For my English language A2 coursework I need to investigate the language used in some texts. So as a great fairytale fan I decided to compare the language used in the original Grimm's Fairytales version of Cinderella and a modern version of the same book. I love any film version of Cinderella so I thought it was only right to investigate it for my A-levels.
The original Grimm's Fairytales were written in the 1800s and in German! Don't worry I'm not analysing it in German. There's a reason why I dropped that at AS. The original name of Cinderella was Aschenputtel. The English translation of this is Cinderella (obviously) which means the cinders and ashes she sleeps in are as much her name as Ella (her birth name). I don't know about you but I didn't realise that even though it's so obvious.
The original is nothing like Disney's version apart from the name. Disney changed it so much to fit the opposite audience the Grimm's brothers wrote it for. I definitely won't be reading the Grimm's version to my kids.
I knew how graphic the original was but it doesn't prepare you for actually reading it.
There's no Fairy Godmother. I'm not sure where Disney got that idea from. It's a tree in the original. However it is the tree grown from a branch her mother gave her before she died and Cinderella grew and watered it with her tears. It's sad that Disney didn't put that little detail in but I can understand why. I wasn't sure whether a talking tree or a Fairy Godmother was more believable for little children. However they still both come to the rescue to save Cinderella.
The old version is definitely not child friendly and neither is the language used. Sorry. There's me thinking too much about my investigation.
The end is not just about the stepsisters squeezing their feet into the silver slipper but THEY CUT PART OF THEIR FEET OFF to fit in! That's a bit too far. The stepsisters are still just as evil in the original, if not more as they are described to be "angry because they would have liked to have scolded her." Their evilness has been toned down a tiny bit.
For some reason I thought birds pecked out the stepsisters eyes too but in this version they didn't. I'm glad because it was gruesome enough.
The story still holds the important moral that however hard life will get, it can change. Life will get better and if it's not better then it's not the end.
I hope you enjoyed this review and id love to hear any comments or book suggestions.
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