On Girl Covered in Cinder

- 14 minutes read - 2796 words

The Little Glass Slipper is definitely one of the most known and recognised stories ever written. However, majority of people most likely know it under its shorter title, namely Cindirella. In short, I may describe the story in its heart as one of a girl who lives in the horrific circumstances, and then there happens a sudden twist in her tale, and her shoe leads her to the remarkable future.

The story

The most common version of the story of Cinderella is depicted by Disney in the 1950s animated feature film. They based it on the 1697 tale written by French author Charles Perrault under the title of Cindirella, or a Little Glass Slipper.

For those unfamiliar, if such can even be found, it is a story of an unnamed girl. She is basically a personification of goodness and kindness. Her father marries, as his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman the world has ever seen. The woman also has two daughters, which were just like her. They treat the girl as their slave, and name her Cindirella, from French little ashes, or rudely Cinderwench, as she often is covered in ash from doing chores for them. Let’s be honest, if you are reading this post you are most likely familiar with what comes later in the story. Core elements showing later are The Great Hall, showing of Fairy Godmother, Cindirella meeting Prince and running away few nights in the row, on the last loosing a glass shoe that allows Prince to find her. And they have lived happily ever after at the end. So let me instead tell you another story, a little older than this one. The story of Ye Xian, first written in the middle of IX century in China.

Written by Duan Chengshi around 860 compilation of folktales titled Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang contains the story of an orphan named Ye Shian (叶限), daughter of one of small tribal rulers. She was taken under the care of her father’s second wife, scheming and envious, and was treated as a lowly servant by both her stepmother and younger stepsister. In fresh family arrangement they pushed Ye Shian to lowest position, humiliated and mocked by her guardian and sister and also she was given all the worst jobs.

One day, while drawing water, Ye Xian found a little fish with golden eyes and red fins. She found the fish so lovely she captured it and put in a bowl at her house. She took care of the fish and the fish grew so much she had to move it to the nearby pond. With time, the fish had become her only friend. One day her mother found out about it and killed and ate it. The reasoning for that was that Ye Xian has angered her with her found happiness and wanted to take it away from her.

After the fish death, Ye Shian felt crushed and mourning. While crying on the river bank an old man visited her and told her where the fish’s bones had been buried and that she should look for them and hide them in a safe place. The bones would fulfil her wishes when she was in need. She did not use this magic much, but one day the time of festivities have came. She has asked for a clothing she could wear on the festival.

Her charm enchanted all men, her beauty made all women look at her with envy. Ye Xian’s sister was one of the ladies. After a while, she and her mother had recognised her. Ye Xian too had recognised them in the crowd. Seeing that they would find her, she has run out of the festival, leaving behind one of the golden shoes.

Then the shoe was found by a merchant and he eventually sold it to the king of Tuo Han, a big island kingdom nearby. The king was fascinated by the shoe and has concluded that the woman with such small feet must be the most beautiful in the entire world. Then he sent his ministers searching for the girl.

They brought ye Xian to the king. He initially doubted that, even thought extraordinary pretty, the village girl in dirty clothes could be the one he was looking for, so he performed a test. He gave the girl the shoe to check if it fits her foot. Then

A charming smile was shining on her angelic face, the splendid gown was wrapping her appealing body, and the golden shoes were the perfect fitting for her feet. At the moment, the king realized that she was the one for him.

The step mother and step sister continued to live in her village until they met their fate as the rain of flying stones has killed them. The locals have buried them in a stone pit and called it The Tomb of a Regretful Women.

Few years later the king wanted to use the bones to gain a treasure. He pried to them and he gained gems from it. However, next time he tried doing he found out the bones lost all their power. Then some of his soldiers revolted and while trying to retrieve his valuables to pay his troops, he has lost both treasure and bones to the sea.

There are also some versions of the ending stating that stepmother and stepsister become minor deities and grant wishes for people in need. Either way, both endings are very characteristic for Chinese tales. I can say same about fish, which is a distinctively Asian element, showing in many versions of this tale, like Vietnamese story of Tam and Cam or some Filipino fables. This element has most likely come from the cave dwelling tribes, among worship of fish was very common. In some later versions, people sometimes replaced the fish elements with Holy Mary.

When hearing the story there is no doubt that this is the variation of the story of Cindirella and it contains most of the elements. Which makes me ask a question, if this story, in almost unchanged form, is over 1200 years old, how old this story really is? To answer this question, let’s focus on a particular element of this story, the one that is most widely recognised.

The shoe

The most iconic element of almost all variations of Cindirella story is the shoe. This also is probably the oldest element of this story, too. The Greek geographer Strabo mentions in one of his works:

It is called “Tomb of the Courtesan,” having been built by her lovers — the courtesan whom Sappho but others give her the name Rhodopis. They tell the fabulous story that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis; and while the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap; and the king, stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal; and when she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis, became the wife of the king, and when she died was honoured with the above-mentioned tomb..

The Geographica, Strabo, 17.33

Various accounts say that this story was popular in the antiquity. The Geographica was written about the year 20 BC, which makes it at least two thousand years old. There are however some sources, like Aelian, who place the origin of this story in VI or VII century BC. The story of Aelian is very similar to the one presented above. However, five hundred years earlier Herodotus in his Histories have written the story of the Thracian slave named Rhodopis, who lived in Samos, and later was taken to Egypt and freed there by Kharaxus of Mytilene. She was later said to live freely in and gained a lot of wealth in the country. Some scholars believe it that this story could be an origin of the later one, told by Strabo and others. Herodotus also says that in Samos was the other slave, by name of Aesop. Yes, the almost mythical storyteller Aesop. Personally, I believe it adds some credibility to this story and may explain why it got some popular, when there is a possibility it was initiated by one of the best-known fabulists that has ever lived.

