut i ful than ei ther of her s is ters ,

despi te their splendid dresses ( Bet ts 130).

This part shows that Cendri l lon’s beauty is opposi te to her s tepsis ters’

art i f icial beauty. At the bal l , her beauty r ivets at tentions of the people.

When she enter the bal l room:

Il se f i t alors un grand s i lence ; on cessa de danser, et les

violons ne jouèrent plus , tant on étai t at tenti f à

contempler les grandes beautés de ce tte inconnue. On

n’entendai t qu’un brui t confus : « Ah, qu’el le es t

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bel le ! » (Perraul t 160)

A great s i lence fel l ; the dancers s topped their dancing,

the musicians s topped their music, so eagerly were they

gazing at the great beauty of the unknown gir l . The only

thing that could be heard was a murmur of voices

exclaiming: ‘How beaut i ful she is!’ (Betts 134)

Perraul t amazingly represents that Cendri l lon’s beauty fascinates

people in the bal l room. This descript ion of the “great s i lence” is

impressive that she is so att ract ive that the part icipants forget to dance.

Cendri l lon’s goodness is also outs tanding. She is described as

“une jeune f i l le … d’une douceur et d’une bonté sans exemple” (“a

young daughter, who was amazingly sweet -natured and kind”; Perraul t

156; Bet ts 130). No mat ter how she is abused by her s tepfamily, she is

kind to them, and works for them pat iently. Even when her s tepsis ters

make fun of her, she t reats them sweet ly.

Moreover, the happy ending of this tale display s her incredible

goodness . When Cendri l lon reveal s herself as the gir l whom the prince

looks for, her s tepsi s ters apologize to her for their spi teful deeds:

Cendri l lon les releva, et leur dit , en les embrassent ,

qu’el le leur pardonnai t de bon cœr, et qu’el le les priai t de

l ’aimer bier toujours . . . . Cendri l lon, qui étai t aussi bonne

que bel le , f i t loger ses deux sœurs au Palais , et les maria

dès le jour même à deux grands Seigneurs de la Cour.

(Perraul t 164)

Cinderel la made them get up, embraced them, told them

6

that she forgave them with al l her heart , and said that she

begged them to love her kindly always . …Cinderel la ,

who was as good-natured as she was beaut i ful , arranged

for her two s is ters to l ive in the palace, and married them

on the same day to two great lords at the Court . (Bet ts

139)

Perraul t ’s ending is unique that the heroine and her r ivals become

happy together. The punishment of the s tepsis ters nor the separat ion

between the heroine and her antagonis ts a re not seen in th is ver s ion.

Moreover, this part describes Cendri l lon “ as good-natured as she was

beaut i ful ,” and thus the excel lence of her goodness is shown as

equivalent to her noteworthy beauty.

Cendri l lon’s superb beauty and goodness make her graceful and

unrivaled. Her charm pleases the prince and the people at the bal l , and

also makes her s tepsis ters happy f inal ly. Cendri l lon’s bri l l iance mak es

her less miserable than the Grimms ’ Aschenput tel and Disney’s

Cinderel la . Perraul t describes how Cendri l lon kindly acts toward her

stepsis ters rather than the heroine’s adversi ty by the s tepfamily’s

wickedness . At the bal l , Cendri l lon is poli te and kind to her s tepsis ters ,

and gives them some of the frui ts that the prince gave her. At the house,

she enjoys hear ing about herself at the bal l from the exci ted s is ters who

do not know Cendri l lon is her. Then, she smil ingly and kiddingly asks

one of the s isters to lend her a dress for the second day.

The impression of the shoe f i t t ing scene is also opposi te to the

vers ions of the Grimms and of Disney. In the Grimms’ “Aschenput tel ,”

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the heroine’s father thinks her as unsui table for the prince, and ignores

her unti l the prince asks to see her. In Disney’s f i lm, the wicked

stepmother locks Cinderel la in the at t ic . Perrau l t s t resses Cendri l lon’s

sweetness and brightness rather than her humil iated s i tuat ion. When the

gent leman from the palace vis i ts her house with her s l ipper, she offers

to f i t i t wi th laugh ing. Perraul t ’s focus on Cendri l lon’s brightness

makes the tale unique among these popular Cinderel la s tories .

Cendri l lon’s sweetness and bri l l iance is l inked to the grace

cal led bonne grâce in the f i rst morals . As ment ioned above, the moral

says the bonne grâce i s more precious and powerful than the beauty.

The moral also tel ls “C’est ce qu’à Cendri l lon f i t avoir sa Marriaine”

(“It [ the grace] is what Cendri l lon was bestowed from her godmother”

Perraul t 164). Consequent ly, Cendri l lon embodies the bonne grâce as

the inner charm but not th e outward beauty and material is m embodied

by her s tepsis ters . The s is ters are featured by haught iness and splendid

and fashionable materials such as Engl ish lace, beauty spots , and

corsets . Their character is opposite to Cendril lon who is sweet and

mysterious.

The bonne grâce was a notable idea in the French court under

the Louis XIV. The term includes kindness , sinceri ty, and goodness that

Cendri l lon represents (Kudo 182). It also means indefinable charm

which comes out from human inner ( Katagi 53). Furthermore, for the

French court iers in the 17th century, the bonne grâce evoked the idea

plaire (“to be favored”) that was considered s ignif icant in the court at

the t ime (Mizuno 126). For the court iers under the absolute reign of

8

Louis XIV, the king’s favor was crucial to be in a high pos it ion in the

court (Mizuno 6 -7) . Therefore, in the court , being agreeable was

important , and behaviors were great ly paid at tent ion (Mizuno 7) .

Cendri l lon as the embodiment of the bonne grâce offers a model of the

good at t i tude in the French court in the 17 th century.

In the court , the behaviors control led by reason were considered

agreeable (Mizuno 235). The court iers’ behaviors should have

corresponded with the ci rcumstances, and also their emotions should

have been rest rained (Mizuno 235). In the tale, Ce ndri l lon’s act ions and

feel ings are wel l -controlled. She keeps the order of the places: she

behaves obedient ly as a servant in her house, and becomes a graceful

princess in the palace. When her s tepsisters asked to help their

preparat ions for the bal l , “Ce ndri l lon les consei l la le mieux du monde”

(“Cendri l lon advised them bet ter than any others” Perraul t 158). When

she was in the center at the bal l , “[e] l le” dansa avec tant de grâce, qu’

on l ’admira encore dvantage” (“she danced so graceful ly that she was

admired even more”; Perraul t 161; Betts 134). Cendri l lon’s charm is

that she can act properly as the lady in the French court .

Thereupon, Cendri l lon’s forgiveness of her s tepsis ters in the

ending is based on the rat ional principle of the French court . Her

acceptance of the s i s ters’ apology is a reasonable act because she is not

inf luenced by her vengefulness , and also the forgiveness f inal ly brings

harmony to the relat ionship between her and the sis ters . This scene

displays the peak of her sweetness and gra ceful behavior paral lel wi th

the ideal of res t rained and wel l -proport ioned human f igure.

9

Thus, Perraul t created the image of a beaut i ful and good heroine.

The moral value of “Cendril lon” is l inked to his eyes on the human

qual i t ies of the French court soci ety in the 17th century. Thus, Perraul t

s t resses the manners to survive in the French court rather than the

universal value of good and evi l . Cendri l lon embodies the ideal person

with t ranqui l i ty and sweetness preferred in the court of Louis XIV.

10

Chapter II Modernized Cinderel la

Walt Disney’s Cinderel la (1950)

Walt Disney’s Cinderel la (1950) i s an adaptat ion of Perrault ’s

“Cinderel la” and also the original of Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la .

This canonical movie of Walt Disney has amplif ied and disseminated

the magical and romantic image of the heroine and her s tory.

