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“Literature provides a second reward: understanding. This understanding comes from the exploration of the human condition and the revelation of human nature” - Rebecca J. Lukens Critical Handbook of Children's Literature, A, 9th Edition

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“Literature provides a second reward: understanding. This understanding comes from the exploration of the human condition and the revelation of human nature” - Rebecca J. Lukens Critical Handbook of Children's Literature, A, 9th Edition

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Upon searching for sources, I focused on finding sources that looked into the psychology of children and how these tales would affect them at a young age. The scholarly sources primarily refer to psychologists and psychoanalysts theories about how fairy tales can cause children to feel like their life path is already laid out for them based on these stories being the foundation for how life should be lived. The topics covered in the articles and that I would like to cover in my essay include the role of women, sexual stereotypes, good vs. evil and the role of evil stepmothers, an emphasis on beauty and femininity, and the journey of the hero. All of these points with corresponding stories to prove that although fairy tales are meant to teach children valuable lessons, they can actually be counterintuitive. The scholarly sources focus mostly on the negative effects from psychoanalytic point of view, which is why I also chose some news articles that look at the same issue from a different perspective. The perspective is one of a regular person in society who was read these tales as a child and who is now contemplating reading these stories to her young daughter due to the implications she knows it could have.

From the readings, I analyzed the negative effects of fairy tales on children and society as a whole. The fairy tales I will be analyzing will be Beauty and the Beast, Little Snow White and the Little Glass Slipper, all of which are fairy tales written many years ago. In recent years, however, many tales have been rewritten to attempt to change this by representing what views are important in society now. Before writing my paper, I will have to analyze what is being done to improve this issue first.

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Cons about exposing children to fairy tales

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Many parents are apprehensive about the messages fairytales convey. However, some say that such narratives illustrate important lessons.

According to an article by Elizabeth Danish, fairy tales provide us with what Joseph Campbell called "the hero's journey," a quest that reflects a universal truth.

"The hero's journey essentially begins with the hero being in a small village or community," the article stated. "Some sort of catalyst or call to action occurs - often he is sent on a quest, and he will encounter a damsel who will be trapped in a castle or dungeon, usually along with the treasure (often the woman herself is the treasure). The hero will then use his magical item/weapon and his new companions to overcome the enemy, and at the same time, he will undergo some kind of transformation that will bring him new abilities or insight. He will then return to the village he started off in, along with his bounty and the love of the damsel (often a princess), and he will be hailed as a hero."

The arc of the "hero's journey" conforms to Carl Jung's theory of archetypes: a collective unconscious that features characters who appear in our dreams and stories (the old sage, the trickster, the damsel, the hero). This journey can be viewed as a "coming of age" plight that we all must embark upon.

The Telegraph's 2011 article notes that morality is embedded within fairy tales as well.

"They help to develop imagination and creativity, and they help children understand their own emotional dilemmas in an imaginative way, rather than through direct instruction," said Sally Goddard Blythe, director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology in Chester. "They help children to understand, firstly, the quirks and weaknesses of human behavior in general, and secondly, to accept many of their own fears and emotions."

In her book, she explains how the dwarves in Snow White demonstrate that despite physical diversity, generosity and kindness can be found.

However, discord surrounds fairy tales, too.

"In particular, the concern is that fairy tales might be a bad influence on women," Danish notes. "For the women's part of the story, the heroine stays trapped, often in a tower guarded by a villain or a dragon. This dragon is often believed to represent the woman's father who keeps her trapped and prevents her from setting out on her own journey. The girl is then forced to wait for her savior - Prince Charming or a knight in shining armor to come and fight the dragon and then free her, so that she can get married in a huge castle and live happily ever after."

This typical narrative suggests that women need to be saved and rescued by men, which can foster a sense of dependency and inherent insecurity. (On the flip side, boys are taught to play the role of the savior.)

The "woman-needing-to-be-saved" fantasy may also teach young girls to expect marriage and a princess-type wedding. The "happily ever after" ending is unrealistic since life is unpredictable; if a relationship is no longer healthy, it may be time for the couple to part ways.

Furthermore, some studies propose that girls who read lots of fairy tales have lower self-images than others. "This could also be because of the conventional image of the princess - of being slim and beautiful and attracting men from around the world," Danish writes.

In addition, fairy tales may fuel nightmares; disturbing imagery and scenes may linger and wicked witches can be downright frightening.

