Dahlia Michilena

Professor Hoehne

Fairy Tales & Rewritings

12 November 2019

Super-Heroine

Throughout our entire childhood, we learned about the many superheroes found in both the world of comic books and our own imagination. Little did we know that the superheroes that had the most profound impact on our lives were in the very stories that our parents read to us at night. Over the years, critics have argued whether or not fairy tale princesses can truly be considered heroines – their main argument being these characters’ excessive passivity and persecution throughout their story. However, what society fails to realize is that there is more to the word “heroine” than its four-letter suffix. Through the basic framework of fairy tales containing innocent persecuted heroines, the lessons that Perrault’s “Cinderella” teaches its audience, and the overlooked qualities of this princess, Cinderella and her story offers a sense of feminine empowerment to her audience, and therefore should be considered a true heroine.

The general framework of fairy tales such as “Cinderella” gives purpose and meaning to the innocent persecuted heroine that inspires her audience. W.F.H Nicholaisen reveals that fairy tales and the idea of the innocent persecuted heroine increase feminine pride through its fundamental components: “Thus, these tales, despite their unpromising beginnings, turn out to be painfully-glorious celebrations of the indomitable power and spirit of womanhood. Though the tales’ endings may be formulaic, the story tellers make it quite clear that the marriages which are of the women’s choosing and which permit them to stay away from home are predicted to be happy ones, with no signs of further persecution on the horizon” (69). Through these lines, Nicholaisen is implying that the scheme of fairy tales, almost always having women rise from their “unpromising beginnings”, offer not only women, but everyone, a sense of empowerment no matter what their situation entails. This idea of women choosing the path that they wish to go down glorifies the innocent persecuted heroine. This suggests that there is not a need for physical power to be successful in fairy tales – that there is strength in passivity. The positive impact that fairy tale princesses, such as Cinderella, have on society further qualify them as heroines. They should not only be considered meek, docile women, but heroines that inspire and empower their audience. Overall, in Nicholaisen’s, “Why Tell Stories About Innocent Persecuted Heroines?”, he addresses the main suspicion as to why society continues to read about the very characters that they decide are not good role models, and this is because these stories offer a sense on encouragement to its audience and speaks to the part of ourselves that holds on to the hope of rising from difficult situations.

One of the aspects of Cinderella’s heroinism is her ability to teach the audience a significant lesson. After describing Cinderella’s interaction with her fairy godmother, Christine Jones tells her readers to, “…read closely, [because] her story is one of subtle development. Cinderella receives more than magic from the fairy; she learns a lesson in rhetoric” (18). The entirety of Cinderella’s interaction with her fairy godmother signifies Cinderella learning to do things on her own and beginning to think for herself. When Jones uses the word “rhetoric”, she implies that Cinderella learns how to use her words and language to help herself in the end. This can be seen during the scene in which her fairy godmother uses her magic to help Cinderella in attending the ball: “As she was puzzled about what to turn into a coachman, Cinderella said: ‘I’ll go and see if there is a rat in the rat-trap— then we could make a coachman out of him’” (Perrault 132). In these lines, Cinderella tries to be helpful towards her fairy godmother by offering ideas when the fairy is “puzzled”. Was her fairy godmother’s state of “puzzlement” truly derived from her own confusion or a tactic used to help Cinderella with more than attending the ball? Regardless of the intention, the situation allowed Cinderella to begin taking initiative and thinking on her feet when the situation called for it. Through learning her own lessons in rhetoric, Cinderella informs her audience that words are powerful and can influence one’s situation. Jones continues this idea when she writes, “This story demonstrates that language is a kind of magic. Once Cinderella learns to command her voice, she will no longer need a pumpkin/coach or a rat/coachman; with her words and wiles, she [charms] a prince” (20). When Jones writes that “language is a kind of magic”, she suggests that our words contain much more power than we normally perceive. Through this fairy tale, Cinderella teaches her young audience that being in “command of your voice” can get you your happily ever after, just as it did for her. One of the major elements of a hero is learning from one’s situation, and through that, encouraging others to do the same. Therefore, Cinderella should be considered a heroine because through her interaction with the fairy godmother, not only does she grow to use her words to help herself, but she influences young readers to do the same.