Cinderel la’s metamorphosis from a gir l in rags into a princess with the

sparkl ing glass s l ippers is shown as magnif icent and dramatic. The bal l

scene is highl ighted by her fai ry godmother ’s magic and her romant ic

dance with the prince. Today, Disney’s Cinderel la is an idol . She is a

member of Disney Princess , and appears in the toys for l i t t le gir ls and

the cosmetics for grown women. Today’s general izat ion of Disney’s

Cinderel la overshadows the f i lm’s uniqueness that ref lects the sense of

value of Americans af ter World War II. This chapter describes the

image of Disney’s Cinderel la connected to the ideal woman in post -war

America.

1 . Good Cinderel la and Evil Stepfamily

The antagonism between Cinderel la and her s tepfamily is a

major element of Disney’s vers ion. Their bad relat ionship is more

s imilar to the one in the Grimms’ tale than Perraul t ’s vers ion. In both

Disney’s f i lm and the Grimms’ tale, Cinderel la is good -hear ted, and her

stepfamily is represented as extremely evi l . Perraul t ’s Cinderel la and

her s tepsisters are f inal ly reconci led, but the Grimms and Disney divide

11

Cinderel la and her s tepfamily throughout the s tories . In both vers ions,

only Cinderel la is rewarded. The Grimms’ s tepsisters are punished by

Cinderel la’s birds , and Disney’s s tepfamily does not appear in the las t

scene of Cinderel la’s wedding. As Jack Zipes points out , Disney

fol lows and reinforces Grimms moral framework (Zipes , Otogibanashi

242). Disney’s Cinderel la emphasizes the confrontat ion between good

Cinderel la and her evil s tepfamily and a lso good Cinderel la’s t riumph.

The mice’s f ight against the cat named Lucifer is an element

that reinforces the host i l i ty between Cinderel la and her s tepfamil y.

They are unique characters in Disney’s vers ion, and do not appear in

the tales of Perraul t and of the Grimms. The mice are Cinderel la’s good

fr iends, and Lucifer is the “mean” cat of the s tepmother. The smal l

mice are threatened by big and f ierce Lucife r, but confront and outwit

him. Their comical bat t les are the miniatures of serious tension

between Cinderel la and her stepfamily. Both Cinderel la and her mice

are oppressed by the force of her s tepfamily and the bad cat . The double

plots blame the oppress ion to the innocent characters : Cinderel la and

the mice, and also praise the t r iumph of the good heroine and her smal l

company.

Disney’s Cinderel la emphasizes dream, and the heroine does not

embody only the goodness but also the ideal of fulf i l l ing dreams . She

bel ieves that her dreams come t rue in her adversi ty, and f inally real izes

her wish of becoming happy. Different f rom the Grimms’ and Perraul t ’s

vers ions, the word “dream” appears many t imes throughout the f i lm. In

the opening scene, Cinderel la s ings “the dream that you wish will come

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t rue.” This song called “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” also

appears when the fa i ry godmother comes to her and in the scene of her

wedding. The song symbolizes her posi t ive at t i tude to her dream, and

thematizes that the fai th makes the dreams come t rue.

The spi teful and depressing s tepfamily appears as the obstacle

that Cinderel la has to overcome in order to achieve her ideal . They t ry

to break her dreams of going to the bal l and marrying the prince by

tearing her dress and locking her in the at t ic . Cinderel la’s t r iumph over

the s tepfamily enhances the r ightness of her fai thful at t i tude to her

dreams. Thus, the f i lm praises the fai th in the dream and Cinderel la as

an American ideal . The f i lm’s t rai t evokes the idea of American dream

as a victory of the individual will and effort over the bi r th and the

social class . Consequent ly, Disney’s Cinderel la i s the Cinderel la s tory

based on Americans’ sense of value. The f i lm’s assessment of the good

and the evi l also ref lects the American sense.

2. Cinderel la and her Stepsisters

Perraul t and the Grimms focus on the r ivalry between Cinderel la

and her stepsis ters . In the house, the s is ters are in a s t ronger posit ion

than Cinderel la , and marginal ize her covered with ashes . In these

stories , the s tepsis ters are beaut i ful gi r ls ; Perraul t ’s s is ters are

fashionable, and the Grimms’ s isters look “beaut i ful an d white” (Tatar,

“Cinderel la” 117). The beauty of the spiteful s is ters emphasizes their

vani ty and inner ugliness . At the ball , Perraul t ’s s tepsis ters’ beaut i ful

hair and dresses are defeated by Cendri l lon’s graceful and sweet charm.

13

The Grimms’ “Aschenput tel” contrasts the s is ters’ “beauti ful and

white” appearances with their “ foul and black” hear ts (Tatar,

“Cinderel la” 117) . When the prince looked for the gir l whose foot f i t ted

the golden shoe, “[ t ]he two s is ters were overjoyed, f or they both had

beaut i fu l feet” (Tatar, “Cinderel la” 121). But , their feet do not f i t

Aschenput tel ’s shoe, and f inal ly their beaut i ful body is damaged. Thei r

mother hurts their feet in order to f i t them to the small shoe, and

moreover, their eyes are pecked by bi rds “ for their wickedness and

malice” (Tatar, “Cinderel la” 122). Therefore, these tales demonstrate

the superiori ty of Cinderel la’s inner charm and goodness over the

s tepsis ters’ outward beauty.

However, in Disney’s vers ion, the s tepsis ters cal led Drizel la and

Anastasia are featured by their exaggerated ugly looks . Di fferent f rom

the s is ters in the l i terary vers ions, they are weak r ivals for their pret ty

s tepsis ter. Their advantage is brought by not their charm but their

mother ’s power. Their act ions are also represented s i l ly, and their

characteris t ics are opposi te to Cinderel la’s beauty and graceful act ions.

Cinderel la moves elegant ly and smoothly even when she is busy with

the hard chores . However, the s is ters res tless ly look around and bump

their unshaped bodies against each other. The scene of the bal l clar i f ies

the difference between Cinderel la’s ref ined manner and the

awkwardness of the s is ters . The s tepsisters res t less ly move, childishly

jump, and clumsily bow. Their funny movements are completely

incongruous with the ladies in the bal l room. Contrary to the s is ters ,

Cinderel la’s walking and dance with the prince is graceful . Her modest

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act ions match the pr ince’s noble appearance and the m agnif icent cast le .

Furthermore, the s is ters’ loud voices and terr ible musical tale nt

are contrasted with Cinderel la’s gentle voice and s inging which

fascinates her animal fr iends. Disney ’s pr incesses are always good

s ingers , and their beaut i ful voice s are t ied to their at t ract iveness . In

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Sleeping Beauty (1959),

the princes are at t racted to the songs of the heroines . Their sweet and

quiet voices are associated with their feminine at t ract iveness (Whelan

23). Although Cinderel la’s s inging does not make the prince f ind her,

the contrast of “Sing, Sweet Night ingale” between the s tepsis ters and

her shows that Cinderel la is more at t rac tive than them.

There is a big gap between the representations of Cinderel la’s

good qual i t y and the s is ters’ faul ts . In the f i lm, beaut i ful Cinderel la’s

image and the ugly s is ters’ f igures effect ively display their opposi te

inner features . The heroine’s beaut i ful images are d i rect ly connected to

her kind, adorable, graceful character. The s tepsis ters’ ugly appearance

i s t ied to their nast iness and s tupidi ty.

2.1. The Dresses of Lights and Darkness

At the bal l , Cinderel la is shown as a special woman who is

chosen by the prince. She is the only one who at t racts his at tention

because she is “the gir l of his dreams” and also “the maid predest ined

to be his bride.” Associa ted with l ights , she is dis t inguished from the

other part icipants who wear ordinary dresses . Cinderel la’s outf i t i s

covered with the magical sparkles of her fai ry godmother, and shines

15

white in the ball room. White is a color of puri ty, chast i ty, perfect ion

(Olderr 219), and the wedding dress . Thus, her dress shows her not only

remarkable visual ly, but also as the vir tuous and el igible woman for the

prince symbolical ly. Cinderel la’s bri l l iant appearance manifests her

f ine qual i ty, and reinforces her perfect i on for the prince.

