Disney Princess Article: A short defense of Cinderella

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posted by Silverrose1991

I shall tell you the truth: I've been a bit militant in my liking of Cinderella. Negatives opinions made me feel stressed and I have been stubborn and rude. What made me change my point of view and see the wrong of my ways was when I saw link: "I think Cinderella is both overly passive and a doormat, because it's one that leads to the other. In this way, I can sort of relate to her because I'm very passive and shy of confrontation. However, I'm not saying this makes her less of a valid or interesting character. Sometimes its nice to watch a heroine who isn't all assertive and kick butt, at least for me, because I can see a bit more of myself in the former."

I blinked and finally understood that seeing Cinderella as a doormat is just another form of seeing a fictional character. I shouldn't take everything so personally, and I apologize to everyone I've been rude, mean or disrespectful to, especially MacytheStrange. I'm sorry, Maisie, and I hope you can forgive me.

But I would like to dedicate a short article telling you guys why I don't think Cinderella is a doormat, or someone who can't say "no" or the sort. This is just my way of seeing things, my interpretation of the character and you are not obliged to agree with it. I just want to clear my thoughts on that, so I can be in peace with myself.

Why I don't think Cinderella is a doormat:

I don't think Cinderella could run away from home. This doesn't have to do with historical accuracy, because Disney movies aren't really historically accurate. I'm basing this of excerpts from the movie where I view as implying that she couldn't run away from home. Sorry if it's hard to understand what I meant.

1) The society where Cinderella lives seem to work on a patriarchal basis. Based on quotes and actions from Lady Tremaine, the stepsisters and the King we can tell that the woman's "job", per say, is marrying and bringing up her husband's children. It doesn't seem like there is much opportunity for a single woman to find a proper job and live on her own.

2) Cinderella tells Bruno after he admits dreaming of chasing Lucifer: "So if you don't want to lose a warm, nice bed, you'd better get rid of those dreams." A metaphor for her own situation, perhaps? Not far-fetched to assume, since the struggles between the mice and Lucifer are metaphors for Cinderella's own struggles with the Tremaines.

3) When Cinderella walks into Lady Tremaine's bedroom, a prison bars-like shadow is cast over her (pictured below). And what's a prison, after all? A place where you (supposedly) can't escape. See the comparision I'm making here?

Of course, much is left to intepretation about Cinderella's motives, and I'm just coming up with my own conclusions. You can think she chose to stay because she wanted to honor her father's memory by keeping his state in order. Or maybe she didn't leave because she wanted to take care of the mice and the other animals. Perhaps Lady Tremaine warned her fellow upper-class members about her, saying her stepdaughter is "just an imaginative child", quoting from the movie (I borrowed this argument from the page I already linked). Or maybe she was afraid of her stepmother. Lady Tremaine wouldn't let her go easily, because she doesn't have money to afford a servant, so she need Cinderella's free housekeeping services.

It's always good to leave something vague about the character, because it leads the viewer/reader to use their imagination amd fill in the blanks. In the end, the character becomes more relatable or personal to them. Belle, for example, has her "more than I can tell", and in Sleeping Beauty we are left wondering why Aurora went back to the castle: maturity or lack of backbone (I go with the first)? And Elsa is the perfect exemple: look at how many people managed to imprint their mental illnesses, depression and anxiety in her! With Cinderella we are left wondering why she didn't leave the chateau.

Now, I think there are a lot of reasons some might dislike Cinderella: to be honest, I don't find her the most interesting princess to watch (though I don't find her the least interesting and she manages to hold my attention), and she can sound hypocritical when she reprimands Bruno and tells him to stop dreaming, among other reasons. But in the end, she is my favorite princess because she's the one who inspires me the most and has a wonderful personality.

Besides, I can't help but be seduced by her honey-like words: "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true".

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my simple words. And remember:

Made by moi.

anukriti2409, Alantlm and 9 others like this

coolsinger198 *claps until hands fall off*

CRaZy_rawR Great article, Gus! I like your writing style. (: I agree with Cinderella not being a doormat; that's far from the reason she is my least favorite. I do think she could have a least tried to escape the household, imo, whether she succeeded or not. I prolly would have liked her more if she showed more of a rebellious side in that way. I understand where all your points are coming from. Again, lovely article!

BelleRose829 My hands....they burn from clapping to much. You sir are amazing :3 Cinderella is my favorite DP

Silverrose1991 Annika - I do see where you are coming from about her trying to run away, but Cinderella just seems too grounded and would find it too risky. When she finally takes a big risk, going to the ball where she could have been easily spotted by her stepmother, her dreams come true. [i]All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them[/i].

CRaZy_rawR True. ^^

Diazdiaz95 Very nice, well written article! I liked it:)

KataraLover Very well thought out and I think you'll love the article I plan on making about how I believe the princesses are good role models and that the over-protective mothers are just being ridiculous about them being bad role models. While Cinderella isn't among one of my favorites I'm still very protective of her, I actually once spent a therapy session defending Cinderella. People may say she doesn't work hard for her happy ending but she does because she's working her fingers to the bone. In almost every scene we see her in she's always working. I think part of what makes her a great role model is that she has a lot of patience, which shows how when you have a job you hate or is stressing you out that you don't just flip out but instead keep a cool head about it. She stands up for herself, though not like Ariel or Jasmine would for understandable reasons, but she is far from a doormat. She shows how to defend yourself while still being respectful. Plus she's always good and kind to everyone and the fairy godmother represents how God will always reward someone for their kindness and hard work. So while she's not a princes of action I think she's sort of a symbol of life. Plus she's the fairy-tale the caused Walt Disney himself to believe in himself and build the enormous company that we know today. So people who say she's not someone who's a good enough role-model to inspire anyone doesn't have a very valid argument. She an amazing role model and isn't a doormat AT ALL! I admire her but I find her personality a little too bland. I do like her snarkiness and kindness but there's really not too much to her in my opinion. But I still what she represents is enough to see why people love her, I need more than that, I need a more interesting personality, but she's still a good character. She's just not all that interesting to me. So I just have to say bravo and keep on loving Cinderella.

shanyuisboss YES. Every single word of this article, just YES I sound so creepy right now, but anyway great article!

Silverrose1991 Thanks everybody!

LibelluleBleu I agree with everything! Thanks for making this article! Cindy is amazing! :D

manu962 Wow! You made some great points about why she couldn't escape. I never really noticed those. Great article!

hatelarxene Every. Word. Of. This. *claps for a thousand years* Alrhough, I have to say that I don't think Cindy is hypocritical for telling Bruno not to dream.

MadameLee 20 *claps" That's all correct. Besides maybe Cinderella wanted to escape but was worried if she was discovered she could end up at the whorehouse.

anukriti2409 one of the best articles on Cinderella ever! I love Cinderella, and it took me forever to love her. She's my 3rd favorite. And even though i still love characters with more aggression, it's only till late i've realized that assertiveness and belief works far much for longer future than aggression. Amazing article!