Pros and Cons of Exposing Kids to Fairytales

Related Articles

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Pros and Cons of Exposing Kids to Fairytales

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Many parents are apprehensive about the messages fairytales convey. However, some say that such narratives illustrate important lessons. According to an article by Elizabeth Danish, fairy tales provide us with what Joseph Campbell called "the hero's journey," a quest that reflects a universal truth.

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The oppression of women in fairy tales

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Beauty and the Beast  (Disney, 2017) - Film

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Beauty and the Beast  (Disney, 2017) - Film

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- Role of Women + Sexual Stereotypes - Emphasis on Beauty + Femininity

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Good vs Evil / Evil Stepmothers / Role of Family

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Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time in midwinter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red on the white looked so beautiful that she thought to herself, "If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame."
Soon afterward she had a little daughter who was as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood, and therefore they called her Little Snow-White. And as soon as the child was born, the queen died.

A year later the king took himself another wife. She was a beautiful woman, but she was proud and arrogant, and she could not stand it if anyone might surpass her in beauty. She had a magic mirror. Every morning she stood before it, looked at herself, and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

To this the mirror answered:

You, my queen, are fairest of all.

Then she was satisfied, for she knew that the mirror spoke the truth.

Snow-White grew up and became ever more beautiful. When she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the light of day, even more beautiful than the queen herself.

One day when the queen asked her mirror:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White is a thousand times fairer than you.

The queen took fright and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour on whenever she looked at Snow-White her heart turned over inside her body, so great was her hatred for the girl. The envy and pride grew ever greater, like a weed in her heart, until she had no peace day and night.

Then she summoned a huntsman and said to him, "Take Snow-White out into the woods. I never want to see her again. Kill her, and as proof that she is dead bring her lungs and her liver back to me."

The huntsman obeyed and took Snow-White into the woods. He took out his hunting knife and was about to stab it into her innocent heart when she began to cry, saying, "Oh, dear huntsman, let me live. I will run into the wild woods and never come back."

Because she was so beautiful the huntsman took pity on her, and he said, "Run away, you poor child."

He thought, "The wild animals will soon devour you anyway," but still it was as if a stone had fallen from his heart, for he would not have to kill her.

Just then a young boar came running by. He killed it, cut out its lungs and liver, and took them back to the queen as proof of Snow-White's death. The cook had to boil them with salt, and the wicked woman ate them, supposing that she had eaten Snow-White's lungs and liver.

The poor child was now all alone in the great forest, and she was so afraid that she just looked at all the leaves on the trees and did not know what to do. Then she began to run. She ran over sharp stones and through thorns, and wild animals jumped at her, but they did her no harm. She ran as far as her feet could carry her, and just as evening was about to fall she saw a little house and went inside in order to rest.

Inside the house everything was small, but so neat and clean that no one could say otherwise. There was a little table with a white tablecloth and seven little plates, and each plate had a spoon, and there were seven knives and forks and seven mugs as well. Against the wall there were seven little beds, all standing in a row and covered with snow-white sheets.

Because she was so hungry and thirsty Snow-White ate a few vegetables and a little bread from each little plate, and from each mug she drank a drop of wine. Afterward, because she was so tired, she lay down on a bed, but none of them felt right -- one was too long, the other too short -- until finally the seventh one was just right. She remained lying in it, entrusted herself to God, and fell asleep.

After dark the masters of the house returned home. They were the seven dwarfs who picked and dug for ore in the mountains. They lit their seven candles, and as soon as it was light in their house they saw that someone had been there, for not everything was in the same order as they had left it.

The first one said, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"

The second one, "Who has been eating from my plate?"

The third one, "Who has been eating my bread?"

The fourth one, "Who has been eating my vegetables?"

The fifth one, "Who has been sticking with my fork?"

The sixth one, "Who has been cutting with my knife?"

The seventh one, "Who has been drinking from my mug?"

Then the first one saw a that there was a little imprint in his bed, and said, "Who stepped on my bed?"

The others came running up and shouted, "Someone has been lying in mine as well."

But the seventh one, looking at his bed, found Snow-White lying there asleep. The seven dwarfs all came running up, and they cried out with amazement. They fetched their seven candles and shone the light on Snow-White. "Oh good heaven! Oh good heaven!" they cried. "This child is so beautiful!"

They were so happy, that they did not wake her up, but let her continue to sleep there in the bed. The seventh dwarf had to sleep with his companions, one hour with each one, and then the night was done.

