Having a 'happily ever after' is amazing right? Especially when it's a prince we're talking about.That's like the perfect thing that could happen to a girl. But at the same time, an impossible fantasy that is rarely achieved. Not everyone has it, at least in the real world. That's why there are fairy tales. They keep girls in fantasies that rarely, and mostly, never happens in real life. And as of what happens in my previous posts, even fairy tales didn't have such happy endings. Well, they still do but their stories are not as happy as the results. Funny that I haven't gotten to the rest of our princesses yet, I found one that had such a happy ending that there is said to be anomaly in the story. You really can't have it all.
Cinderella, the servant-turned-princess without absolutely doing anything but attending a party and fitting a shoe. Well, now that I thought of it, it is quite weird. Yes she suffered under her stepmother and stepsisters reign but really, how she got her happy ending sounds so sure. Well enough of this and let's get to research.
There was this article I found entitled "After the Ball Is Over: Bringing Cinderella Home" by Rob Baum from the site Socrates.Berkeley.edu.
This is a hell a long of an article but since I was searching for the branch of study that is mythology, let's focus on that part. The thing about the mythology part is that it focused on Cinderella's being as what I've described earlier. It is said to be "mythical" because her luck seems to be surreal, that she didn't have any specific goal or direction from the start and there was no growth in her character. But on the other hand, her character was praised for she exceeded some mythical boundaries.
Rob said, "Cinderella defines girls' first choice for a romantic partner, the structures of friendship and obedience that girls are trained to uphold, unconditional family love and, not least, ideals of personal appearance and deportment."
So much for the flat character, but what he said was correct. Cinderella may not have grown to prove something but she did anyways in her own way. As actions speaks louder than words, she valued a lot in her surroundings. Coping with evil relatives is hard enough, especially if stacked with a 10-ton laundry.
Unique connections to Cinderella have been bland. So I'll share I saw in relation to psychology.
The article was entitled "The Cinderella Complex" by Colette Dowling on the site Womens-Wellbeing-And-Mental-Health.com.
It was actually a book Dowling wrote that tackled about the women's conflicts regarding independence and the article uploaded is the opening pages of her book. She talked about the said 'Cinderella Complex' which is the tendency or an unconscious desire to be taken care of for fear of independence. Like Cinderella, women had this sort of inborn fear that she may not be able to take care of herself. So it was causing her to rely on someone, a man, for example, to hold on to. Dowling was speaking as of personal experience and that she had went through the same problem. She found out that it was the Cinderella Complex that is running through her life from the mishaps that she encountered.
Dowling said, "Any woman who looks within knows that she was never trained to feel comfortable with the idea of taking care of herself, standing up for herself, asserting herself. At best she may have played the game of independence, inwardly envying the boys (and later the men) because they seemed so naturally self-sufficient. But you know what? It isn't nature that bestows this self-sufficiency on men. It's training, pure and simple."
Inspiring as it is, I myself feel the same at times. I mean, who doesn't? All rights are ventured on men, there was nothing for them to fight their rights for because they are naturally bestowed on everything. As a woman, it feels really unfair seeing the opposite always with the greater advantage. But as Dowling had said, it comes from training oneself. And I think maybe, Cinderella (the fairy tale character), kind of took this action on her own. She was living an unfair life with her stepmother and stepsisters but she never complained about it. She shouldn't ignore it but, you get the point. She was worth recognizing on this one.
I must admit not really a satisfying kind of research for me as it didn't centered on the story itself. But really, this one's kind of unique. Centered on values and women rights and as always, I get learn something. Cinderella is not as plain as she is. If you would really think and reflect about her, she is one tough woman. Even without of the help of her Fairy Godmother, I think she would do well on herself. Good life was always meant for the good people.
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