Defense of Cinderella
Since watching Cinderella again in years and having grown to really love it, I have read that, when it was first released, the film was praised, but critics reacted negatively to the character of Cinderella. They have commented that she is much too passive, as well as bland and one-dimensional. I have also heard people say that Cinderella was only waiting for a man to come along to save her, and that she only wanted to attend the ball to have a romance with the prince. But after watching the movie many times and studying the character, I believe, realize, and comprehend that people are gravely misunderstanding and misinterpreting Cinderella’s behavior. Even though she is nice and kind to everyone, she is no way perfect or flawless. She does have sadness and anger because of her situation, but there are reasons why she doesn’t show it. She is a dreamer who has a down-to-earth attitude, but she can make a situation optimistic and is in no way naïve or childish. There is more to Cinderella that meets the eye, much more than people may realize.
She is not submissive: It is true that Cinderella obediently follows just about every order her stepfamily gives her, but while she is kind to them, it does not mean that she enjoys their treatment. She does resent her situation even though she doesn’t show it in front of the Tremaines. People have called Cinderella a pushover who should take action and do something rather than continue her life the way it is and just dream. Okay, that is a good point, but consider this: where else could she go? What else can she do? And if she tried to run away, what would happen to her if she got caught? Remember that in her home, Cinderella is outnumbered and overpowered by the Tremaines. They have taken almost everything away from her over the years, from her fancy clothes to her own room. She does the housework and everything her stepfamily makes her do because she virtually has no choice in the matter. She knows she could face severe consequences if she doesn’t heed their orders. Despite having been turned into a servant, Cinderella does still has a home, food, and clothes. If she made rude, sarcastic remarks to the Tremaines or tried to fight them, the results would and could be disastrous: she’d be starting a fight which she would easily lose and she might get kicked out of her home. Cinderella would then have nothing except the clothes on her back, no money, job, or references, and no human friends or relatives. In fact, the Tremaines might even send her to an asylum for insane (since she has been clothing and talking to birds and mice) and violent women. In short, Cinderella really cannot afford to lose what little she has left, so she rarely complains or talks back because she does not want to get into deeper trouble.
She is not passive: People think Cinderella is submissive as well as passive because of how she takes (most) orders and abuse without questioning or arguing with the Tremaines, again giving the impression that she is a pushover. They think she is not active in protesting about their unfair treatment or standing up for herself. However, this is not at all true. Even though knows about the severe consequences, Cinderella does occasionally attempt to protest and challenge her stepfamily’s mistreatment. One example is when she tries to speak with Lady Tremaine after Anastasia accuses her of putting Gus under the teacup: Cinderella begins with “Oh please, you don’t think that I-”, then “But I was only trying to-”, and when given chores she already did, she frowns and says, “But I just finished-” Every time she tries to explain or object, Lady Tremaine harshly interrupts and silences her. Then the morning after the ball, when Lady Tremaine locks her in her room, Cinderella clearly protests, “Oh! Oh, no! No, please! Oh, you can’t do this! You just can’t! Let me out! You must let me out! You can’t keep me in here! Oh, please!” Even though she is not interrupted this time, her stepmother completely ignores her pleas and cries. The overall point of this is that Cinderella does stand up for herself, or tries to, at least, but whenever she does, she is either ignored, silenced, or even punished. Again, this is all because the Tremaines overpower and outnumber her. When Cinderella tries to protest against her stepfamily, all of her attempts are futile; therefore, there is not much else she can do. Now there are times Cinderella does complain about their behavior, including when they call her away from working on her dress (”Oh, now what do they want?”). But these moments are when the Tremaines aren’t around; therefore, Cinderella is free to complain and vent her frustrations when she won’t get in trouble for them.