The next morning Snow-White woke up, and when she saw the seven dwarfs she was frightened. But they were friendly and asked, "What is your name?"

"My name is Snow-White," she answered.

"How did you find your way to our house?" the dwarfs asked further.

Then she told them that her stepmother had tried to kill her, that the huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run the entire day, finally coming to their house.

The dwarfs said, "If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want."

"Yes," said Snow-White, "with all my heart."

So she kept house for them. Every morning they went into the mountains looking for ore and gold, and in the evening when they came back home their meal had to be ready. During the day the girl was alone.

The good dwarfs warned her, saying, "Be careful about your stepmother. She will soon know that you are here. Do not let anyone in."

Now the queen, believing that she had eaten Snow-White's lungs and liver, could only think that she was again the first and the most beautiful woman of all. She stepped before her mirror and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarfs,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you.

This startled the queen, for she knew that the mirror did not lie, and she realized that the huntsman had deceived her, and that Snow-White was still alive. Then she thought, and thought again, how she could kill Snow-White, for as long as long as she was not the most beautiful woman in the entire land her envy would give her no rest.

At last she thought of something. Coloring her face, she disguised herself as an old peddler woman, so that no one would recognize her. In this disguise she went to the house of the seven dwarfs. Knocking on the door she called out, "Beautiful wares for sale, for sale!"

Snow-White peered out the window and said, "Good day, dear woman, what do you have for sale?"

"Good wares, beautiful wares," she answered. "Bodice laces in all colors." And she took out one that was braided from colorful silk. "Would you like this one?"

"I can let that honest woman in," thought Snow-White, then unbolted the door and bought the pretty bodice lace.

"Child," said the old woman, "how you look! Come, let me lace you up properly."

The unsuspecting Snow-White stood before her and let her do up the new lace, but the old woman pulled so quickly and so hard that Snow-White could not breathe.

"You used to be the most beautiful one," said the old woman, and hurried away.

Not long afterward, in the evening time, the seven dwarfs came home. How terrified they were when they saw their dear Snow-White lying on the ground, not moving at all, as though she were dead. They lifted her up, and, seeing that she was too tightly laced, they cut the lace in two. Then she began to breathe a little, and little by little she came back to life.

When the dwarfs heard what had happened they said, "The old peddler woman was no one else but the godless queen. Take care and let no one in when we are not with you."

When the wicked woman returned home she went to her mirror and asked:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

The mirror answered once again:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarfs,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you.

When she heard that, all her blood ran to her heart because she knew that Snow-White had come back to life.

"This time," she said, "I shall think of something that will destroy you."

Then with the art of witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisoned comb. Then she disguised herself, taking the form of a different old woman. Thus she went across the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, knocked on the door, and called out, "Good wares for sale, for sale!"

Snow-White looked out and said, "Go on your way. I am not allowed to let anyone in."

"You surely may take a look," said the old woman, pulling out the poisoned comb and holding it up. The child liked it so much that she let herself be deceived, and she opened the door.

After they had agreed on the purchase, the old woman said, "Now let me comb your hair properly."

She had barely stuck the comb into Snow-White's hair when the poison took effect, and the girl fell down unconscious.

"You specimen of beauty," said the wicked woman, "now you are finished." And she walked away.

Fortunately it was almost evening, and the seven dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-White lying on the ground as if she were dead, they immediately suspected her stepmother. They examined her and found the poisoned comb. They had scarcely pulled it out when Snow-White came to herself again and told them what had happened. Once again they warned her to be on guard and not to open the door for anyone.

Back at home the queen stepped before her mirror and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

The mirror answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarfs,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you.

When the queen heard the mirror saying this, she shook and trembled with anger, "Snow-White shall die," she shouted, "if it costs me my life!"

Then she went into her most secret room -- no one else was allowed inside -- and she made a poisoned, poisoned apple. From the outside it was beautiful, white with red cheeks, and anyone who saw it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it would died. Then, coloring her face, she disguised herself as a peasant woman, and thus went across the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs. She knocked on the door.

Snow-White stuck her head out the window and said, "I am not allowed to let anyone in. The dwarfs have forbidden me to do so."

"That is all right with me," answered the peasant woman. "I'll easily get rid of my apples. Here, I'll give you one of them."

"No," said Snow-White, "I cannot accept anything."

"Are you afraid of poison?" asked the old woman. "Look, I'll cut the apple in two. You eat the red half, and I shall eat the white half."

Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the red half was poisoned. Snow-White longed for the beautiful apple, and when she saw that the peasant woman was eating part of it she could no longer resist, and she stuck her hand out and took the poisoned half. She barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead.

The queen looked at her with a gruesome stare, laughed loudly, and said, "White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony wood! This time the dwarfs cannot awaken you."

Back at home she asked her mirror:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It finally answered:

You, my queen, are fairest of all.

Then her envious heart was at rest, as well as an envious heart can be at rest.

When the dwarfs came home that evening they found Snow-White lying on the ground. She was not breathing at all. She was dead. They lifted her up and looked for something poisonous. They undid her laces. They combed her hair. They washed her with water and wine. But nothing helped. The dear child was dead, and she remained dead. They laid her on a bier, and all seven sat next to her and mourned for her and cried for three days. They were going to bury her, but she still looked as fresh as a living person, and still had her beautiful red cheeks.

They said, "We cannot bury her in the black earth," and they had a transparent glass coffin made, so she could be seen from all sides. They laid her inside, and with golden letters wrote on it her name, and that she was a princess. Then they put the coffin outside on a mountain, and one of them always stayed with it and watched over her. The animals too came and mourned for Snow-white, first an owl, then a raven, and finally a dove.

Snow-White lay there in the coffin a long, long time, and she did not decay, but looked like she was asleep, for she was still as white as snow and as red as blood, and as black-haired as ebony wood.

Now it came to pass that a prince entered these woods and happened onto the dwarfs' house, where he sought shelter for the night. He saw the coffin on the mountain with beautiful Snow-White in it, and he read what was written on it with golden letters.

Then he said to the dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you want for it."

But the dwarfs answered, "We will not sell it for all the gold in the world."

Then he said, "Then give it to me, for I cannot live without being able to see Snow-White. I will honor her and respect her as my most cherished one."

As he thus spoke, the good dwarfs felt pity for him and gave him the coffin. The prince had his servants carry it away on their shoulders. But then it happened that one of them stumbled on some brush, and this dislodged from Snow-White's throat the piece of poisoned apple that she had bitten off. Not long afterward she opened her eyes, lifted the lid from her coffin, sat up, and was alive again.

"Good heavens, where am I?" she cried out.

The prince said joyfully, "You are with me." He told her what had happened, and then said, "I love you more than anything else in the world. Come with me to my father's castle. You shall become my wife." Snow-White loved him, and she went with him. Their wedding was planned with great splendor and majesty.

Snow-White's godless stepmother was also invited to the feast. After putting on her beautiful clothes she stepped before her mirror and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?
The mirror answered:
You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you.

The wicked woman uttered a curse, and she became so frightened, so frightened, that she did not know what to do. At first she did not want to go to the wedding, but she found no peace. She had to go and see the young queen. When she arrived she recognized Snow-White, and terrorized, she could only stand there without moving.

Then they put a pair of iron shoes into burning coals. They were brought forth with tongs and placed before her. She was forced to step into the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down dead.

Source: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Sneewittchen,Kinder- und Hausmärchen, (Children's and Household Tales -- Grimms' Fairy Tales), final edition (Berlin, 1857), no. 53.

The Grimms' source: Marie Hassenpflug (1788-1856) and other informants.

Translated by D. L. Ashliman. © 2002-2005.

This tale was included in the first edition (1812) and all following editions of the Grimms' Kinder- und Hausmärchen. Substantial changes were introduced with the second edition (1819).

Link to a translation of Little Snow-White, version of 1812.

Translator's notes:

1. Both elements of the heroine's name Sneewittchen are in Low German, although the tale itself was recorded in High German. The High German form of the heroine's name would beSchneeweisschen orSchneeweißchen.

2. Some differences between the edition of 1812 and later versions:

Beginning with the edition of 1819, the Grimms add the statement that Snow-White's mother died during childbirth, and that her father remarried. In the first edition, presumably the version closest to its oral sources, Snow-White's jealous antagonist is her own mother, not a stepmother.

Beginning with the edition of 1819, the poisoned apple is dislodged when a servant accidentally stumbles while carrying the coffin to the prince's castle. In the first edition the apple is dislodged when a servant, angry for having to carry Snow-White's coffin wherever the prince goes, strikes the sleeping princess.

Links to related sites
Revised November 15, 2005.

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Once upon a time in midwinter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow.