The dresses of her s tepsis ters express both their loudness and

the incongrui ty with the palace. The whitish tone of Cindere lla’s outf i t

i s in harmony with the prince’s cream -colored jacket when they are

together. The color of her costume also evokes the image of the white

and pale blue cast le . However, the s is ters’ darkish and loud pink and

green dresses are out of harmony with both the prince’s clothes and the

bright bal l room. They match the dark and gaudy tone of th eir mal icious

mother ’s house . Thus, their loud-colored dresses have the opposi te

image to Cinderel la’s pale dress . They are contrary to puri ty and

modesty which the heroine embodies . Combined with the plumes on

their head, their vivid -colored dresses make the s is ters look l ik e the

show gir ls rather than the bride. Consequent ly, the outf i ts of the

s tepsis ters evoke the image of imprudence and coarseness . In the scene

of the bal l , the colors visually and symbolical ly separate the loud

stepsis ters from Cinderel la’s whi t ish -co lored world. While Cinderel la

is welcomed to the place of her dream, the s isters are rejected from

there.

2.2. The Charm of the Blond

Cinderel la has blond hair. In the f i lm, there is no blond person

16

but the heroine; therefore she looks remarkable in her dark house and

among the people in the palace . Marina Warner says that Cinderel la ’s

hair has been t radi t ional ly represented as the blond “as the mark of her

perfect lovel iness ,” (Warner, From 365). Warner points out the

connect ion between the blond and the bea uty:

[b] londness and beauty have provided a conceptual rhyme

in visual and l i terary imagery ever s ince the goddess of

Love’s t resses were described as xanthe , golden, by

Homer (Warner, From 363).

Moreover, the blond cal led “fairness” has also symbolized th e

goodness:

fai rness was guarantee of qual i ty. It was the imaginary

opposi te of ‘foul , ’ i t connected al l that was pure, good,

clean (Warner, From 364).

Thus , Cinderel la’s blond is a manifestat ion of her perfect ion . Warner

also ment ions the contrasting colo rs between the blond and the s is ters’

hair in Disney’s Cinderel la . Drizel la’s dark hair and Anastasia’s red

hair can be placed in the t radi t ion of port raying the evi l ( Warner, From

366) . Warner ’s analys is sheds l ight on the symbolic connect ion between

the beauty and the vir tue seen in the blond . In Disney’s f i lm,

Cinderel la’s fai r hair is the embodiment of her amazing goodness and

beauty.

Cinderel la’s blond is also paral lel to the fashionable blond

shown by Hollywood actresses from the 1930s to the 1950s. During the

period, “actresses from Shir ley Temple…to Lana Turner…were wil l ing

17

to sel l themselves as…blondes” ( Poole 209). Moreover, there was a

f lood of the word “blonde” in the t i t les such as Blonde Venus (1932)

and My Favori te Blonde (1942) (Poole 210). Since Jean Harlow in the

early 1930s, the blond had been special at tention as a s ign of bri l l iancy

(Vigarel lo 293-4). The populari ty of the blond in the American f i lms

generated the s tereotypes of the blond women.

In the 1950s, three s tereotypes of the b lond women prevai led.

Chris t ine Margaret Young cal ls them “the ethereal blonde,” “the

bombshel l blonde,” and “the gir l next door” ( Young 1) . The ethereal

blondes are elegant and mysterious, and conceal their darkness and

sensual i ty (Young 19). Grace Kel ly and Ingrid Bergman in the f i lms of

Alfred Hitchcock represent this type (Young 19). Mari lyn Monroe is the

typical bombshel l blonde, who is sexual ly at t ract ive, “beaut i ful and

often perceived as ‘dumb’” (Young 10). The ethereal blonde and the

bombshel l blonde were popular before the 1950s, but the gir l next door

emerged during the 1950s (Young 16). Debbie Reynolds and Doris Day

as the gir ls next door are young, cheerfu l , innocent , and less sexy than

the old types (Young 20). These s tereotypes are different , but share the

idea that the blond gir l i s at t ract ive. Therefore, in Disney’s f i lm in

1950, the blond hair characterizes Cinderel la as charming and pleasant .

Disney’s Cinderel la looks elegant and calm l ike the ethereal

type. But , she is essent ially warm, young and innocent , and therefore

heralded the fr iendly gir l -next-door when the f i lm was released .

Consequent ly, she is a perf ect bride because the gir l next door was

expected as “a model for young woman to pract ice at t ract iveness which

18

would lead to marriage” (Young 21). In the 1950s, an ideal American

wife was a cheerful , homely, and modest woman ( Kawamoto 162-4).

Cinderel la’s character and act ions correspond to the ideal . She s ings

happi ly, takes care of the animals kindly, and does chores s i lent ly and

eff icient ly. Thus, Cinderel la’s blond can be associated with the idea

that she is successfu l and reasonable as a wife.

From the t radi t ional and the fashionable points of view,

Cinderel la’s blond hair is t ied to her charm, pleasantness , and

perfect ion. Especial ly, in the 1950s absorbed in the “blondes,” i t is

possible that her hair made her at t ract ive and s ignif icant for the

American audience. Drizel la’s dark hai r and Anastasia’s dull red hair

make the contrast with the brightness of Cinderel la ’s blond. Moreover,

the mismatch between the colors of the ir hair and dresses makes them

unat t ract ive. The loud and uneasy tone of thei r colors is associated with

their noisy and vulgar character. In this way, the colors of hair create

the bright image of Cinderel la and the dark image of her s tepsis ters .

Thus, Disney’s vers ion t ight ly l inks the appearances of

Cinderel la and her s tepsis ters to their inner qual i t ies . Cinderel la is

associated with the visual brightness and the image of the at t ract ive

American blondes in the early 20th century. On the contrary, the

darkness and the ugl iness are the t rai ts of the stepsis ters , and therefore

they set off Cinderel la’s bri l l iance. Cind erel la demonstrates happy

fantasy for the Americans af ter the Second World War. Her feminini ty

as the at t ract iveness and her happy marriage are paral lel to the post -war

popular connect ion between the beauty and the good marriage. At the

19

t ime, the advert isements of the beauty products for the women t ied

being beaut i ful to marriage ( Evans 387). The f i lms also showed a lot of

charming brides . Mari lyn Yalom says:

[ t]he popular media of this period projected images of

women determined to catch and preserve a hus band. Gone

were the career-women f i lms of the thir t ies and fort ies ,

where s tars such as Katharine Hepburn and Ro sal ind

Russel l t r iumphed as confi dent ai rplane pi lots , lawyers ,

and journal is ts . Ins tead, cute coeds and spunky wives,

played by Doris Day and D ebbie Reynolds , incarnated the

American ideal—upbeat , earnest , and coyly sexual . Even

such superstars as Elizabeth Taylor and Mari lyn Monroe,

who exuded polymorphous sexual i ty, were general ly

crowned with wedding vei ls by the end of the f i lm.

(Yalom 322-3)

Cinderel la is also one of the ideal brides who appeared in the post -war

American f i lms. In the comparison with her ugly s tepsis ters , Cinderel la

is defined as the at t ract ive bride who is suitable for the happy marriage.

3. Cinderel la and her Stepmother

The s tepmother in Disney’s f i lm is described as “cold” and

“cruel .” The motive of Disney’s s tepmother is also jea lousy for

“Cinderel la’s charm and beauty” as Perraul t ’s one. However, Disney

emphasizes her cruel and mal icious act rather than her feel ing.

Different from Perrault ’s s tepmother, she interferes in Cinderel la’s w ay

20

to become the princess . Like the Grimms’ s tepmother who cuts off her

daughters’ toe and heel , the cruel ty of Disney’s s tepmother works in

order to make one of her daughters marry the prince. She craft i ly t r ies

to spoi l Cinderel la’s chances of going to the ball and her romance with

the prince. Knowing that Cinderel la is too busy to prepare for the bal l ,

the s tepmother permits her to go to the palace. When she sees that

Cinderel la can go, she ind uces her daughters to tear Cindere lla’s dress .