She is not bland: Another complaint some people have made about Cinderella is that she is bland or one-dimensional because she is nothing but kind, sweet, patient, calm, and gentle to everyone around her. This includes her stepfamily, who are her complete opposites and clearly don’t deserve such treatment from her after the way they have treated her. But Cinderella has her reasons for being this way, and they don’t make her bland in the least. Remember, her stepfamily hates her just because she is better-looking and far nicer than they are and will ever be. Her inner and outer goodness makes the Tremaines look inferior, or far worse, in comparison, and that greatly angers them. So over the years, they have tried to break Cinderella’s spirits and turn her into a miserable, angry, unattractive person. They don’t want her to dream or be happy because they hate seeing her in such a state; in short, they do not want her to be superior to them. Not to mention, they would get great amusement in seeing her miserable and cruelly tease her for it. Because of their malicious ways, Cinderella is not oblivious or ignorant to the kind of people the Tremaines are. She is not naïve or stupid; she knows what they want to do and are trying to do to her. Even though she is nice to them, she knows by now that her kind, nice nature will never rub off on her stepfamily. So why is she still nice to them after everything? For one reason, being kind, gentle, and sweet is what makes Cinderella who she is. No matter what happens to her, she wants to remain true to herself. The Tremaines try everyday to make her like them so that they can look like the better ones instead. In remaining a nice, caring person, Cinderella sends an indirect message to her stepfamily that she is not going to let them change her into a completely different person. Not to mention, if she gave into her anger and sadness in front of the Tremaines, she’d be stooping to their level and be acting just like them. Cinderella doesn’t want to do that because she knows the way they behave is not right. Additionally, she knows that her stepfamily would just love to mock her if she had an angry outburst (which would get her punished) or succumbed to her sadness and cried in front of them. If this happened, she would be allowing herself to be their victim. Whenever she does feel sad or angry, Cinderella refuses to look weak in front of them, and always bravely denies them their satisfaction. Although she is sometimes snarky and sarcastic, she doesn’t act this way in front of the Tremaines because she knows she could be punished for it. Much like whenever she vents her frustration without getting in trouble, Cinderella cries only whenever she is alone and won’t be teased for it. So even though Cinderella is gentle and kind, she is sad and angry about her situation, but she never shows it around the Tremaines because she doesn’t want to let them believe that they can get to her.
She is not mousy: Because of her continuous kindness in the film, along with her “allowing” her stepfamily to harass her and order her around. I have even heard people think that Cinderella is mousy or timid. But again, I beg to differ. Because she is outnumbered and dominated by the Tremaines, Cinderella does have a difficult time standing up to them. However, I see as her being very brave by facing her oppressors every single day of her life whenever they are bossy, loud, rude, and give her order after order. Whatever they do to her, Cinderella is very gutsy by not getting angry or sad in front of them, since that is just what they would love to see her do. When she is accused of putting Gus under Anastasia’s teacup and is called into Lady Tremaine’s room, Cinderella goes inside, then when her stepmother orders to come closer, Cinderella holds her head up high and walks towards her in her bed. In this scene, I can see that Cinderella is afraid, but the fact that she goes inside and faces her stepmother to receive punishment for something she didn’t even do, well, that clearly shows that she has guts. Then later, when she hears about the ball and royal command, Cinderella declares that she can go, too. Drizella and Anastasia laugh and mockingly dance at her expense, but despite that, Cinderella doesn’t run away, cry, or even look down. Instead, she straightens up, with her head held high, steps forward, and explains why she has the right to go. Later that night, when the carriage arrives, Cinderella has finally finished her work, but she does not have a dress ready (not yet, at least). Even though Lady Tremaine had said earlier that she could go as long as she finished her work and found a dress, she never really wanted Cinderella to go at all. By this time, I think Cinderella realizes her stepmother did not mean it and was just playing with her. When she announces that she isn’t going, Lady Tremaine feigns surprise and sympathy (and Cinderella knows it is insincere). But like earlier, she doesn’t run away, she doesn’t cry, and she doesn’t even waver in her voice. The Tremaines want to upset her, and they have, but Cinderella bravely denies them what they want most and refuses to break down in front of them. She holds her head high and gracefully walks away from them. After her stepsisters tear her dress apart, Cinderella is in shock, but bravely waits until her stepfamily is gone before she cries. When she finally has the opportunity to go and does, Cinderella becomes the center of attention and could easily be seen by her her oppressors. She risks been publicly identified and humiliated, and even punishment when she gets home. As she dances with the prince, Lady Tremaine manages to notice a familiarity about this “mystery girl.” When the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella runs away to avoid being identified and punished. So even when still given a chance to go, Cinderella had a choice between playing it safe by staying home and remain living a life of servitude, or taking a chance/risk by going to the ball and seizing an opportunity. Despite knowing what the consequences could be, Cinderella bravely decides to go to the ball. She decided it was best to take the chance because if she didn’t, she might never have had the best night of her life, or even better, the opportunity she had long been waiting for to change her entire life. So Cinderella is a lot braver than you might think. She is no way timid or mousy, and even though she is afraid sometimes, she never behaves like a cowardly fool.