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Journey of the Hero (Jungs theory of Archetypes)

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Charles Perrault

Once there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband, two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. He had likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world.
No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over but the stepmother began to show herself in her true colors. She could not bear the good qualities of this pretty girl, and the less because they made her own daughters appear the more odious. She employed her in the meanest work of the house. She scoured the dishes, tables, etc., and cleaned madam's chamber, and those of misses, her daughters. She slept in a sorry garret, on a wretched straw bed, while her sisters slept in fine rooms, with floors all inlaid, on beds of the very newest fashion, and where they had looking glasses so large that they could see themselves at their full length from head to foot.

The poor girl bore it all patiently, and dared not tell her father, who would have scolded her; for his wife governed him entirely. When she had done her work, she used to go to the chimney corner, and sit down there in the cinders and ashes, which caused her to be called Cinderwench. Only the younger sister, who was not so rude and uncivil as the older one, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, notwithstanding her coarse apparel, was a hundred times more beautiful than her sisters, although they were always dressed very richly.

It happened that the king's son gave a ball, and invited all persons of fashion to it. Our young misses were also invited, for they cut a very grand figure among those of quality. They were mightily delighted at this invitation, and wonderfully busy in selecting the gowns, petticoats, and hair dressing that would best become them. This was a new difficulty for Cinderella; for it was she who ironed her sister's linen and pleated their ruffles. They talked all day long of nothing but how they should be dressed.

"For my part," said the eldest, "I will wear my red velvet suit with French trimming."

"And I," said the youngest, "shall have my usual petticoat; but then, to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered cloak, and my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world."

They sent for the best hairdresser they could get to make up their headpieces and adjust their hairdos, and they had their red brushes and patches from Mademoiselle de la Poche.

They also consulted Cinderella in all these matters, for she had excellent ideas, and her advice was always good. Indeed, she even offered her services to fix their hair, which they very willingly accepted. As she was doing this, they said to her, "Cinderella, would you not like to go to the ball?"

"Alas!" said she, "you only jeer me; it is not for such as I am to go to such a place."

"You are quite right," they replied. "It would make the people laugh to see a Cinderwench at a ball."

Anyone but Cinderella would have fixed their hair awry, but she was very good, and dressed them perfectly well. They were so excited that they hadn't eaten a thing for almost two days. Then they broke more than a dozen laces trying to have themselves laced up tightly enough to give them a fine slender shape. They were continually in front of their looking glass. At last the happy day came. They went to court, and Cinderella followed them with her eyes as long as she could. When she lost sight of them, she started to cry.

Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was the matter.

"I wish I could. I wish I could." She was not able to speak the rest, being interrupted by her tears and sobbing.

This godmother of hers, who was a fairy, said to her, "You wish that you could go to the ball; is it not so?"

"Yes," cried Cinderella, with a great sigh.

"Well," said her godmother, "be but a good girl, and I will contrive that you shall go." Then she took her into her chamber, and said to her, "Run into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin."

Cinderella went immediately to gather the finest she could get, and brought it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin could help her go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside of it, leaving nothing but the rind. Having done this, she struck the pumpkin with her wand, and it was instantly turned into a fine coach, gilded all over with gold.

She then went to look into her mousetrap, where she found six mice, all alive, and ordered Cinderella to lift up a little the trapdoor. She gave each mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, and the mouse was that moment turned into a fine horse, which altogether made a very fine set of six horses of a beautiful mouse colored dapple gray.

Being at a loss for a coachman, Cinderella said, "I will go and see if there is not a rat in the rat trap that we can turn into a coachman."

"You are right," replied her godmother, "Go and look."

Cinderella brought the trap to her, and in it there were three huge rats. The fairy chose the one which had the largest beard, touched him with her wand, and turned him into a fat, jolly coachman, who had the smartest whiskers that eyes ever beheld.

After that, she said to her, "Go again into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the watering pot. Bring them to me."

She had no sooner done so but her godmother turned them into six footmen, who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with their liveries all bedaubed with gold and silver, and clung as close behind each other as if they had done nothing else their whole lives. The fairy then said to Cinderella, "Well, you see here an equipage fit to go to the ball with; are you not pleased with it?"

"Oh, yes," she cried; "but must I go in these nasty rags?"