Much of society’s admiration for princesses such a Cinderella, comes from the inner qualities that these fairy tales seem to hide within the plot. Since the main focus of princesses involve their excessive passivity, one can disregard the most important, yet hidden qualities that these princesses obtain. In comparing warrior heroines to fairy tale princesses, Jones lists the qualities that fairy tales mask within the passivity of a princess: “Linguistic competence and, more important, the ability to interpret signs, deduce motive, and use irony are hallmarks of not only the warrior heroines who dissimulate their gender but also the inert heroines who cry or sleep in a coma and wait for a prince”(18). When she describes heroines that “cry or sleep in a coma and wait for a prince”, Jones refers to the major princesses that society considers the most passive – Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. While these “inert heroines” and “warrior heroines” are physically different, they are notably similar concerning their inherent characteristics. Cinderella especially exhibits these characteristics when she interacts with her stepsisters: “Cinderella was expecting to be refused, and she was glad, because it would have made things very difficult for her if her sister had agreed to lend her the dress” (Perrault 135). In this scene, Cinderella purposefully asks her stepsister if she could borrow her dress to go to the ball, fully knowing that she was going to refuse. The fact that Cinderella “expected to be refused” exemplifies her ability to infer her stepsister’s answer. She portrays a heroine utilizing the irony of her situation by pretending that she still needs her family’s permission and acceptance, with full knowledge that she is the one that they had unknowingly admired. For these reasons Cinderella truly, by the example given by Christine Jones, should be considered a heroine because she encourages her audience to make use of the inner strengths that we can all gradually establish.

Despite my previous arguments, some may be led to believe that Cinderella should not be considered a true heroine because she had neither a positive nor significant influence on society in general. Innocent persecuted heroines and the fundamental framework of fairy tales, like that of “Cinderella”, offer only false hope to their audience: “A twenty-four-year-old told me that she had really expected to bloom one day as Cinderella had done, but she was still waiting” (Stone 49). How do women like this feel empowered by these princesses if they “are still waiting to bloom” into them? Fairy tales such as these with princesses such as Cinderella only offer women the false hope of turning into a beautiful princess on the outside rather than feel empowered on the inside. This example goes to show that the story of Cinderella does not have a positive effect on women in society. Although one person’s particular experience with Cinderella may not have been the most inspirational, Cinderella, and the fairy tales that follow have had a lasting effect on the men and women of society. According to Suzanne Barchers, “… the fact that these tales of heroic women have indeed survived demonstrates a trace of our patriarchal society’s acceptance of women of independence” (117). The continuation of these stories from century to century through “our patriarchal society” shows the significance of them. Fairy tales such as “Cinderella”, with their elements of feminine independence and intellectual growth, were deemed important by a male dominated community in the past, indicating the support for women going centuries back. Therefore, women should feel empowered because the very fact that it has been a part of their childhood – that these stories have been able to make it to the present era – shows that society as a whole, men included, feel that women should be empowered by the hidden messages within these fairy tales. Barchers also includes that, “…heroic women were considered worthy of retelling, providing a measure of hope for our society which struggles for balance” (117). When Barchers describes our society as one “which struggles for balance”, she implies that, through the years, the power of women had been subdued by men, however, fairy tales do in fact offer “a measure of hope” to an intellectually and emotionally equal culture. Thus, Cinderella continues to exhibit heroic qualities because she not only influences women, but she reveals a more open-minded male society that we have overlooked for many years.

Through the many factors that make both a fairy tale and its innocent persecuted heroine what they are, as well as the unnoticed characteristics that can be found within these tales, Cinderella can be considered an empowering heroine towards society. Over the years, society has neglected to acknowledge the true heroinism that can be found within the pages of Charles Perrault’s collection of tales by simply judging his characters by their described appearance and mannerisms. What our culture has failed to realize is that these supposed damsels in distress contain more strength and influence than the strongest superhero that one can imagine. Just as films and stories about superheroes with a great deal of power have influenced young audiences, fairy tales have always been woven into our culture and shaped society’s way of thinking.

Works Cited

Barchers, Suzanne. “IN SEARCH OF FEMALE HEROES.” Merveilles & Contes, vol. 1, no. 2, 1987, pp. 116–118. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41389920. Web. 10 Nov. 2019.

Jones, Christine A. “Thoughts on ‘Heroinism’ in French Fairy Tales.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 27, no. 1 EBSCO Industries, May 2013, pp.17–20. EBSCOhost, doi:10.13110/marvelstales.27.1.0015. Web. 4 Nov. 2019.

Nicolaisen, W. F. H. “Why Tell Stories about Innocent, Persecuted Heroines?” Western Folklore, vol. 52, no. 1, 1993, pp. 61–71. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1499493. Web. 4 Nov. 2019.

Perrault, Charles, and C.J. Betts. “Cinderella.” The Complete Fairy Tales. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=302377&site=ehost-live. Web. 4 Nov. 2019.

Stone, Kay. “Things Walt Disney Never Told Us.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 88, no. 347, 1975, pp. 42–50. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/539184. Print. 4 Nov. 2019.