The Lessons of Cinderella Stories

Fairy tales are typical childhood stories of princes and princess facing adversity before they ride off into the sunset for a happily ever after, and the story of Cinderella is no exception. Although, Cinderella is a prime example of a childhood story that does not always teach children the right kind of lessons. The story of Cinderella has been re-written and re-told time and time again, but there are always similar themes among them. As each culture re-tells this story, changes are made to reflect the values of that culture. Many of these stories, but not all, teach young women that being beautiful, finding a man, and having nice things are most important; if women are pitted against each other to compete for these things, then so be it. When comparing the Cinderella tales of Aschenputtel, from The Brothers Grimm, and The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, adapted by Alexander Chodzko, there are noticeable similarities and differences in how each story shows themes of the value of beauty, the emphasis on the help of nature and the cruelty of women towards other women.

The first major recurring theme throughout these Cinderella stories is the value of beauty. In both Aschenputtel and The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, Aschenputtel and Marouckla are mocked and demeaned by their step-families because they are more beautiful. In The Grim Brothers story, Aschenputtel’s step-family gives “her an old grey kirtle, and gave her wooden shoes to wear” while her step-mother and step-sisters wear fine clothes and jewels (“Aschenputtel” 183). They do this in an effort to make Aschenputtel appear less beautiful than them because she is beautiful in appearance and at heart yet her step-family is only “beautiful and fair in appearance, but at heart were black and ugly” (“Aschenputtel” 183). This is similar to The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend where Marouckla was hated by her step-mother and step-sister, Helen, because “she was far prettier” than Helen (“The Twelve Months” 188). Even though Helen and her mother treat Marouckla horribly, Marouckla never complains and continues to smile through it all. As Marouckla dealt with this bad treatment “she grew more daily beautiful, while Helen’s ugliness increased” because Marouckla was kind in the face of cruelty which made her more attractive, while Helen’s tyrannical nature made her appear more unattractive (“The Twelve Months” 189).

Both of these stories are showing an emphasis on beauty because being beautiful is what causes these ‘Cinderella figures’ to be hated by their step-families. Although the theme of outer-beauty is more emphasized in the tale of Aschenputtelthan in The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend. In Aschenputtel on-the-surface beauty is shown as more valuable, whereas in The Twelve Months: A Slav Legendinner-beauty is emphasized. The Prince picks Aschenputtel time and time again to be his dance partner on the sole basis that she is the most beautiful and well-dressed person at the festival. He then picks her to be his bride because she is the only girl in the whole kingdom with the daintiest feet to fit into the golden slipper. The representation of this theme in Aschenputtel teaches young girls everywhere that the only way to get their “prince” is to be the most beautiful and dainty of all the girls, even if people hate them for it. But in The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, young girls are taught that inner-beauty makes you appear more beautiful.

The second major recurring theme in these stories is the emphasis on the help of nature. In Aschenputtel, she asks her father to bring her “the first twig…that strikes against your hat on your way home”, which she then takes and plants on her mother’s grave and weeps over it until it grows into a tree (“Aschenputtel” 183). This tree on her mother’s grave then becomes Aschenputtel’s haven away from the evils of her step-family; the birds that come to live in this tree become Aschenputtel’s helpers that support her throughout the story. At first, “if she uttered any wish the birds brought her whatever she had wished for” (“Aschenputtel” 183). As the story goes on these birds are also the ones who help her complete her tasks so she can attempt to convince her step-mother to let her go to the festival. In addition, they bring her the beautiful gowns and slippers that she wears to meet the Prince. When each step sister tries to fool the Prince into thinking they are his true princess, Aschenputtel’s birds cry out to the Prince “There is blood on her shoe; the shoe is too small, - Not the right bride at all!” which inevitably leads the Prince to discovering that Aschenputtel is his true princess (“Aschenputtel” 187). The birds also pluck out the Step-Sisters eyes as punishment for “their wickedness and falsehood” in their treatment towards Aschenputtel (“Aschenputtel” 188). The ways in which nature supports and helps Aschenputtel is similar to the help from nature that Marouckla receives in The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend.