Her godmother then touched her with her wand, and, at the same instant, her clothes turned into cloth of gold and silver, all beset with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of glass slippers, the prettiest in the whole world. Being thus decked out, she got up into her coach; but her godmother, above all things, commanded her not to stay past midnight, telling her, at the same time, that if she stayed one moment longer, the coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen lizards, and that her clothes would become just as they were before.

She promised her godmother to leave the ball before midnight; and then drove away, scarcely able to contain herself for joy. The king's son, who was told that a great princess, whom nobody knew, had arrived, ran out to receive her. He gave her his hand as she alighted from the coach, and led her into the hall, among all the company. There was immediately a profound silence. Everyone stopped dancing, and the violins ceased to play, so entranced was everyone with the singular beauties of the unknown newcomer.

Nothing was then heard but a confused noise of, "How beautiful she is! How beautiful she is!"

The king himself, old as he was, could not help watching her, and telling the queen softly that it was a long time since he had seen so beautiful and lovely a creature.

All the ladies were busied in considering her clothes and headdress, hoping to have some made next day after the same pattern, provided they could find such fine materials and as able hands to make them.

The king's son led her to the most honorable seat, and afterwards took her out to dance with him. She danced so very gracefully that they all more and more admired her. A fine meal was served up, but the young prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he busied in gazing on her.

She went and sat down by her sisters, showing them a thousand civilities, giving them part of the oranges and citrons which the prince had presented her with, which very much surprised them, for they did not know her. While Cinderella was thus amusing her sisters, she heard the clock strike eleven and three-quarters, whereupon she immediately made a courtesy to the company and hurried away as fast as she could.

Arriving home, she ran to seek out her godmother, and, after having thanked her, she said she could not but heartily wish she might go to the ball the next day as well, because the king's son had invited her.

As she was eagerly telling her godmother everything that had happened at the ball, her two sisters knocked at the door, which Cinderella ran and opened.

"You stayed such a long time!" she cried, gaping, rubbing her eyes and stretching herself as if she had been sleeping; she had not, however, had any manner of inclination to sleep while they were away from home.

"If you had been at the ball," said one of her sisters, "you would not have been tired with it. The finest princess was there, the most beautiful that mortal eyes have ever seen. She showed us a thousand civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons."

Cinderella seemed very indifferent in the matter. Indeed, she asked them the name of that princess; but they told her they did not know it, and that the king's son was very uneasy on her account and would give all the world to know who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, replied, "She must, then, be very beautiful indeed; how happy you have been! Could not I see her? Ah, dear Charlotte, do lend me your yellow dress which you wear every day."

"Yes, to be sure!" cried Charlotte; "lend my clothes to such a dirty Cinderwench as you are! I should be such a fool."

Cinderella, indeed, well expected such an answer, and was very glad of the refusal; for she would have been sadly put to it, if her sister had lent her what she asked for jestingly.

The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, but dressed even more magnificently than before. The king's son was always by her, and never ceased his compliments and kind speeches to her. All this was so far from being tiresome to her, and, indeed, she quite forgot what her godmother had told her. She thought that it was no later than eleven when she counted the clock striking twelve. She jumped up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The prince followed, but could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, which the prince picked up most carefully. She reached home, but quite out of breath, and in her nasty old clothes, having nothing left of all her finery but one of the little slippers, the mate to the one that she had dropped.

The guards at the palace gate were asked if they had not seen a princess go out. They replied that they had seen nobody leave but a young girl, very shabbily dressed, and who had more the air of a poor country wench than a gentlewoman.

When the two sisters returned from the ball Cinderella asked them if they had been well entertained, and if the fine lady had been there.

They told her, yes, but that she hurried away immediately when it struck twelve, and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little glass slippers, the prettiest in the world, which the king's son had picked up; that he had done nothing but look at her all the time at the ball, and that most certainly he was very much in love with the beautiful person who owned the glass slipper.

What they said was very true; for a few days later, the king's son had it proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would marry her whose foot this slipper would just fit. They began to try it on the princesses, then the duchesses and all the court, but in vain; it was brought to the two sisters, who did all they possibly could to force their foot into the slipper, but they did not succeed.

Cinderella, who saw all this, and knew that it was her slipper, said to them, laughing, "Let me see if it will not fit me."

Her sisters burst out laughing, and began to banter with her. The gentleman who was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at Cinderella, and, finding her very handsome, said that it was only just that she should try as well, and that he had orders to let everyone try.