After the bal l , the s tepmother real izes that Cinderel la is the maid whom

the prince loves, and prevents her from trying the glass s l ipper. Final ly,

she has the messenger s tumble over her cane so that the glass sl ipper is

broken. The col l is ion between Cinderel la’s dreaming power and the

s tepmother ’s depressing force is ful l of suspense.

Her ref ined and annoying crafts make her a major and shocking

character in the f i lm. In Perraul t ’s vers ion, the s tepmother vani shes

from the story after the ball i s announced. The Grimms’ vers ion also

describes the s tepsis ters more than the s tepmother. But , Disney

foregrounds the s tepmother; thus the antagonism between Cinderel la

and her is a s ignif icant element in the f i lm. The s tepmother ’s toughness ,

cunningness , and cruel ty overshadow her s tupid daughters , and also

make her a great threat for Cinderel la . She oppresses her s tepdaughter,

and Cinderel la must overcome her s tepmother to achieve her happin ess .

In this way, the f i lm fo cuses on the confrontat ion between “good”

Cinderel la and her “wicked” s tepmother.

21

3.1. The Ideal Housewife vs . the Old -Fashioned Mistress

As ment ioned above, Cinderel la’s relat ion with her s tepsis ter is

associated with her qual i ty as the bride. The contr ast between her and

the stepmother can be l inked to the female l i fe af ter the wedding.

During the post -war period absorbed in the marriage as happiness ,

being a good wife and a mother was important for women. At the t ime, a

family was considered as a worth y unit . Theoret ical ly, i t was the

peaceful cosmos contrasted to the hosti l i ty and col l isions outs ide of the

home (Evans 383). Women were expected to be the center of the family,

and to support their family members . The housewife “as a construct ion

of a whi te middle-class , heterosexual femininity” was the “assumption

of a proper feminine ident i ty” ( Lloyd and Johnson 141). They were

considered as “responsible for managing an ent i re household” and

important to “shape the next generat ion of Americans [ their chi ldren]”

(Catalano 46-7).

In the media, the housewives were idols . Mari lyn Yalom sta tes ,

“[t ]he 1950s televis ion s itcoms featured famil ies ,” and “[ l]ovable

stay-at -home wives sparred with breadwinning husbands, usual ly

best ing the men with a l ighthearted to uch” (Yalom 323). The wives in

the TV were “spot less” and “ reigned over superclean homes and

superclean chi ldren” (Yalom 323). The popular image of the

housewives was associated with not only the at t ract iveness but also the

cleanness . The ideal of the happ y and clean home in the period seems to

be almost obsession. Sara M. Evans mentions that the high qual i ty of

whi teness was a sel l ing point of the post -war washing machines (Evans

22

391). Yalom says that the media such as TV and magazines promoted

“h igher s tandards of household cleanl in ess and personal at t ract iveness”

(Yalom 323).

The post -war ideal of the charming and clean housewife is also

ref lected in Disney’s Cinderel la . Cinderel la is the gir l expected to be a

good housewife. When she takes on housekeepi ng, she wears the white

apron as a symbol of the vir tuous middle-class housewife (Kawamoto

122). Besides the pure image of her white apron, she is represented by

clean images such as water and soap bubbles . In the scene that she s ings

“Sing, Sweet Night ingale,” she cleans the f loor with the clear water and

the soap. Interest ingly, the appearance of Disney’s Cinderel la i s not

dir ty al though she works in the dust and dir t . The movie displays the

cleanness of her body, showing that she washes herself . In the scene of

the morning, she bathes , and the mice brush away dust on he r shoes.

Thus, Cinderel la does not look dir ty and t i red but pure and heal thy even

though she is described as “abused” and “humil iated.”

Furthermore, Disney’s vers ion completely ignores and pur i f ies

the meaning of the name of “Cinderel la” in the t radi t ional s tories . In

Perraul t ’s tale , the s tepsisters give the heroine the nickname

“Cinderel la ,” mocking at her covered with “cinder” in the hearth. Also

in the Grimms’ vers ion, the heroine “ always looked so dusty and dir ty

that people s tar ted to cal l her Cinderel la ” (Tatar, “Cindere lla” 117).

However, Disney’s vers ion shows her name as a manifestat ion of her

amazing character. The f i rs t song of the f i lm describes her: “Cinderel la ,

you’re as lovel y as your name.” In the f i lm, “Cinderel la” is not the

23

wicked nickname but shown as the heroine’s real name. In this way,

Disney’s vers ion removes the darkness and the dustiness from the name

of the heroine, and redefines i t as the ideal femininity featured by her

puri ty, pret t iness , and romantic marriage with the f ine prince.

Disney’s f i lm also emphasizes and praises Cinderel la ’s

motherhood. She takes care of her animals as i f they were her beloved

chi ldren. She serves clo thes and food to the mice, and warn s her dog to

get along with Lucifer. Moreover, at the palace, the king welcomes

Cinderel la as a mother of his grandchi ldren rather than his son’s partner.

The king’s only wish is “to see my [his] grandchi ldren” before he dies,

and he grieves that his son d oes not marry and have chi ldren. At the

bal l to f ind the bride, the king is angry to see the prince is not

interested in gir ls in the bal l room, and complains: “there must be at

least one who’d make a sui table mother!” He unconsciously cal ls his

son’s bride “mother,” and this scene shows that he natural ly expects his

son’s wife to be a mother. After the prince is at t racted to Cinderel la , the

king is so sat isf ied that he has a happy dream of his grandchi ldren. The

king’s character, words, and behaviors reinfo rce Cinderel la’s ident i ty

as a young woman who natural ly becomes a mother af ter the wedding.

Thus, the f i lm associates Cinderel la with the model of housewife who is

responsible for keeping her home clean and rais ing her chi ldren.

In this context , the s tepmother is a model of the terr ible

housewife. She is completely opposite to Cinderel la and the

“superclean” mothers on TV in the 1950s. She embodies the old rul ing

class woman who makes her servants do domest ic chores . In the f i lm,

24

she is described as “a woman of good family,” and her l i fes tyle is

luxurious and aris tocrat ic . In the 1950s’ considerat ion that the wives

should serve for her family, abandoning domest ic chores i s l inked to

i rresponsibi l i ty and laz iness .

The s tepmother does not keep her home c lean, but turns the

lovely “stately chateau” into the gloomy place. Using the dark visual

images and music, the f i lm int imates that the s tepmother brings

Cinderel la’s house darkness and ominous mood. In the opening scene,

l i t t le Cinderel la is in the bright garden with her father, and on the other

hand, her s tepmother s tays in the dark room with her daughters . As

soon as the father dies , Cinderel la’s pastel -colored world is

overshadowed by the s tepmother ’s dark world, and the white chateau

becomes dark. This opening scene symbolizes the s tepmother ’s

exis tence as the threat to Cinderel la .

The image of the s tepmother is opposi te to the idea of warm and

self-sacri f icing housewife who devotedly supports her family.

Tradi t ional ly and in the post -war period , a fam i ly’s success and fai lure

were considered to depend on the wife, and her bad relat ionship with

her husband and her chi ldren’s t roubles were accounted to her problems

(Yalom 325). From this point of view, the stepmother is represented as

the corrupt wife and mother. She never shows affect ion for her husband

and stepdaughter, and indulges her sel f ish and rude daughters . The

stepmother ’s evi lness is related to not only her cruel ty but also her

identi ty as the blameworthy housewife. In this way, the representat ions

of Cinderel la and the stepmother ref lect the post -war view of the

25

American housewife . The home sett ing of the Cinderel la story plays an

important part in the characterizat ions of the heroine and her

s tepmother.

