How does a traditional fairytale typically end? Yes, with happily-ever-after. In the original version of Cinderella, we are met with a young girl who is complacent to her life, and only breaks free from it and finds her happiness when a prince appears. Then the story ends, Cinderella and her prince are forever seen frozen in their happily ever after. Anne Sexton’s poem Cinderella presents us with the question of why society views Cinderella as the ultimate fairytale of happily ever after. Sexton’s shows us that real life doesn’t give us room for fairytales in this dark, cynical, sarcastic toned poem.
Sexton starts her poem with four stanzas of what we can consider modern day rags to riches stories, a stereotypical example of what happens when …show more content…
The speaker of the poem shows her frustration with the main climax in the story of Cinderella. The speaker knows that the reader is already well versed with what happens next, “Next came the ball, as you all know.” (41). She compares the three-day ball to a “marriage market” (42) to show how the women are brought out for slaughter to gain the affection of the prince. It’s in this that we are reminded that the women of the town poke and pry at themselves to look worthy of the prince. In this we see a similarity to the way that modern society still see’s women as always having to be a certain way to “get a guy”. Its also in this that we see how Cinderella is not the main purpose of the ball nor was she ever meant to be however she turns out to be. We see the way that the stepmother makes Cinderella pick all the lentils out of the cinders and how Cinderella has the assistance of the dove and her friends, very important characters for the future. Sexton presents this along with the causal idea of what happens next. After Cinderella has help from the dove and his friends get all the lentils out of the ash, the step-mother still denies Cinderella her permission to go to the ball, “No, Cinderella, said the stepmother, / you have no clothes and cannot dance. / That’s the way with stepmothers / /” (53,54,55). Sexton presents that all stepmothers are this way and therefore its no big deal. In real life …show more content…
/ Regular Bobbsey Twins. / That story. //” (107, 108, 109). “That story” just so happens to be Cinderella, who society has allowed the world to believe is tale that everyone should strive for in real life. Sexton asks why do we strive for this unrealistic Cinderella story that is so full of problematic events? Why would the world fall into the trap of happily ever after, where we don’t see what happens after the wedding, we can only assume what we see from the outside. In this poem we see the summery of Cinderella, only Sexton tells the reader/audience the story and then shares her inner thoughts about the story and by adding these little comments in her retelling she shows readers how we can see it through a different lens. Her sarcasm and dark tones beg the reader to ask why the story of Cinderella is honored rather than questioned for its unrealistic fairytale themes. Because in the end all of us real life humans can clearly see that real life does not allow anytime for the nonsense of the fairytales we
Sexton starts her poem with four stanzas of what we can consider modern day rags to riches stories, a stereotypical example of what happens when …show more content…
The speaker of the poem shows her frustration with the main climax in the story of Cinderella. The speaker knows that the reader is already well versed with what happens next, “Next came the ball, as you all know.” (41). She compares the three-day ball to a “marriage market” (42) to show how the women are brought out for slaughter to gain the affection of the prince. It’s in this that we are reminded that the women of the town poke and pry at themselves to look worthy of the prince. In this we see a similarity to the way that modern society still see’s women as always having to be a certain way to “get a guy”. Its also in this that we see how Cinderella is not the main purpose of the ball nor was she ever meant to be however she turns out to be. We see the way that the stepmother makes Cinderella pick all the lentils out of the cinders and how Cinderella has the assistance of the dove and her friends, very important characters for the future. Sexton presents this along with the causal idea of what happens next. After Cinderella has help from the dove and his friends get all the lentils out of the ash, the step-mother still denies Cinderella her permission to go to the ball, “No, Cinderella, said the stepmother, / you have no clothes and cannot dance. / That’s the way with stepmothers / /” (53,54,55). Sexton presents that all stepmothers are this way and therefore its no big deal. In real life …show more content…
/ Regular Bobbsey Twins. / That story. //” (107, 108, 109). “That story” just so happens to be Cinderella, who society has allowed the world to believe is tale that everyone should strive for in real life. Sexton asks why do we strive for this unrealistic Cinderella story that is so full of problematic events? Why would the world fall into the trap of happily ever after, where we don’t see what happens after the wedding, we can only assume what we see from the outside. In this poem we see the summery of Cinderella, only Sexton tells the reader/audience the story and then shares her inner thoughts about the story and by adding these little comments in her retelling she shows readers how we can see it through a different lens. Her sarcasm and dark tones beg the reader to ask why the story of Cinderella is honored rather than questioned for its unrealistic fairytale themes. Because in the end all of us real life humans can clearly see that real life does not allow anytime for the nonsense of the fairytales we