He had Cinderella sit down, and, putting the slipper to her foot, he found that it went on very easily, fitting her as if it had been made of wax. Her two sisters were greatly astonished, but then even more so, when Cinderella pulled out of her pocket the other slipper, and put it on her other foot. Then in came her godmother and touched her wand to Cinderella's clothes, making them richer and more magnificent than any of those she had worn before.

And now her two sisters found her to be that fine, beautiful lady whom they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon for all the ill treatment they had made her undergo. Cinderella took them up, and, as she embraced them, said that she forgave them with all her heart, and wanted them always to love her.

She was taken to the young prince, dressed as she was. He thought she was more charming than before, and, a few days after, married her. Cinderella, who was no less good than beautiful, gave her two sisters lodgings in the palace, and that very same day matched them with two great lords of the court.

Moral: Beauty in a woman is a rare treasure that will always be admired. Graciousness, however, is priceless and of even greater value. This is what Cinderella's godmother gave to her when she taught her to behave like a queen. Young women, in the winning of a heart, graciousness is more important than a beautiful hairdo. It is a true gift of the fairies. Without it nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.

Another moral: Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother.

Source: Andrew Lang, The Blue Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., ca. 1889), pp. 64-71.

Lang's source: Charles Perrault, "Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre," Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités: Contes de ma mère l'Oye (Paris, 1697).

Links to related sites

Cinderella, additional folktales of type 510A and related stories of persecuted heroines.

Charles Perrault's Mother Goose Tales. Information about Perrault and his famous collectionHistoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités: Contes de ma mère l'Oye.

Les contes de Perrault . A French-language site featuring Perrault's tales.

D. L. Ashliman's folktexts , a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.

Revised October 8, 2003.

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Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper

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Once there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband, two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things.

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Real life examples

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My daughter is 2 1/2. She recently received a book of the top 10 princess stories that seems to be encouraging her to enter the "princess phase" -- as many moms seem to call it. I run my own business, teaching women how to let go of trying to be perfect and learn to courageously follow their values while being ambitious at the same time. As I was reading to my daughter; "Snow White and her prince had recently been married, and they were living happily at the castle," I realized that from a very young age, we are programmed to believe that life is happy and carefree and fairly perfect, and we should be, too.

Earlier this year, I was visiting my mom and she brought out a bunch of old books from her attic from when we were children. One of them was an original Brothers Grimm fairy tale book. As I skimmed through the pages, I was shocked (a bit horrified, actually) by some of the stories. People were dying, drowning, killing and hurting each other. And I thought, Wow, I can't believe we used to read this to our children. Fast-forward six months, when I'm reading to my daughter about a princess living happily with her prince, and it struck me: We have completely sanitized our children's stories -- to their detriment.

My husband, for example, said he prefers to skip the second part of this page in Dr. Seuss that says "Day, play, we play all day. Night, fight, we fight all night." Sometimes, people do disagree and it can turn into a fight. Are we hoping that if we hide this information from our children, they will not argue or fight with each other? It's in our basic human nature to fight, to be sad, hurtful, angry and scared.

When we censor our children's stories to exclude the suffering that is inherent in the human condition, we isolate our children. We create an environment that promotes shame and a belief that they are not good enough because they cannot live up to the standards portrayed in these stories.

I've been learning a great deal about self-compassion lately, and one of the main tenets of self-compassion is common humanity. The ability to recognize that we are not alone in our suffering, that other people have had similar situations. This actually helps us feel better because it's not just us.

Many fairy tales completely negate the suffering that is common to all people. If everyone is living happily once they find their prince, what does that tell young women about how their relationships "should" be? If women are valued for looking pretty and for finding a prince rather than for hard work, resilience, courage and powerful vulnerability, what is that telling our children -- sons and daughters -- about how women "should" behave and what they "should" focus on?

What can we do about this? I rewrote my daughter's story. I simply changed the words each time I read it from "Snow White lived happily with her prince at the castle," to "Snow White lived with her prince at the castle, sometimes they were happy, sometimes they were sad, sometimes they were angry, scared, silly or grateful." I tried not to make too big a deal of it because I am not anti-princess. I want to support being feminine and honoring our beauty -- inside and out. I was simply hoping to provide a more balanced approach.

In the movie Ever After with Drew Barrymore, at the end, the storyteller concludes that yes, they did live happily ever after, but more importantly, they lived. This is what I want to emphasize with my daughter.