Today, Walt Disney’s Cinderel la i s cons idered “the classic,” but

i t i s unique and fresh in Cinderel la’s t radit ion. The theme of dream and

the images of good and evi l are t ied to American sense of value after

World War II. This American and “modernized” Cinderel la shares the

at t ract iveness of th e popular heroines in the post -war media of the

country. She is the ideal gi r l who gets her happiness as marr iage by her

beaut i ful quali t ies such as her appearance, gent leness , and abi l i ty of

managing home. The f i lm emphasizes the possibil i ty of the future and

next generat ion. Cinderel la bel ieves that her dreams wil l come t rue, and

displays her abi l i ty for her futu re l i fe as a wife and a mother. Her

s tepmother is featured by old l i fes tyle, and thus symbolizes the past .

Therefore, Cindere lla’s t r iumph over h er s tepmother means the

preeminence of the next generat ion over the old world.

Cinderel la’s “success s tory” must have been vivid for the

audience who wanted to recover the harmony: the peace and the gender

order. During the war, a lot of wives worked outs i de of the home.

Mari lyn Yalom refers to the working wives during World War II:

[D]uring the Depression, the working wife had been the

object of widespread disapproval for “taking away a

man’s job,” now [during World War II] , wi th the labor

shortage, she was courted and praised. Rosie the Riveter,

housewife– turned– factory worker, became a nat ional

26

icon (Yalom 289).

However, when thei r husbands returned from the war, the wives were

expected to go back to keep their home. Yalom says that i t was the

“popular sent iment” at the t ime (Yalom 313). After the war, motherhood

was also insisted as the women’s nature (Evans 375). Therefore,

Cinderel la’s housewifely characteris t ics respond to the dominant value

in the post -war America. Even at present t ime, this Cindere l la f i lm is

influential in associating two images: happy marriage and being the

good housewife.

27

Chapter III Cinderel la after Walt Disney

Kenneth Branagh ’s Cinderel la (2015)

Charles Perraul t ’s tale and Walt Disney’s animated fea ture

great ly inspired Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la in 2015. It vividly

represents these s tories’ wel l -known images: the fai ry godmother ’s

“bibidi -babidi -boo ,” the pumpkin carr iage, the bri l l iant palace, and the

crystal -clear glass s l ippers .

The screen has favored fai ry tales , and contemporary f i lmmakers

s t i l l continue to create adaptat ions . After 2010, there are a rush of the

fai ry-tale f i lms such as Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Mirror

Mirror (2012), Frozen (2013), and Maleficent (2014). But , recent

fai ry- t ale princesses are very di fferent from Disney’s class ical

heroines: Snow White in 1937, Cinderel la in 1950, and Aurora in

Sleeping Beauty (1950). Snow White, Cinderel la , and Aurora quiet ly

s ing their love for their princes , smil ing sweet ly. On the contrary, the

contemporary heroines are more spir i ted and heroic: they are armed,

have their adventure , and f ight against injust ice. In Snow White and the

Huntsman and Mirror Mirror , Snow Whites take swords, and save their

kingdoms from the evi l queens. Frozen and Malef icent praise the

s is terhood and fr iendship, and refuse the romantic relat ionship between

the princess and the prince.

Therefore, in a fi lm review in the Guardian , Peter Bradshaw

commen ted that Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la i s “t rad.” The s t ructure

of this f i lm actual ly follows the “t radi t ional” Cinderel la s tory: pat ient

28

Cinderel la overcomes her spi teful s tepfamily and marries the prince.

The heroine named Ella is characterized by her swe etness and grace.

These features make this fi lm unique in the contemporary fai ry -tale

f i lms which prefer a twisted plot and empowered heroines .

1. Contemporary Fairy -tale Princesses on the Screen

Patr ick McCormick contrasts the modern “do - i t -al l damsel” with

the “damsel in dis t ress who dreams that someday her prince wil l come

to whisk her away to his cast le” (McCormick 40). Feminism has great ly

contr ibuted to the format ion of the brave heroines; McCormick also

cal ls the spunky modern heroines “feminis t pr incesses” (McCormick

41). In modern reviews of the fai ry - tale f i lm, the “t radi t ional”

representat ions of the heroines are frequent ly censured. Instead, the

“revis ionist” and “feminist” heroines are praised and commented

posi t ively. In the ar t icle in the Guardian , Marina Warner says:

[s] ince the 1960s, cr i t icism has pointed to the l ies

peddled by s tories such as “Beauty and the Beast” –

especial ly the overvaluing of weal th and power invested

in the male – and as a resul t , the genera tions brought up

by grandmothers and mothers who know their Bet ty

Friedan, Angela Carter and Naomi Wolf have brought a

new consciousness to the new way classic s tories are

reshaped for the screen.

Therefore, the contemporary fai ry -tale heroines usual ly d isplay their

independence and act ivity to confront the diff icul t ies . Jack Zipes

29

cri t icizes the t radi t ional Disney princess as the “t rophy” for the prince

(Zipes , The Enchanted 24). The modern heroines are not the “prince’s

t rophy,” but they are so adroi t and powerful that they can co ntest wi th

the heroes . They al so choose to reveal their emotions and opinions

rather than to be the symbol of pret t iness .

1.1. Contemporary Cinderel la 1: Ever After (1998)

In the sequence of the Cinderel la f i lms, Ever Af ter i s frequently

related to femini sm and modernism. Jessica Tiff in analyzes:

Ever Af ter combines an unabashed appeal of the

Hollywood not ion of fai ry-tale romance with a

sel f -conscious determination to update the Cinderel la

narrat ive to more modern ideas of real ism and feminis t

principles . (Tiff in 314)

Moreover, Richard Lawson cal ls the f i lm “l i te -revis ionis t tale” in an

art icle wri t ten for Vanity Fair ’s website . In onl ine Film Journal

International , Kevin Lal ly reviews “Barrymore [who acts the heroine]

i s the ideal revis ionist Cinderel la , s t i l l gi r l ish and adorable, but also

bright , headstrong and indomitable.” The heroine cal led Danielle is a

representat ive of the contemporary princesses , who wil l i ngly t r ies to

change the world. Her bravery, pol i t ical intel l igence, and defiant

at t i tude are contrasts to the sweetness and meekness of Cinderel las in

the s tories of Perraul t , of the Grimms, and of Disney. Daniel le

expresses her anger and resis tance to th e injust ice and the oppression.

Moreover, Daniel le is di fferent from the “t radi t ional” Cinderel las

30

because she shows her interest in the society and the poli t ics . She is

inf luenced by Tomas More’s Utopia , and confident ly argues with Prince

Henry on the way that the monarch and the s tate should be. She also

uses her wisdom and bravery to save her servants mal t reated by her

tyrannical s tepmother. The canonical Cinderel las of Perraul t , of the

Grimms, and of Disney do not chal lenge their world. They obey “the

patr iarchal symbolical order based on r igid not ions of sexual i ty and

gender” (Zipes , The Enchanted 19) . Thei r profession is domestic chore s ,

and thei r interest is going to the bal l rather than reforming the

unfairness . Thus, Daniel le’s eyes on the society a re unique in

comparison with “t radi t ional” Cinderel las of Perraul t , of the Grimms,

and of Disney.

Contrary to Disney’s Cinderel la that emphasizes the heroine’s dream

and fantast ic aspect , Ever Af ter focuses on actual i ty. In the beginning

of the f i lm, Danie l le’s s tory is shown as a “t rue s tory” that her

descendant told to the Grimm Brothers . The set t ing of the fi lm is

France in the 16th century, but not a faraway kingdom in old t ime. The

f i lm is negat ive of the magical and fateful power that guides the

heroine. Instead of the fai ry godmother, Leonardo da Vinci helps

Daniel le to go to the bal l . Her love with Prince Henry is di fferent from

the s imple and picturesque romance in Disney’s Cinderel la . They need

a lot of t ime, misunderstandings, and effort to unders tand each other.

In Ever Af ter , the characters have to decide wisely and act

bravely in order to survive in the diff icult world without the magic.

Daniel le is not protected and saved by nei ther the prince nor the magic.

