Yahoo Finance The Hidden Lessons From the Real 'Cinderella'
You're probably familiar with the general story behind "Cinderella," the new live-action Disney movie currently in theaters starring British actress Lily James. But did you know that the real Cinderella -- a character based on centuries-old fairy tales -- is actually an ambitious princess who can teach us a thing or two about smart money and career moves?
American audiences are most familiar with the Disney version of the tale popularized in the 1950 movie, which features a relatively passive female protagonist who depends on her fairy godmother and ultimately a wealthy prince to save her. That story is loosely based on the work of French author Charles Perrault, who created a sweet, accommodating and passive heroine who does not take much action to try to better her lot in life. Earlier versions of the tale from Europe and Asia, though, paint a picture of a more assertive and savvy young woman. The tales also tend to be much darker.
In one of the earliest versions of "Cinderella" from Europe, penned by Italian Giambattista Basile, Cinderella, known as Zezolla, is a murderer. Egged on by her nanny, she kills her evil stepmother by slamming the lid of a heavy chest down on top of her head. Then, again at the urging of her nanny, she convinces her grieving father to marry the nanny. The nanny, then, takes on the traditional role of the evil stepmother.
When her father returns from a trip, he brings Zezolla a gift -- a magical date tree that sprouts a fairy and grants wishes. Zezolla ends up getting a gorgeous gown, attends a feast-day celebration and snags the heart of the local king, whom she marries.
Another early Cinderella variant known as "Donkeyskin" has been told in countries as varied as Sudan and Norway. In a presentation to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, American folklorist and retired George Mason University professor Margaret Yocom says the tale centers on a young princess who is faced with the prospect of marrying her father. She gets out of this predicament by saying she will only marry him if he meets several seemingly impossible demands, including bringing her a dress that twinkles like the stars in the sky and a coat made of every type of fur in the land.
When the king manages to bring those items to her, this Cinderella escapes, using the fur coat as camouflage. With the help of kind strangers, she gets a job working in the kitchen of a different palace. One night, she attends a ball in one of her old gowns, and a new prince falls in love and marries her.
Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of versions of the classic "Cinderella" tale exist, passed down through oral traditions. "Cinderella Tales From Around the World," a 2012 volume edited by Heidi Anne Heiner, who also maintains updates on her website SurLaLunefairytales.com, records over 300 variations in circulation.
The study of fairy tales, including their origin and meaning, makes up its own branch of academia and is the subject of thick volumes and countless essays. Many theories and arguments exist within the field, but scholars generally agree that the Cinderella we know from the Disney versions portray a heroine stripped of the bravery and cleverness of older stories.
Jane Yolen, one of America's best-known storytellers, has argued that the 1950 Disney version presents "American children with the wrong dream." Instead of learning that a wish, along with action, can make dreams come true, they learn only to wait for something or someone to save them, she wrote in a famous 1977 essay, "America's Cinderella."
"The Cinderella that we're offered today has no ability except niceness, and in this day and age, that's not enough," Yolen told U.S. News in a phone interview from her home in Massachusetts. Fairy tales have the potential to teach kids that even if they're in a bad situation, they can find their way out, and they have to find a way to rescue themselves instead of just sitting and crying, as Disney's Cinderella tends to do, she adds.
In 1950, Yolen says Disney got caught up in the sexual politics of post-World War II culture. "We were into the Donna Reed kind of wife and mother. We wanted our young women to be sweet, to stay at home, partly in reaction to the strong women coming out of World War II who had to go back to their old roles [in the home]," she explains. Stifled was the strong-willed and resourceful Cinderella of the past.
The current movie is similarly influenced by its time. In interviews, director Kenneth Branagh has taken pains to point to empowering messages in his version. He has called his heroine "strong, empowered and intelligent." Still, while the movie nods to women-power of the older versions (Ella mentions that "we ladies must help one another" to one of her mouse friends), it generally follows the more traditional Cinderella storyline that Americans know so well from Disney's 1950 version.
For Cinderella fans looking for more empowering messages on life, money and career issues, here are seven lessons that emerge from the older versions of the fairy tale:
1. You can achieve huge, life-changing dreams.
In the "Donkeyskin" version, the Cinderella escapes a miserable fate (marrying her father) that seems all but unavoidable. She takes action to improve her life by running away and finding a job -- and ultimately a new life -- on her own. In her Folklife Center lecture, Yocom called the "Donkeyskin" version "the Cinderella no one knows."
Yocom characterizes the story of this Cinderella's journey away from her family home as a powerful tale of creating a new life and identity by "an active heroine who takes a vital part in her own transformation." Anyone faced with the challenge of surviving a major life challenge can relate, she says.
2. It helps to lean on strong mentors along the way.
In the older "Cinderella" tales, help arrives in the form of a magical date tree; for a modern woman, it might be a more experienced colleague or friend. The old versions of the fairy tale show that we need allies to get ahead, an idea even the modern versions feature prominently in the form of a magical fairy godmother who encourages Cinderella and provides the gown and slippers that allow her to attend the ball.
3. It's possible to face down your obstacles one by one.
Whether it's needing to escape a broken home or finding a new family, the ancient tales of "Cinderella" show a protagonist willing to face down the challenges in her way. "Even if they're in a bad situation, you can come out of it strong. You have to keep your own center, and you have to get through it, but you will come out stronger than if [you] sit and weep and whine and wait for someone to rescue you. You have to rescue yourself," Yolen says.
4. It's possible to overcome poverty.
The older "Cinderella" storyline offers a template for our very modern American dreams. This girl in "Donkeyskin," for example, found herself in some unfortunate circumstances, and through her own creativity and scheming, she found a way to radically transform her identity and create a new life for herself.
5. You're better off ignoring the naysayers.
Along her journey, the traditional Cinderella stands up to mean girls (the stepsisters and stepmother) who try to hold her back, seeks support where she can find it (through a godmother) and draws on her own strength to fight back against ill-treatment and gain the respect she deserves.
6. You can make the most of however little you have.
In a Cinderella tale from ninth century China, considered to be the earliest version on record, the protagonist, known as Yeh-Shen, has little but a fish for a pet. After the pet is killed at the hands of her stepmother, she discovers the bones are magical and that she can make wishes on them. She eventually wishes for a beautiful blue dress and golden slippers that she wears to a festival, and the king soon falls in love and marries her.
7. It pays to ask for what you want.
While today's version has the fairy godmother gifting a gown and carriage to Cinderella unbidden, in the older versions, the heroine actively asks for what she wants -- a solid modern strategy for any salary negotiation. And as any modern self-help guru will tell you, putting what you want into words, whether for yourself or others, is the first step toward achieving it.
Given Hollywood's penchant for rediscovering classic tales -- a live-action "Beauty and the Beast" starring Emma Watson is scheduled for release in 2016 -- we might soon have the chance to discover other empowering lessons hidden beneath the popularized versions of these ancient stories. We just might have to turn to the history books to find them.
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