The Brothers Grimm's Cinderella Analysis

The Brothers Grimm version of the fairy tale “Cinderella” is a perfect example of a person’s journey from dark to light, or, as Tatar says it, “a way out of the woods back to the safety and security of home.” (Behrens and Rosen 254) While there are many versions of the story across different cultures, this variant describes the journey not only for Cinderella, but for the desired path of the stepsisters as well.
The idea of Cinderella being a story of a journey comes from Tatar’s idea, which is “fairy tales are up close and personal, telling us about the quest for romance and riches, for power and privilege, and, most important, for a way out of the woods back to the safety and security of home.” (Behrens and Rosen 254) The power and privilege part is self-explanatory, discussing how characters aspire to be the king or queen and rule over others. The out of the woods part though can mean two different things. Some stories actually involve characters lost in woods and trying to get home, yet others involve the …show more content…
Sadly, the mother dies but the father quickly remarries a horrible woman with two daughters. The father is not in the story very much and the sisters and stepmother treat Cinderella as a second-class citizen, making her work all day, wear raggedy clothes, and be the sisters’ stylist. Cinderella mourns her mother and tends to her grave throughout the story. Instead of the fairy godmother in most other Cinderella stories, this version uses the mother’s grave and two birds to help Cinderella. (Grimm) This version of the story has Cinderella desiring to be happy and safe again, as when her mother was alive. Cinderella eventually attains happiness and safety near the end, when the prince discovers that she was the mysterious woman from the ball. The stepsisters, in their quest for more power, end up losing what they had, and even lost their