The Cinderella tale is sometimes portrayed as a "rags-to-riches" tale. However, in fact, it is a "riches-to-rags-to-riches" tale; Cinderella, being the daughter of a rich merchant, is at first driven from her rightful patrimony, and the course of the fairy tale restores her to it.[13]
The tale has been interpreted as a psychological "splitting": by having both a dead mother and the all good benefactor, any feelings of resentment can be put onto the evil stepmother. [14]
The idea that "Cinderella" embodies myth elements was explored in The Uses of Enchantment (1989) by Bruno Bettelheim, who made many connections to the principles of Freudian psychology.
As Freudian analyses have come to be viewed as less scientific,[citation needed] mythographers have turned to trying to disentangle different cultural elements from different versions of the Cinderella tale.[citation needed] Each social group, in re-telling "Cinderella", has emphasized or suppressed individual elements and has given them interpretations that are especially relevant within each society. Mythography return to Cinderella for hints of the social ethos embodied in it, and the familiar story proves to be a useful case example for young students beginning to understand how myth works. Thus serious uses come from what appears on the surface to be a trivial wish-fulfilment narrative.
Earlier, less self-consciously instructive Cinderellas have more revealing mythic content.[citation needed]
The term Cinderella has originated from its storybook beginnings to become the name for a variety of female personalities. Some girls are described as a Cinderella if they are meek and immediately submissive to stern orders. Others are called Cinderella if they tend to complain quietly. For example, a girl from a wealthy household who has been ordered to wash the dishes as a fulfilment of her once-a-month chores would be deemed a Cinderella; a fallen princess who has finally met with tough reality.[citation needed]
Cinderella, along with the more general "princess", are shorthand for a particular approach to wedding and Western wedding attire, especially the white dress.[citation needed] A bride with the Cinderella mindset believes that the dress and the occasion exist in order that she may be transformed for the day into a beautiful princess. Detractors of such princess brides argue that the wedding is not solely about the bride; nevertheless, many wedding gown retailers appeal, directly or indirectly, to the Cinderella ideal.
The Cinderella story is much criticised for what many perceive to be a negative, traditionalistic approach to women.[15] From the point of view of these critics Cinderella is oppressed, and does nothing about it; a magical event takes her to a powerful prince who is so taken with her appearance that he chooses her as his consort (it is assumed that she will accede), decorative, but existing only as an adjunct to him. They believe that she has no personality or character of her own; she is simply pretty and good-natured and mindlessly obedient, and advances because of this. Little girls in Western society are told the story: they can infer that if they are obedient and take care of their appearance they will live Happily Ever After.
On the other hand, others claim that the story should be taken on its own merit, to them Cinderella is not meant to be read into and critiqued as some complex academic social manifesto, but to be enjoyed as a fairy tale and its simple powerful message that good can come to decent people.
Going even further, many do not see Cinderella's personality or actions in a negative light. Simply that she has come under criticism because more confrontational headstrong heroines have become perceived as the new ideal of what a women is expected to be in Disney and American culture in general. To them, Cinderella has many admirable qualities, taking a more calm and discreet approach in fulfilling her wishes, and chooses to be kind even to those who mistreat her.[citation needed] In Perrault's own moral, he notes it is not enough to be pretty, but graciousness is what earned Cinderella her happy ending. He goes on to say that her intelligence, kindness, good breeding were not enough alone to assist Cinderella; the Godmother assisted her and the Prince was won over by her because of her graciousness. The reader is to take this lesson when applying the tale.
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