31

She shows a model of the real is t ic heroine who has to save herself , and

explores the world powerful ly.

1.2. Contemporary Cinderel la 2: Into the Woods (2014)

In 2014, the question of the t radi t ional Cinderel la image

remained. Cinderel la and her s tory in a musical f i lm, Into the Woods

(2014) are very different from the classical ones. The original musical

f i rs t appeared in 1987, and has been presented around the world. T he

songwri ter, Stephen Sondheim and the scriptwri ter, James Lapine were

interested in the fai ry tales as the embodime nt of human desi re (Benson

497). In the interview recorded in the brochure of this f i lm, Sondheim

and Lapine say that the musical tel ls about the wish and i ts influence on

the society. Therefore, Into the Woods i s s l ight ly different from the

feminist fai ry tales that res is t the conventional gender roles . This f i lm

concerns the discord between the individual happiness and the ideal and

happiness that the t radi t ional fai ry tales codif ied.

Into the Woods quest ions that the fai ry-tale characters t ruly

become happy after their happy endings. The f i rs t half follows the

t radi t ional fai ry-tale plot . The characters such as Li t t le Red Riding

Hood and Jack of “Jack and the Beanstalk” overcome their adversi ty,

real ize their wishes, and have happiness . In the way of the Grimms’

Aschenput tel , Cinderel la escapes from her nightmarish house, and

becomes the prince’s bride. However, the second half shows that their

“happiness” is wrong and uncertain. Cinderel la real izes that the palace

i s not her place, and leaves the fr ivolou s prince. In Into the Woods ,

32

Cinderel la’s episode offers the ant i thesis of the marriage as the happy

ending in the t radi t ional Cinderel la s tories . For Cinderel la in this

movie, the marriage with the prince is represented as her wrong choice.

Into the Woods breaks the special ty of the gir l cal led Cinderel la;

the canonical Cinderel las symbolize the r ightness , but this Cinderel la is

imperfect and makes a mistake. The f i lm denies the t radi t ional sense

that extraordinary kindness and grace must be the essence of the

heroine. In the relat ion with her mal icious stepfamily, this Cinderel la

doubts that being good would save her. Actual ly, being abused by her

stepsis ters , she sings “Mother said be good. Father said be nice. …

What’s the good of being good?” In the sce ne, Cinderel la does her

sis ter ’s hair so roughly and t ight ly that i t makes the s is ter offended.

This Cinderel la’s rude at t i tude to her s tepsis ters is not seen in the

versions of the Grimms, of Disney, and of the Perraul t . Especial ly,

Perraul t ’s Cendri l lon i s a contrast to this Cinderel la because Cendri l lon

does her s tepsis ters’ hair gent ly and perfect ly. Therefore, Cinderel la in

Into the Woods cynical ly quest ions the absolute goodness and sweetness

of the t radi t ional Cinderel las .

Furthermore, the f i lm does not idol ize but sat i r izes Cinderel la at

the bal l . In the bal l scene, her romant ic encounter with the prince and

dance are not represented. Al l she does i s running down the s teps of the

palace f rom the prince. In the f inal day of the bal l , she s ings “On the

Steps of the Palace.” This song focuses on her quick choice whether she

should be with the prince or back to her house. In the interviews in the

f i lm’s brochure and in the onl ine Los Angeles Times , the director, Rob

33

Marshal l says that this song is part ly al tered in order to emphasize that

Cinderel la has to decide in the moment . In the original musical , i t i s

presented after Cinderel la returned to her home. But Marshal l placed

the song in her running scene, and changed the tense of the lyrics .

Therefore, the scene of “On the Steps of the Palace” in the f i lm is

successful in represent ing the hastiness and the diff icul ty of making a

decis ion quickly and properly. In that scene, Cinderel la can’t move on

the pi tch on the s teps by the prince’s ar t i f ice to catch h er. Then, she

knows that she has to decide whether she should be at the fantast ic

palace or her terr ible house. It i s di ff icu lt for her to make her “f i rs t big

decis ion” instant ly. She decides and sings: “I know what my decis ion is

which is not to decide. I ' l l just leave him a clue, f or example, a shoe.

And then, see what he’l l do.” Consequently, she purposely leaves her

shoe in order to let the prince f ind her and to see whether he t ruly wants

to marry her.

The scene of “On the Steps of the Palace” neutral izes the

romant ic fantasy seen in Disney’s Cinderel la . For Cinderel la in Into the

Woods , the prince i s nei ther her genuine happiness nor her t rue love,

but one choice in her l i fe . Moreover, “choice” to leave her s l ipper is an

i rony of her passivity. Her de cis ion of “not to decide” shows her

adroi tness , but at the same t ime i t suggests her abandonment of her wil l

in her l i fe . Placing her confession in the Grimms’ t radi t ional plot , this

scene reveals the absence of Cinderel la’s subject ivi ty in “her” happy

ending which has been t radi t ional ly admired.

Therefore, Cinderella in Into the Woods quest ions and

34

destabi l izes the idolized Cinderel la images. She is doubtful of her

goodness , at t ract iveness , and uncertain future. This port ra it of her is

di fferent from Disne y’s hopeful Cinderel la , and Cendri l lon and

Aschenput tel who quietly accepts their dest iny. This Cinderel la is also

different from the empowered princesses such as Daniel le in Ever Af ter .

She is too weak to defeat her wicked stepfamily and to control her

dest iny. Into the Woods does not t reat her as the special hero ine but one

of the characters . In the interview shown in Los Angeles Times ’ websi te ,

the songwri ter, Stephen Sondheim says that Into the Woods describes

“about community responsibi l i ty.” In the ea r l y half of the f i lm, the

characters are absorbed in sat isfying their own desire. But , in the las t

half , they have to cooperate toward the common goal to defeat the giant .

Into the Woods t reat s Cinderel la and the other characters su ch as Baker

and Witch equal ly; they are not ideal models but show their f laws . This

f i lm offers the unique image of Cinderel la as a member of the

community but not the pivot of the s tory.

Ever Af ter and Into the Woods present the different Cinderel la

images from the privileged re presentat ives: Perraul t ’s Cendri l lon, the

Grimms’ Aschenput tel , and Disney’s Cinderel la . Ever Af ter and Into the

Woods doubt the t radi t ional Cindere lla’s vir tues: sweetness and

obedience to her wicked s tepfamily, fate and environment . Daniel le in

Ever Af ter embodies the resis tance to the t radi t ion, arming herself wi th

intel l igence and vi ta li ty. Cinderel la in Into the Woods demonstrates the

“flaws” of the t radi t ional s tory, and amends them; she had to know what

she t ruly wants .

35

2. Cinderel la (2015): beyond Traditionalism vs. Revis ionism

Different f rom Ever Af ter and Into the Woods , Kenneth

Branagh’s Cinderel la (2015) favorably approaches the Cinderel la

t radi t ion. Disney’s websi te int roduces this f i lm: “[a] l ive -ac tion feature

f i lm inspired by the classic fai ry tale, Cinderel la brings to l i fe the

t imeless images from Disney’s 1950 animated masterpiece.” As these

words tel l , Branagh’s adaptat ion is fai thful to Perraul t ’s “Cendri l lon”

and Disney’s Cinderel la . The heroine, Ella is not aggressive , but sweet

and graceful l ike Perraul t ’s Cendri l lon. She fr iendly looks after the

animals , as Disney’s Cinderel la does. This fi lm does not distort the

magical ass is tance, the romant ic atmosphere of the bal l , and the

marriage as the happy ending in the popular s tories . As Be tsy Sharkey

points out in the online Los Angeles Times , Cinderel la has “[n]o s ly

asides , no double entendres and nary a hint of modern -day gender

poli t ics .” Branagh’s Cinderel la pays homage to the original vers ions

rather than sat i r izes them.