My daughter is also in a phase where she loves pretending to read a book by memorizing some of the words and turning the pages at the appropriate time. The other day, she picked up her Top 10 Princess Stories and said, "Snow White lived with her prince, sometimes they were happy, sad or scared." And in the moment when she "read" those words, I thought, it's going to be OK.

Vanessa Loder is an entrepreneur and former private equity investor whose company, Akoya Power, supports women in leading more purposeful professional lives. She is also the Co-Founder of Mindfulness Based Achievement, the New MBA, a company that provides corporate workshops, retreats, in-person and online educational tools to help high potential women leaders learn how to lean in without burning out.

Download this free Self-Compassion toolkit to learn how to practice self-compassion.

Vanessa received her MBA from Stanford University and is certified in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), executive coaching and past life regression hypnosis. You can read more at Vanessa's blog, Akoya Power or find her on twitter @akoyapower.

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When we censor our children's stories to exclude the suffering that is inherent in the human condition, we isolate our children. We create an environment that promotes shame and a belief that they are not good enough because they cannot live up to the standards in these stories.

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Effects of fairy tales on children

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But what are the impacts of these stories? We so happily expose our children to these stories, but in some cases they can be scary and carry obscure and unusual messages. Before we subject our children to these stories we should examine their content and see what kind of impact they may be having.

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Fairy tales influence on society

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This collection of exemplary essays by internationally recognized scholars examines the fairy tale from historical, folkloristic, literary, and psychoanalytical points of view. For generations of children and adults, fairy tales have encapsulated social values, often through the use of fixed characters and situations, to a far greater extent than any other oral or literary form.

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Digs into Bruno Bettelheims Theories

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Analyzing the negative influences of fairy tales on children.

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Most of us have grown up reading and listening to fairy tales which most people consider to be necessary in the upbringing of children. It is believed that fairy tales boost children's imagination and optimism, while setting their morals and teaching them what is good and bad. However, often these fairy tales have hidden messages which may influence children in negative ways, lower their self esteem and impact the way they think, defectively.

First of all, although these fairy tales are very positive, they usually set unrealistic expectations of life which induce children for disappointment in the future. They create false worlds where everything seems to work out perfectly and lead to the distorted ending of living 'happily ever after'. Instead of preparing them for reality, which is messy, this cliche ending often causes children to be unaware, oblivious and ignorant towards serious issues, while setting them up for dissatisfaction with their lives.

Another significant problem with fairy tales is that they are extremely shallow and they deliver the message of how only good looking peop le can find love and happiness while unattractive people are evil and deserve miserable lives. For instance, one of the most frequently told fairy tales, Cinderella, features a beautiful and kind girl who has to live with her cruel and ugly stepmother and stepsisters. By the end of the story, Cinderella marries a handsome prince whom she claims to fall in love with after one dance, whereas her stepmother and stepsisters are forced to live unsatisfying lives. This idea repeats itself in other famous fairy tales such as the Little Mermaid where the villain is very physically unappealing and the protagonist is a pretty and skinny girl. This simply lowers the self esteem of young girls while setting children up to be shallow and uninterested other people's personalities.

The importance of physical appearance in fairy tales, also reflects the idea of how women are only capable of being appealing to men and don't have any other abilities which could support them at becoming individuals. Snow White explores this idea very clearly as it is based on a girl who is only significant because she is more attractive than another woman. She simply lacks intelligence and power to fix her own problems and is dependent on a man (who by the way only wants to be with her due to her looks) to save her. Also, it is worthy to mention that as soon as Snow White starts living with men, she cooks and cleans for them which appears to be her only function. The female characters often feel the need to change in order to get a man to like them and the lack of empowered women is a pattern that is seen in many of the older fairy tales. This causes young girls to think they should be dependant on men, and young boys to think they are more powerful than girls.

Fortunately, newer fairy tales and the more evolved versions of the old classics, don't follow these cliches as much, and they try to include independent women of different races. Ones such as Frozen, Mulan and Moana reflect a more feminist society where the women's abilities are appreciated and the female characters don't constantly depend on the males. Or, stories like Beauty and the Beast and Shrek show the importance of inner beauty rather than focusing on what is on the outside. This shows the changes that are taking place in the world today and even though these fairy tales do still contain certain banalities, there is an effort being made to make a difference, which is necessary.

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Most of us have grown up reading and listening to fairy tales which most people consider to be necessary in the upbringing of children. It is believed that fairy tales boost children's imagination and optimism, while setting their morals and teaching them what is good and bad.