In The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, Marouckla meets the Twelve Months of the year on top of the mountain she is sent to for her tasks. The men that represent these months take turns controlling the weather so she can complete her tasks. “Brother March” takes over the throne to melt the harsh winter snow so that Marouckla may collect the violets for her step-sister Helen (“The Twelve Months” 189). “Brother June” then takes over so the Winter can melt into summer and Marouckla can collect the strawberries for Helen (“The Twelve Months” 190). Finally, “Brother September” sits on the throne to change winter into autumn so she can collect apples for Helen’s third task (“The Twelve Months” 191). These gods of nature do all of this to protect Marouckla because she is kind to them and Helen has threatened her life if Marouckla does complete the tasks her step-sister gives her. Ultimately, “the great January” kills Helen and her mother in a snow storm after Helen becomes greedy and tries to get more apples from the Twelve Months. After looking at the help provided by nature in both The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend and Aschenputtel it is clear to see the lesson that nature provides to those who are kind to nature, but nature can harm those who are disrespectful.

The final major theme in these Cinderella stories is the cruelty of women towards other women. Aschenputtel’s step-family gives her no respect or value because her step-mother and step-sisters are pitted against her since she is more beautiful. These women mock her and throw “peas and lentils among the ashes, setting her to pick them up” (“Aschenputtel” 183). They take away her bed and force her to sleep on the fireplace hearth - leaving her covered in ashes – and give her the name “Aschenputtel” to demean her (“Aschenputtel” 183). This is similar to how Marouckla is treated in The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, except in Marouckla’s story her step-mother and step-sister Helen, verbally and physically abused her as well as threatening her with death. The difference between these two stories is how each ‘Cinderella figure’ chooses to respond to this cruelty.

In Aschenputtel’s tale, this theme is present on both sides. When Aschenputtel’s family treats her horrible, at first, she puts up with it. Until she starts to grow bolder in taking what she wants, by sneaking out to the festival every night and dancing with the Prince. This ultimately leads to her allowing the birds who help her to pluck out her step-sisters eyes as a punishment, instead of continuing to turn the other cheek and not retaliate. It is the opposite in Marouckla’s story. Marouckla takes all of the harsh cruelty from the women in her life “with a smile on her lips and the patience of a lamb” (“The Twelve Months” 188). When Helen is vicious towards her and sentences Marouckla into the harsh winter of the mountains to accomplish impossible tasks, Marouckla goes with only little resistance. Even after she nearly froze to death on the mountain-side to bring back what Helen has asked for, Helen does not share any of her flowers or fruit with Marouckla, but Marouckla does not complain. In the end, Marouckla never retaliates against the women who abused her in the way that Aschenputtel did. This shows that the lesson of Aschenputtel is that women need to put each other down and retaliate just as harshly to survive in life, yet the lesson of The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend is that kindness is another option for response in the face of adversity.

After comparing The Grimm Brother’s Aschenputtel and The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, adopted by Alexander Chodzko, it is clear that they are different and similar in many ways. They are similar in the emphasis that nature is important yet unforgiving, because in both stories the ‘Cinderella Figure’ is helped by nature while nature kills and maims their evil family members. Yet they are different because in Aschenputtel there is a greater emphasis on beauty, because by the end all Aschenputtel wants is her Prince and beautiful things and is ok with her step sisters being mutilated. Whereas in The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend, Marouckla is not as concerned with having beauty or power, she just continues to be kind and live her life simply. This shows the variety in the lessons that Cinderella stories can have based on how they choose to emphasize the themes of the value of beauty, the help of nature, and the cruelty of women towards other women.

Works Cited

“Aschenputtel” Dreams and Inward Journeys, edited by Marjorie and Jon Ford, Pearson Education, 2012, pp. 182-188.

“The Twelve Months: A Slav Legend” Dreams and Inward Journeys, edited by Marjorie and Jon Ford, Pearson Education, 2012, pp. 188-192.