Maria Reuber Märchen im Wandel: Cinderella

About this book

Once upon a time there was a shoe…
These few words reveal the fairy tale Cinderella. But why? What exactly makes the fairy tale so distinctive?

The literary versions of Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and Božena Nĕmcová are illuminated as well as seven of the most famous Cinderella films:

• Disney’s Cinderella from 1950,
• Genschow’s Aschenputtel from 1955,
• Walters’ The Glass Slipper from 1955,
• Vorlíček’s Tři oříšky pro Popelku from 1974,
• Brandauer’s Aschenputtel from 1989,
• Tennant’s Ever After from 1998 and
• Rosman’s Cinderella Story from 2004.

Taking Gérard Genette’s terminology into account, the study explores the question: “How is the story of the Cinderella fairy tale presented as a narrative discourse in Cinderella films?”

The study circumscribes the topic fairy tale, particularly the tale of Cinderella. An overview of the state of research follows.

The analysis deals not only with the literary Cinderella versions but also with the cinema adaptations, subject to the same methods.

First, each cinema adaptation is considered individually and then in comparison to the literary versions.

Additionally, Hans-Jörg Uther’s Classification of Fairy Tales (Type 510A) allows an insight into the motifs and the underlying structure of the Cinderella versions.

Vladimir Propp’s fairy tale morphology enables to identify functions and narrative units.

A final comparison allows to contrast all versions with each other and pays special attention to the characters Cinderella and prince. Furthermore, the conclusion focuses on the similarities as well as the differences of the examined aspects.