The shoe itself is most likely the oldest element of the tale. It also has a very strong symbolic meaning. In almost every version of a story, it’s the outfit what allowed her to join the dance. The most intuitive interpretation would be that this was the source of her confidence that allowed her to go on the festivities. What’s interesting is that almost all of her outfit usually disappears when the spell breaks. Only the shoes always stay, and she keeps them to remind her of the event. What may it mean, for instance, that it is everything that happens in our lives that creates and shapes our character. Also that one has to find courage and do things like going on the dance to grow as a person. But not all meanings are so trivial, some of them are even very sensual. Some people like to think prince checking every woman in the country trying to put something in her thing to see if it fits may be a very unambiguous sexual connotation.

Zezolla

We owe the earliest version of the Cindirella tale in Europe to Giambattista Basile. In his story Cenerentola, the protagonist has one feature that makes her different from almost all other versions of the tale. The name, Zezolla, as opposed to the nickname Cenerentola that is equivalent to Cindirella. This is interesting, because it highlights the fact that virtually every other author references the hero just as Cindirella. We never get to know how their hero is named. Just that her stepfamily had started calling her with the nickname. Zezolla is actually an exotic derivative of the Italian name Lucrezia, a common character in Neopolitan teather. They are usually characterised as an affected flatterer using pleasant words to manipulate people to their will. And so does she. This differs greatly from previous and most of later stories, where the title hero is basically a personification of kindness and goodness. Here, Zezolla plots against her stepmother and convinces her governess1 to kill her and become her new mother. It is after it happens it turns out that the governess becomes the real evil stepmother and starts calling her Cerentola and abuse her. It is unique and interesting how this story differs from the others. This is the story about consequences of own actions and finding redemption, unlike other versions, which lack these elements. However, there is also a supernatural element to it that is also distinctive. She had earned her wish. She got humble and cultivated tree that become a fairy; it didn’t just find her and make everything happen. She had to work for it and deserve it. Basile’s story is both almost the same and very different from other tales with this protagonist, and I think I like it the most of them.

This directly contradicts the Grimm brother’s fable titled Aschenputtel, which is the latest version of the story. It is also the most brutal one, as Grimm brother’s writings usually do. Otherwise, I did not really found any distinctive features of this story. For me it just contains a mix of elements from other variants. And some gruesome, bloody scenes. I mean, it is a fine story and great tale still, just as we have seen literally every element in it inside of the previous tales. But between Basile’s and Grimm’s version was the one we started this post with, and let’s say few words about it now.

Cindirella

Charles Perrault’s Cindirella, or The Little Glass Slipper is an interesting take. I must note that this is the case at least partially because it is the best researched one, because of the success of the Disney’s movie. I don’t want to go into every detail of this story, but I will note few interesting facts you may have missed. First is that Cindirella did not want to go to the dance. At least this is what she said when her stepsisters asked her about it. Then she cried about it, but she did not go to the dance until she verbally acknowledged it to the fairy godmother. In every previous story she says she does when asked, and then her sisters laugh at her. But here is not the case. The tale says that she had gone to the dance only after she told her wish and it is almost sure that she would not have gone if she wouldn’t verbalise her wish.

Speaking about fairy godmother. She seemed to live in the house with them. It does not surprise Cindirella to see her. And she is used to the use of magic around her. She performs an active part in casting the spells by proposing ingredients. This implies knowledge about insides of magic.

Next, the magical clothes have an important symbolic meaning. She wouldn’t be allowed to enter the dance without them. But it’s not those that made prince fall for her. It was her own strength and beauty that the clothes allowed to surface. The fact that the clothes were more and more beautiful each night may also mean her increasing self confidence and self esteem. This may show how lack of belief in ourselves may cripple us, and yet how a simple belief in that a change is possible may change our lives. Side note: this also allowed us to know that they had a clock set to strike every fifteen minutes. She listens for the strikes and had to leave before midnight. This must have been horrible. Interestingly, the glass slipper did not change back with rest of the clothes. It was because the slippers were real, given to her by the godmother. So maybe it is insignificant. Maybe it says that every bit of magic must have around it something that is real.

The last thing I would like to note are the morals of the story, as noted by author. Those are rather strange.

Beauty in a woman is a rare treasure that will always be admired. Graciousness, however, is priceless and of even greater value. This is what Cinderella’s godmother gave to her when she taught her to behave like a queen. Young women, in the winning of a heart, graciousness is more important than a beautiful hairdo. It is a true gift of the fairies. Without it nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.

There is literary not a single thing that would imply it in the story. I mean, Cindirella forgave her stepmother and stepsisters, but that was an ending. It showed her good hearth and had no real consequence. That was her character, true. However, the only reason for it I can see is that the godmother added graciousness to her character when conjuring the clothes, but this would basically subvert the meaning of the entire story.

The second is not much better

Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother have blessing of godmother

This most likely did not age well, as in those times perhaps the relation of the godparent was a much more prestigious than today. Reading Godfather, maybe in some places and cultures it still is. It does make a lot of sense in the context of the story, I must give it that. But as a moral, doesn’t it just mean that you need either supernatural godparent or just luck to achieve anything? Those morals are weird. I will end with that. Thanks for reading, — Wiktor

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All unattributed quotes are from the links above.

Title image is a courtesy of NeedPix user LisaChe and can be found here

  1. Governess or teacher or other, this really depends on translation. ↩︎