The fai thfulness gave some cri t ics the impression that this f i lm

supports wrong s tereotypes of the fai ry -tale heroines . In the DVD

review in the Guardian , Charl ie Lyne comments:

Disney t radi t ionalis ts are sure to f ind comfort in Kenneth

Branagh’s l ive -act ion Cinderel la as i t gl ides on to home

video this week, because … this new spin on the

glass-s l ippered classic makes few concessions to

contemporary l i fe . … Ella’s absurdly thin wais t is scant ly

more anatomical ly plausible when placed on an actual

36

human body, whi le her quest for a form of l iberat ion

defined by marriage to a weal thy, powerful s t ranger feels

ret rograde even by Disney s tandards.

Lynne pays at tent ion to the ant i -feminis t - l ike representat ions of El la’s

corseted wais t and the prince’s rescue of her, and connec t s these t rai ts

to the “t radi t ionalis t” and “retrograde” values . However, the f i lm’s

homage to the t radit ion does not necessari ly mean support ing the

conservat ive female image and social code.

Like Into the Woods , and the “revis ionis t” f i lms such as Frozen

and Maleficent , Branagh’s Cinderel la conveys the fai ry- tale power and

lesson to the contemporary audience. But , Branagh’s vers ion takes the

different way of s torytel l ing from these f i lms. The recent f i lms such as

Frozen replace the t radi t ional frame with the new ones in accord with

the modern value of just ice. Therefore , their characters and stories

great ly look different from the originals or the popular t radi t ional

versions. Branagh’s Cinderel la does not deny the t radi t ional vers ions,

but seeks the new meaning in the old s t ructures and representat ions.

Following the famil iar plot , the f i lm depicts the characters’

backgrounds and complex feel ing. Thus , i t i s successful in the creat ion

of the contemporary Cinderel la s tory that bridges between the modern

sense of value and the t radi t ional narrat ive.

2.1. Grace and Kindness in the Modern World

Cinderel la t reats Cinderel la’s kindness as her precious and

essent ial t rai t . In E! Online ’s interview, Branagh says that the f i lm’s

37

Cinderel la cal led El la needed to be “crucial ly kind .” In the f i lm, El la is

described as a gir l who “have [has] more kindness in your [her] l i t t le

f inger than most people possess in their whole body” in her mother ’s

words. “Have courage and be kind” is a wisdom given to El la from her

mother, and also the f i lm’s important theme shown in the beginning of

the t rai ler.

Ella’s courage and kindness mean her tolerance for malice

against her. Her s tepfamily’s t reatment of her is terr ible and spi teful .

After El la’s father lef t , her s tepmother and s tep sis ters do not t reat El la

as their company but the humble housemaid. They exclude El la from the

comfortable places , and drive her into the cold and dusty at t ic and the

kitchen. As the s is ters in the tales of Perraul t and of the Grimms do, her

s tepsis ters g ive El la the nickname “Cinderel la (Cinder -Ella) ,” mocking

Ella covered with cinders of the hearth. In spite of these unkind

t reatments , El la is not revengeful ; she does not pul l the s isters’ hair nor

t r ies to s t r ike them. Instead, she t r ies to smile and to be gent le with her

stepfamily. Her at t i tude of tolerance is shown in her words: “they [ the

s tepfamily] t reat me as wel l as they’re able.”

In his s tatement , Branagh admit ted the connect ion between

“have courage and be kind” and the tolerance. When Cinderel la f i rst

appeared in Berl in Internat ional Fi lm Fest ival , in the Guardian , Kate

Connol ly reported Branagh’s comment:

‘Have courage and be kind’ … I was reminding them of

King Lear when Edgar says ‘Have pat ience and endure’ at

the point he’s being put in the s tocks and mocked.

38

Patience to me equates to compassion, and endurance is a

form of courage[ . ]

Therefore, the f i lm’s important idea, “have courage and be kind” must

be close to “pat ience” and “endurance,” and El la follows the principle.

The goodness as the tolerance is the qual i ty of Cendri l lon,

Aschenput tel , and Disney’s Cinderel la; they perfect ly play the role of

their stepfamily’s obedient servant . Therefore, the endurance can be

identi f ied with the old -fashioned passivity, but the f i lm t r ies to define

i t the s t rength. In E! Online ’s interview, Branagh says “[ t] here was talk

way back about redefining goodness as a superpower and kindness in

the same way. I think i t can be very act ive and chari smatic and

compel ling . ” In the movie, this idea appears in the words of Ella’s

mother: she thinks courage and kindness as “a great secret that wi ll see

you through al l the t r ials that l i fe can offer.” Li ly James, who played

the role of El la also says “[s]he’s not armed with swords or weapons to

be st rong. It ’s from within” in the interview shown in the website of

New York Times .

2.2. Kindness as Resolution and Resistance

Ella looks s imply submissive, but her words and act ions indicate

her s t rong wil l and resistance to her s tepfamily. Her quiet at t i tude does

not suggest that t radit ional Cinderel la’s obedient image always means

her powerlessness . In the f i lm, her fr iend asks why she does not leave

the house dominated by the mal icious stepfamily. El la answers:

I made my mother and father a promise to cherish the

39

place we were so happy. They loved our house, and now

that they’re gone, I love i t for them. It ’s my home.

These words show her resolut ion and mental independence from her

s tepfamily; she is confident in herself as the guardian and the mistress

of her house. She has the same menta li ty as Daniel le in Ever Af ter .

Ella’s words “It ’s my home” are equivalent to Daniel le’s words to her

servants : “This is our home, and I wi l l not see i t fal l apart .” Ella’s quiet

independence evokes Marina Warner ’s words “[m]uni ty can be

conveyed in s i lence” (Warner, From 395). Also, “have courage and be

kind” is sort of “mut ism of fai rytale hero ines” as “a defensive s t rategy”

(Warner, From 395). Thus, Ella’s tolerance can mean her s i lent

resis tance and also the wisdom to survive in her di ff icul t ci rcumstance.

Actual ly, Kathryn Shat tuck’s ar t icle in New York Times reveals the

associat ion between El la’s s i lence and her res is tance. When Shat tuck

interviewed Branagh, he “l ikened i t [“have courage and be kind”] to the

nonviolent res is tance of M art in Luther King J r. , Nelson Mandela and

Mahatma Gandhi .” For El la, i t i s important to protect the inheri tance

from her parents ; therefore showing her rage does not make sense for

her.

2.3. The Parents’ Legacy

The f i lm thoughtful ly depicts that her parents’ legacy is par t of

Ella’s humanity, and carr ies great weight of her l i fe . For her, the legacy

does not mean substances, but the parents’ spir i ts: her memory with

them and sense of goodness . She cherishes her house because i t i s “the

40

place we [she and her parents] were so happy.” Her mother ’s dress also

symbolizes El la’s affect ion for her mother even though i t i s spoi led by

the stepmother in the s imilar way of Disney’s animat ion. When the

fai ry godmother offers El la to give her a completely new dress , El la

refuses i t . She explains the reason: “this was my mother ’s . And I’d l ike

to wear i t when I go to the palace. It ’s a lmost l ike taking her with me.”

The fai ry godmother understands her feel ing, and turns the pink dress

into the blue one. Thanks to thi s conversat ion, El la’s blue gown at the

bal l i s the same one as her mother ’s pink dress .

I t i s interest ing that the dress looks to be completely changed,

but i t i s not changed in essence. This fact must ref lect the value that

Ella inheri ts from her parents , and the f i lm emphasizes . The dress of

Ella and her mother symbolizes that they bel ieve what is goodness:

t rying to watch, to l isten to , and to bel ieve what is hard to catch. In the

f i lm, as the fai ry godmother says, El la “saw the world not always as i t

was , but as perhaps i t could be.” She l is tens to the animal’s voice that

the s tepsisters cannot hear, and also bel ieves the power of courage,

kindness , and magic .

The scene of El la’s chi ldhood shows that El la formed her unique

view through the conversat ion with her mother. The mother says “I

bel ieve that animals l isten and speak to us i f only have the ear for i t .

