ENC 1102June 10, 2004Cinderella has been one of the most famous myths in the history.
Adults and children have related it in different ways, but it always hasmaintained the same subject matter. Cinderella is the story of a family, with a father who was a good man,her mother who died when she was very young, and Cinderella, which was she. The time passed by, and her father felt that Cinderella needed a motherslove. And so he married again.
She was a woman with two daughters justabout Cinderella’s age. After her father died, the true nature of thesecond wife was revealed. Cinderella was forced to become a servant in herown house. As time went by, the kingdom prepared a celebration in which theprince was going to choice a woman to be his wife. The stepmother and herdaughters prepared themselves to the big event, but when Cinderella askedher stepmother if she could come, she said no.
Then, the magical momentcame; Cinderella’s fairy came into view and gave her a beautiful dress anda pair of gold shoes to wear. She went to the celebration without beingrecognized by her stepsisters and stepmother; the prince felt in love withher, they danced all nightlong. At twelve o’clock, she got out quickly fromthe castle, because her fairy told to be at home before twelve. On thestairs, she forgot one of her gold shoes.
After that day, the princes senthis soldiers to find the owner of the gold shoe. They drove all over theplace, but nobody seemed to be the owner of the little shoe. Finally, theyarrived to Cinderella’s house, the stepmother and daughters did whateverwas possible to make the shoe fit, but anything worked. Cinderella went outof her room and without problem her foot fit perfectly in the little shoe. So the prince and her got married and live happily ever after. Well, thisis a short review of the famous myth for those who never hear about it.
Andit maybe help to understand better what this all about. This story had remained with the same symbolic idea; however, someauthors had been made some changes to the story. A good example is AnneSexton, she become one of the best know confessional poets. She took thefirst place in her poems to introduce herself.
Anne Sexton uses twistedmetaphors and similes, symbolic images, and vivid colors to tell about hertransformed poems. By using twisted metaphors and similes as a technique inher writing, Sexton transforms her poems to be anything but the ordinary. The reason that I and almost everyone else really enjoy and relate to thisbook of poems by Sexton is because all the poems are centered on classicfairytales we all know. Like this one that I just started with. “Cinderella” this particular poem starts off as many others do, herfrustration that nobody gets the opportunity to live the life of theirdreams. “You always read about it:the plumber with the twelve childrenwho wins the Irish Sweepstakes.
From toilets to riches. That story” (lines 1-5)In this first stanza, I believe that Sexton is talking or ventingabout her personal problems growing up, indirectly. In the last part, sheused “That story”, what is this means? I read some of her interviews beforeshe killed herself, and saw also some pictures and believed or not sheseemed to be happy. But when I came to the last part of this stanza, theonly thing that I can see is a woman unhappy, and incomplete.
She defiantlyused this kind of words and phrases to break away from the rule of thefairytales. It is impossible to forget the reality that she uses in her writing,she point out unnecessary details, just to make the story more ordinarythan perfect. “These events repeated themselves for three daysHowever, on the third day the princeCovered the palace steps with cobbler’s wax”(line 74-76)In the original tale, at this point the facts are unpredictable. ButSexton’s poem is already point out; she takes out the irregular scene,letting the reader know the end of the story.
Reading her poem is mucheasier to understand the purpose of her transformations; she uses a fairytale, because express what every woman wants to live, but in the otherhand, she wants to wake up women and let them know that their purpose inthis world go more further than a fairytale. It is not as perfect as itseems. Sexton’s poem is cruel as well; the description that she uses in thepoem creates perfect images about the moment without any restrictions. “The eldest went into a room to try the slipper onBut her big toe got in the way so she simplySliced it off an put on the slipperThe prince rode away with her until the white droveTold him to look at the blood pouring forth”(line 81-85)Although this particular incident is part of the original story, AnneSexton includes particular elements like “the blood pouring forth” thatdrive the poem in a different way, another story than a fairy tale. Shealso uses this stanza to emphasize how the effects of the self-destructionwomen undertake every day, and what the women have to do to take a place inthe society in order to confront the reality”That is the way with amputations.
They don’t just heal up like a wish” (lines 86-87)Whether it is dieting, refusing a promotion, wearing ridiculous highheels, or having unwanted children; these situations are things that anywomen can live without, and have been taken place in the society sinceSexton’s time as you can see. She is venting her problems, and trying toprevent women from this self-destruction. “Cinderella and the princelive, they say, happily ever after,like two dolls in a museum casenever bothered by diapers or dustnever arguing over the timing of an egg,never telling the same story twice,never getting a middle-aged spread,their darling smiles pasted on for eternity. Regular Bobbsey Twins.
That story” (lines 100-109)In this last stanza, she writes that Cinderella and the prince livedhappily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case, never worrying aboutthe timing of an egg, something about diapers and dust, never gaining amiddle-aged spread, with their darling smiles pasted on for eternity. Sexton has refered, in the summary of the Cinderella story to each of thefirst four stories in the first four stanza’s. Nobody can be just there,like two dolls in a museum case, because dolls are meant to be played with. They never experience the everyday toils that we do.
Sexton has written apoem that teaches that happily ever after only exist in the fiary tales,and she support this, including at the end “That story” the same words thathe uses at the beginnig; it is somenthing perfect but unreal, because mythsare just that myths, the may be existed long time ago, when everything wasperfect, but now the life of a person is based on experiences.