She is not flawless: Even though Cinderella is a good person who is nice, calm, and patient, even to and with her abusers, the people who hate her most, and rarely shows sadness and anger (in the open, at least), she is not without faults. Now some may think that Cinderella is oblivious to her stepfamily’s wickedness, but that is completely untrue. Like I have said before, Cinderella remains kind and gentle throughout everything because she refuses to let the Tremaines get to her. Earlier, she tries to think if Lucifer has any good points, but doesn’t (I think she was even somewhat purposely making fun of him), and I doubt she looks for any good points in her stepfamily as well. However, when she faces abuse from the Tremaines, she manages to put up with it because it’s her way of not letting them change her behavior or affect her world view. Cinderella still has faith and hope because if she didn’t, she would have given up a long time ago, and she doesn’t want her stepfamily to think that they can take away her dignity and pride. They want her to give up, especially since it’s the easy thing to do, but while Cinderella knows that would be easy, she still refuses to grant her stepfamily satisfaction by not giving up. She always wants to do what is right for herself, even if and when it isn’t easy. Throughout the entire film, it seems that Cinderella’s most noticeable, if only, flaw is that she can get distracted very easily and not be aware of what happens around her. When cleaning the floor, Cinderella tries to make it more enjoyable by singing “Sing, Sweet Nightingale,” and she even admires herself in a bubble. This is cut short, however, when she sees Lucifer dirtying the floor; thus ruining her hard work. So even though singing and daydreaming help her cope, Cinderella got a bit too into what she was doing and didn’t notice Lucifer’s mischief until it was too late. Then at the ball, when the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella only then realizes what time it is and rushes to escape, at which she succeeds. While she did escape, like earlier, she became too wrapped up into what was going on and lost track of the time. Finally, upon learning that the man with whom she danced was the prince and that he wants to marry her, Cinderella becomes absent-minded and too distracted by her own euphoria. Then when she announces that she must get prepared for the Duke’s arrival (like the Tremaines), she heads up to the attic stairs and back to her room, dancing and singing “So This is Love.” Because she is so happy and focused on what she needs to do, she doesn’t notice how she is behaving in front of her stepfamily. Unfortunately, her actions make Lady Tremaine realize that Cinderella was the mystery girl at the ball. So as she follows her stepdaughter, Jaq and Gus also run up to warn Cinderella, who is completely unaware of the danger in which she is, that she has been followed. Cinderella is still too distracted by her happiness, and when she finally sees Jaq and Gus trying to warn her, it is too late and Lady Tremaine locks her inside her room. In conclusion, Cinderella is not perfect and does have these flaws. But they do not make her bad in the least, at least not like her stepfamily. Any and all flaws she has are just what make her human.
She is not a crybaby: Cinderella is only shown to be crying twice in the film (we didn’t actually hear her do so during the brief scene of her as a child), but even when she cries, it isn’t fair to say she is just a stupid crybaby. As I’ve already said, Cinderella never cries in front of her stepfamily because she does not want to look weak in front of them or let them think that they have gotten to her. The Tremaines always try to make Cinderella upset and would love to get her to cry in front of them so that they can cruelly make fun of her for it. But Cinderella is strong and brave by not granting them that satisfaction and holding in her emotions until she is far away from them. When she does cry, Cinderella has good reasons to do so, yet she does not act like misbehaving child or throw a fit. The first time is after Anastasia and Drizella tear her mother’s dress to shreds. In that scene, Cinderella literally has her hopes and dreams torn apart. Her stepsisters have destroyed what was probably her last chance at getting a better life, along with the fact that the dress, which was destroyed by two people who hate her most, belonged to her late mother, one of only two people who ever truly loved her. Even though I’m sure Cinderella had moments of crying while she was not in the Tremaines’ company, her crying after her dress is wrecked suggests that she probably hasn’t cried this much in a long time; that she had been holding it in for so long, but just couldn’t any longer. The other time Cinderella cries is when Lady Tremaine locks her in her room. She pleads to be let out, but her stepmother just ignores her. Cinderella has no other alternative way to get out of the tower and feels her situation and chance to reunite with the prince is hopeless. Feeling that her chances of gaining a better life have been ruined again, Cinderella feels helpless again, and feels she can do nothing but cry. But as I have said, Cinderella is not a crybaby just because she cries. She only cries (alone) when her stepfamily have done their worst actions to her, and these are perfectly, legitimate reasons for her to cry. At the same time, she is very bold and brave to face the Tremaines every single day and not crying in front of them.
She does not attend the ball to find love: While one of Cinderella’s main characteristics is that she is a dreamer, unlike Snow White and Aurora, the other two classic Disney Princesses, romance is not her main priority nor does she even mention dreaming about it (although perhaps her dream at the start of the film was a foreshadowing of her dancing with the prince at the ball). Now after being tormented and unloved for so many years since her father died, I’m sure that Cinderella does want to have a man to love and love her, but she never actually says so. Her main goal was always to escape her stepfamily and have a better life. When she learns the news of the ball, Cinderella is ecstatic and wants desperately to go. But she doesn’t want to go just so she can meet and fall in love with the prince. She wants to have a night where she isn’t a prisoner in her own home. She wants to have a night of freedom, happiness, and fun, and to dress up beautifully, something she hasn’t done or been allowed to do in years. When Cinderella finally goes, after getting some help from Fairy Godmother, she wanders and looks around, then she is approached by the prince and spends the entire evening dancing with him. Cinderella is given the fun, happy evening, away from her miserable life, that she strongly desired, but what she didn’t count on was falling in love. Once the clock strikes midnight, she realizes that she must leave before the magic wears off, but the excuse she gives is “I haven’t met the prince,” and then she runs off before the prince has a chance to reveal his identity. Now this quote clearly proves that Cinderella did not know, in the slightest, that the man with whom she was dancing was the prince. Then later, when she hears Lady Tremaine tell her daughters that the prince is in love with the girl who left behind her glass slipper, Cinderella gasps, “The prince!”, then drops the breakfast trays in shock. This is the other point that proves that Cinderella had absolutely no idea that the man with whom she fell in love was the prince. So there you have it: Cinderella never counted on dancing with the prince, didn’t know she had danced with him, and did not attend the ball just to meet and fall in love with him.
She is not saved by the prince: Since people criticize Cinderella for waiting around for a prince to save her and that she just wants to go to the ball just for love. In doing so, I think they misunderstand that Cinderella did not go for that reason, but they also overlook a very important detail: Cinderella is never even saved by the prince! Unlike Snow White and Aurora, Cinderella is never put into a death-sleep state, and thus never receives a true love’s kiss from the prince. Lady Tremaine never physically abuses her, yet when she locks Cinderella in her room to prevent her from trying on the glass slipper, that’s just as evil any other moment done by Disney villains to their protagonist enemies. So when Cinderella get locked in, all she does is cry and stay by the door. Having seen what Lady Tremaine did, Jaq and Gus decide to steal the key and bring it all the way upstairs so Cinderella can escape try on the slipper. They are temporarily subdued when Lucifer traps Gus, and neither the mice nor the birds are able to free him. Cinderella then quickly realizes that Bruno can get rid of Lucifer, and she tells the birds to fetch him. The continuous chirping of the birds as they try to wake Bruno makes Major realize that Cinderella is in trouble, so he helps wake up Bruno by whinnying as loud as possible. Then more of the birds lead Bruno up to the attic stairs, where he scares Lucifer so much that the cat jumps out of the window. With Lucifer gone, Gus is freed, then he and Jaq slip the key under the door, allowing Cinderella to finally leave her room. The only other time we see her with the prince is the aftermath of their wedding. So again, Jaq, Gus, and the rest of her animal friends rescue Cinderella, not the prince. But still, their rescue can still be considered an act of true love, because they love and care about Cinderella and want to help her in her time of distress, especially because she has already done so for them.
And so there you have it. Cinderella is not the bland, stupid, submissive, naïve, timid, passive girl critics and other people think she is. She is very much a diligent, independent, intelligent, clever, bold, courageous young woman who deserves much more positive recognition than she often gets. So to all of you who undermine Cinderella, stop doing so now! You need to watch the movie again and get a much better grasp on this amazing heroine!
And for finishing touches, today is my birthday, so I made this as a little present for myself. :)