That’s how we learn to look after them.” Her words are exact ly

ref lected in El la’s at t i tude toward the animals. She is the mice’s

warm-hearted fr iend and guardian that protects them from the cat .

Furthermore, when she saves a s tag from the prince’s hunt ing, she says

41

to him “I looked into his [ the s tag’s] eyes , and he looked into mine, and

I just fel t he had a great deal lef t to do with his l i fe .” The se words

indicate that she pract ices her mother ’s kindness to the animals .

2.4. Ideal ism and Practical Choices

Therefore, in the f i lm, El la embodies the value of nonmaterial

things such as the beaut i ful memory, the inner voice, and the goodness .

On the contrary, her s tepfamily fol lows pract ical and material ist ic

principle. This opposit ion is very s imilar to the con trast between

Cendri l lon’s graceful charm and her s tepsis ters’ ar t i f icial beauty. In

Cinderel la , the s tepsis ters are surrounded by a lot of v ivid -colored

things, and repeatedly change the clo thes . Their gorgeous l i fes tyle

contrasts with El la’s dusty clothe s and humble l i fe in the dim kitchen

and the garret . Moreover, the s isters are not interested in the prince’s

humanity but his weal th, and El la cannot approve their money -oriented

motive of t rying to marry him. El la’s despair at their humanity is shown

in the narrat ion: “Ella actual ly fel t pity for these schemers who could

be every bi t as ugly within as they were fai r wi thout .”

The confrontat ion between El la and her s tepmother in the at t ic is

a remarkable scene because i t di rect ly sets Ella’s ideal is t ic goo dness

against the s tepmother ’s pract ical principle. After the ball , the

s tepmother f inds El la’s glass s l ipper, and asks: “Did you s teal i t?” El la

tel ls her that the sl ipper was “given” to her. But the s tepmother denies

Ella’s word “given”: “Given to you? N othing is ever given. For

everything we must pay and pay.” She also denies the words of El la’s

42

bel ief , “Kindness is free. Love is free.” The s tepmother proposes

arranging the marriage between El la and the prince. In return for i t , she

demands El la to make her l ive in the palace and to arrange the

marriages between her daughters and great lords .

In the scene, El la’s glass s l ipper effec tively symbolizes their

opposi te values . Her words “for everything, we must pay” shows that

the s tepmother deals with everyth ing in her l i fe as the t ransact ion.

Knowing the prince wants to see the owner of the s l ipper, she t reats i t

as the means to get her happiness and bet ter l i fe . When her threatening

proposal is refused, she breaks the s l ipper. The s l ipper as the

bargaining chip loses the worth when the deal ing is fai led. Thus, the

glass s l ipper is successful in reveal ing the stepmother ’s practical value.

For El la’s part , the s l ipper means the different value because the

glass s l ipper is t ied to her unforgettable experience: h er fai ry

godmother ’s favor and the lovely t ime with the prince Kit . In the sense,

her glass s l ipper is equivalent to her home and her mother ’s dress

because i t reminds her of happiness and her beaut i ful memory. When

her s tepmother breaks her s l ipper, she i s so shocked that she expresses

her res t rained feel ings: “Why are you so cruel? … I’ve been t r ied to be

kind to you.” The glass s l ipper is resonant with the goodness in her

world; therefore her s tepmother ’s deed symbolizes that she t ramples

Ella’s fai th in the goodness .

Therefore , the f i lm contrasts Ella’s idealis t ic view of goodness

with the pract ical s tepmother. The opposit ion reflects the antagonism

between dreaming Cinderel la and her scheming s tepmother in Disney’s

43

animated f i lm. But , Branagh’s vers ion glori f ies the supremacy of

Cinderel la’s ideal over her s tepmother less than Disney’s class ic.

Branagh’s vers ion depicts the s tepmother ’s s tory and her diff icul t s tate

of mind. Her beloved husband lef t her and her daughters , and her next

husband is at tached to the memory with his daughter and dead wife. She

also lost him, and has to survive with her own daughter and

s tepdaughter. Like the s tepmother in Ever Af ter , she is represented as

the woman in the undesirable place for her. The depict ions of the

s tepmother ’s background are successful in responding to the

contemporary sense of value. Some cri t ics do not approve the f i lm’s

t radi t ional elements , but sympathize with the stepmother ’s motive of

her cruel ty toward Ella. For example, Rex Reed’s rev iew in the

Observer says “she’s disi l lusioned – widowed by two husbands while

sti l l young and lef t to raise a pair of dumb daughters she doesn’t even

l ike, her resentment of El la’s beauty and sweetness is only natural .”

Interest ingly, the s tepmother ’s s tory told Ella su ggests that they

could understand each other because the s tepmother experienced the

situat ion that El la knows. The s tepmother once “married for love,” and

had a happy family l ike El la’s family. She also lost her beloved husband

as Ella lost her parents . Ho wever, they cannot compromise, and El la

resolutely parts from her s tepmother because of their di fferent senses

of value. In this way, the f i lm inserts bit terness of the real ism in the

ideal ist ic frame of the classical fai ry ta le. In the sense, this movie i s

not completely the “perky, pret ty cupcake of a fai rytale adaptat ion”

cal led in Guy Lodge’s review in the Guardian .

44

Final ly, the f i lm ends with the t r iumph of El la’s ideal ism. She

maintains her bel ief of goodness , saying to her s tepmother “I forgive

you.” Different from “Cendri l lon,” the s tepfamily is separated from

Ella’s sphere; the s tepmother and s tepsis ters disappear from the

kingdom. El la marries with Kit who shares her spir i t of “have courage

and be kind,” and “they were cont inued to be the fai rest a nd kindest

rules the kingdom had known.”

Therefore, Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la i s the intertwinement

of the various images seen in Cinderel la’s t radi t ion. It i s easy but

shal low to discuss this f i lm in the opposit ion between the

t radi t ional ism and the revisionism. Kate Connol ly’s ar t icle in the

Guardian reports the director ’s words: “‘Have courage and be kind’ …

i t reminded me that these basic, human and fundamental s i tuat ions get

seized on by great s torytel lers .” Consequent ly, the repeated goodness is

based on the f i lmmakers’ interest and insight into the t imeless humanity.

The argument whether this f i lm belongs to the t radi t ionalism reveals

“warrior women” as the “new stereotype” that Maria Tatar points out

(Tatar, Female 39) . In the contemporary current , Cinderel la does not

suggest that i t i s wrong to choose the goodness inheri ted from the old

Cinderel las .

45

Conclusion

Reflect ing the different values , Cinderel la’s s tory and image

have been inheri ted through the various media. Even the global ly

famous ancestors of the today’s good Cinderel la original ly belonged to

the specif ic community. Perraul t ’s Cendri l lon was the idea l lady of the

French court of Louis XIV, and Disney’s Cinderel la appeared as the

housewife of the dream for the Americans af ter World War II. The

contemporary Cinderel la f i lms such as Ever Af ter , Into the Woods , and

Cinderel la p ick up the images from the t radi t ion, and convey them to

the next generat ion. In this way, the specif ic images are connected to

the t radi t ion.

The “new” representat ions in the modern fai ry - tale movies such

as Frozen and Malef icent contr ibute to the divers i ty of the image of the

fai ry tales . The emotional and spir i ted heroines are now frequent ly seen

in the f i lms based on the fai ry tales . The fai ry -tale movies without the

vil lains have also become standardized. These f i lms are consi dered as

the separat ion from the t radi t ional s tories . But , i t cannot be denied that

they are completely independent from the fai ry -tale t radi t ion, and the

newness wil l become oldness .

In the modern world, Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderel la i s a

s ignif icant f i lm that offers the generosi ty to the forms and the s tyles of

the fai ry tales . It exemplif ies that the t radi t ion can be reconci led with

the contemporary sense, seeing the good points in each par t . Like the

Ella’s s tory, the f i lm is given the legacy from the o ld t ime, and conveys

46

the value in i ts way. “Cinderel la’s s tory” cont inues.

47

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