C LIT 243 "Cinderella" – Flashcards

(Chinese tale, translated in 850 AD) Wu (cave master) had two wives, one died, she had a daughter named Yeh-hsien who was intelligent and good at pottery / father died / stepmother always made Yeh-hsien do dangerous tasks and chores / made fish friend / stepmother killed fish / Yeh-hsien hid bones and wished upon them for luxuries / went to ball, left slipper behind / slipper matched with Yeh-hsien, they get married / stepmother and daughter stoned and buried / king takes fish bones, becomes greedy, bones stop working / washed away by sea.

-Spirit of biological mother in fish -Girl has proximity to nature -Product of its time - feet binding, small feet seen as desirable

Mother dies / father remarries a wife with two beautiful and equally awful step sisters / they make her be a made, treat her poorly and make her sleep next to a hearth / father brings back a hazel sprig that she plants on her mothers grave, turns into a beautiful tree that grants wishes / step mother makes her pick three batches of lentils out of the fire / still doesn't get to go to the ball / little bird makes her beautiful, prince adored her / repeats a total of three times, leaves her slipper on the last / prince searches the land for the proper fit / stepsisters cut off part of their toe/heel to cram their feet in the slipper, little doves say they are fake brides / slipper fits Cinderella / they get married / little doves pick out the step sisters eyes and they remain blind for the rest of their lives

-white little bird can be seen as the spirit of the biological mother -things happen in sets of three -father does not adore his biological daughter, doesn't believe that she is good enough to fit the little shoe

-things happen in sets of three's: Grimms' white bird grants three wishes; going to the ball three times -Lasier Gheug having to tell what happened three times to her children while sitting on a boar

"Cinderella" - plot driven by jealousy of Cinderella's stepmother/sisters -domestic abuse -father is secondary/absent

"Catskin" - plot driven by incestuous sexual desire of the biological father (Oedipal Complex) - incest as one of the most important and enduring socio-cultural taboos - fathers erotic pursuit of daughter takes centre stage -step mother/sisters are absent -Biological mother is implicated as the "real" culprit -a shift from a shrewd, resourceful heroine (little red riding hood stories) to a passive princess waiting for Prince Charming to rescue her"

Stepmother treats boy poorly, gives him cakes made of ash and the father does not notice / meets black cow who gives him sweets and milk, boy shares with stepsister / she tells, the black cow and boy run away and a snake gives a wish that the boy be covered/made of gold, this is greatly regretted / fish swallows gold hair, princess sees this and demands that whoever this belongs to be brought to her at once, boy is captured and married, soon to forget about the black cow / boy remembers, goes back to forest where he sees a mound of bones, he attempts to take his own life but the cow appears and said it was a test for his affection / they live their days together only to part ways again as before

Chinese tale. Mother dies, lives in garden as a yellow cow / stepdaughter has a daughter named pockface, she is spoiled and unpleasant / biological daughters name is Beauty / Beauty must complete tasks set out by stepmother if she wishes to go to the theatre / step mother not impressed yellow cow helped / she eats the cow / Beauty keeps bones in an container in her room / Beauty still not allowed to go to theatre, gets angry and smashes bones, a white horse, dress, and embroidered shoes came out / shoe falls off while on horse, men come by and want to marry her, she says no / scholar puts her shoe on and they marry / she is tricked into going home and pushed down a well, Pock Face pretends she is beauty / Beauty is turned into a bird and the husband keeps her as a pet / Old neighbour woman sells embroidered bag to husband and learns the truth of what Pock Face does to Beauty, Beauty and Pock Face have a contest / Pock Face dies by burning oil and body is sent to mother who eats it and drops dead (she thinks it is Carp Flesh)

(English tale, 1890) King wanted a son, however his wife gave him a daughter, king said he did not want to see her until she was 15 and ready to be married / old man came, she did not want / lady said it had to make her various coats and eventually a cat skin coat, which was made / she ran away to a castle and found work as a kitchen helper, however the chef treated her bad / there was a ball, she went three times wearing each different dress / eventually the young lord put the pieces together and figure out who she was / the Queen would not consent to him marrying a servant / he fell ill and demanded he receive consent / it was granted, they got married / went to see her old Father, he had regrets about his treatment of Catskin / he was brought back to the house and lived happily ever after

(French, 1694, translated by tartar 1999) Queen died, made king promise he would not marry again unless he found someone more wise and beautiful / his daughter was, but the fairy god mother said that if she asked for certain dresses the wedding would be impossible / at last, he killed his gold pooping donkey to make a dress for her, hence the name donkey skin / she ran away with a magic trunk in disguise / found work as a scullion, a prince saw her through a key whole while she was wearing her fine dress / prince fell ill, demanded donkeyskin make a cake for him / she drops ring in cake / prince goes on a quest to find who fits the ring, everyone's fingers are too fat or thin / ring fits Donkeyskin / biological father comes and apologizes and promises that he quelled the raging fire inside him and that he is proud to have a powerful son-in-law / story ends on first person, gives it more validity at the end as an 'eye-witness'

(Egyptian folk tale, translated in 1986) Father wanted to marry her because the anklet fit on her ankle, she did not want this / she was being prepared for the wedding but did not who she was marrying, a different girl told her, she was upset and ran away / she had a leather suit made for her / Juleidah became a servant to a royal family / a ball came, she snuck out and went to the ball, eventually the prince caught her but she slipped away again / the prince wanted to search the land for her, so the kitchen made provisions and he ended up taking her loaf and HIS ring was inside / he fell ill and wanted Juleidah to bring him his food, she failed twice, but when she came to the room he cut the suit off and then the mother was excited and they got married / the king father came to the wedding, the story was told, and he gave the newly weds part of his land and richness.

-Narrative structure -fantasy vs elements of realism -intertextual references: The Grimms hazel tree, Perrault (the clock, dress, shoe), Disney (the tall window, terrace) -Monster woman vs. angel woman; constructing female monstrosity -Ashella's agency framed through her social marginalization