Cinderella & Her Folktale

A folktale is a story or legend that has been told primarily through word of mouth from generation to generation. Similar to a fairytale, a folktale is typically a simple yet interesting story. And of course, we all know who Cinderella is! A poor damsel forced to live with her evil stepmother, that eventually catches the eye of a rich prince. The interesting twist here is the diversity within true love and its social class. Can the rich really marry the poor?

Just like any story or folktale, it can slightly vary every time it is told. The first story of Cinderella dates back as far as 500 years ago, with almost every nationality having its own version of the story. If you want to get real analytical, some researchers claim the story of Cinderella can be found as far back as 1st Century BC.

But the most common American folktale of Cinderella that we all know so well was written by a French writer named Charles Perrault back in 1697. His version of Cinderella included the glass slipper, the gorgeous blue dress and a pumpkin carriage, while other versions don’t even mention such things. Metaphorical variations started popping up as early as 1800’s when people would refer to anything as a “Cinderella Story” if it began oppressive and disheartening but had a happy, magically love-like ending.

So, what is the theme of this classic folktale? Well, the story itself has meaning different meanings and points out different things that we should take note of in this world. Like perseverance and hard work, inequality within social class, and not subduing to resentment or retaliation. All of these are morals that we should practice in our daily lives. The late author of Cinderella Charles Perrault says that the key takeaway of this tale is “being kind will always be rewarded and selfishness will not."

The Cinderella folktale that we gravitate to here in America boils down to love & social status. The story of Cinderella begs us all if we believe that love can be found anywhere? Would this prince have fallen in love with Cinderella if she would have been seen in her rags at first sight? Would she have been as lucky if she didn’t have her fairy Godmother? Well, that’s for the audience to decide. And of course, that depends on which version of the story you hear.

A fun fact about the story Cinderella is that it actually saved Walt Disney and his animated creative. Disney gravitated to the story of Cinderella and literally turned it into something magical and aesthetically pleasing. Once Cinderella did so well in 1950, it helped continue on to create, making other magical stories come true like Peter Pan and Alice & in Wonderland. When Walt Disney was asked “Why do you think Cinderella did so well?” He responded with, “Cinderella helped me do exactly what I set out to do with a movie, hit you right in the heart. I want the audience to feel for Cinderella, to pull for Cinderella, you felt for Cinderella in your heart when watching.” It has everything a princess fairytale needs; the good, the bad, and the evil.

All in all, Cinderella is worldwide legendary folktale with different versions all over the world. It is amazing to see how the story start off one way and now has thousands of versions, but when you hear the story, no matter where you may be in the world, you always know that’s the story of Cinderella.