This past Saturday night several friends and I got together for a girl’s night, complete with the new Cinderella movie and plenty of pumpkin treats.  I was initially a bit skeptical, when the live action Cinderella was announced, but found myself loving it!  They did a fabulous job of reinventing the story while paying tribute to the old, in my opinion, and also managed to weave a bit more action into what has to be one of the oldest plot lines in the history of the world.  Who doesn’t catch their breath a bit, during that crazy flight from the palace?  Did you notice the seeds popping out, in Ella’s couch, just before it reverts to true pumpkin form?  And don’t get me started on that dress!

As a bit of cinematic fluff and candy, it was delightful, but afterwards we women and girls started discussing our favorite Cinderella books and movies.  It started when I asked about Cinder, the cyberpunk retelling by Melissa Meyer.  I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve owned the book for over a year, but still haven’t read it.  What can I say? I’m a slave to my TBR pile…but it’s in the stack, so I’ll get there eventually!  Then the discussion moved on to Ella Enchanted, and how much we (pretty much all) love the book and can’t stand the movie.  Which of course brought up Ever After, which is one of my all-time fav movie retellings of Cinderella.  And that led to the various Cinderella type stories from around the world–you can find a pretty good overview of her various looks here–and about then we all had to go home.  What?  Even a truly lovely girl’s night out has to end some time!

But, since then I’ve been thinking of the appeal of this story, which captures the imagination of varying peoples and has done so for such a long time.  One subset of the story that’s found in most versions is a mother’s enduring desire to help her daughter from beyond the grave.  I suspect this aspect of the story, mostly lost on me as a young girl, captures much more of my attention now.  And, without getting into too much of the psychology (or painting all the stories with the same brush) I wonder if these stories don’t also explore our understanding that community and family play a highly significant role in a girl’s happiness, and that when these things fail her, she’s vulnerable.  We hope that her innate courage and resiliency will see her through.  Courage, kindness, and the capacity to endure are not bad traits to grow when faced with life’s ugliness, and that’s true whether you’re a girl or boy.  Which brings me to another thing I definitely enjoyed about this latest retelling–the more active role the prince plays, and the character arc he undergoes.

I don’t know that we’ll ever hit on one reason these stories are so enduring, because we each bring something different to the story and take something different away.  But, that doesn’t mean we can’t try, yes?  What are your thoughts?  Do you have any Cinderella retellings that you love–or hate?  Why do you think this type of fairy tale is so beloved?

However–be warned.  If I find your comments particularly clever or useful, I very well may steal your insights and use them in my book!  My adventure Scific revision is progressing at a nice clip, but it can always use a little extra storytelling magic. 😉

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday blogs, book reviews, interviews and giveaways stop by Shannon Messenger’s blog, and happy MMGM!

Share, share away: