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In the movie You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks, his father’s girlfriend said to him: “I’m going to be your wicked step-mother.” I was amused at her words and couldn’t help wondering how comes a step-mother is always considered as “wicked’?
After I read the classic Cinderella story, I realize it is the ancient story that gives us a full and detailed description of a cruel step-mother. The image goes down a long history and impressiveness inevitably follows. Now it seems a wicked step-mother is a common incident by which a “Cinderella” tale is recognized. But actually, it’s not the case.
Jane Yolen （1977） in her article “America’s ‘Cinderella’ ” points out that the common incidents by which a “Cinderella” tale is recognized is “an ill-treated though rich and worthy heroine in Cinders disguise; the aid of a magical gift or advice by a beast/bird/mother substitute; the dance /festival/church scene where the heroine comes in radiant display; recognition through a token”（p.27）.
Thus, maybe you don’t think a movie The Devil Wears Prada tells a Cinderella story. There is no step-mother in it, nor are the glass slippers or magical help. But I am sure after you read the article, you may change your mind and enjoy it as a Cinderella story.
To begin with, let’s look at the classic Cinderella story. There are two European versions written by Charles Perrault and Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm.
In Perrault’s version, “Cinderella, in spite of her ragged clothes, was still fifty times as beautiful as her sisters.” Besides, Cinderella has excellent taste and they would ask her opinion on how to dress up for the ball.
While in Grimms’ version, Ashputtle’s step-sisters “take away her fine clothes and give her an old gray dress”. Make her always look “dusty and dirty”.
Jane Yolen （1977） believes, “Cinderella” is a story of rich girl rescued from improper treatment. And it is really a story about “the stripping away of the disguise that conceals the soul from the eyes of others…” （p.21）.
So the case is the same in the movie. Andrea Sachs, the heroine, is a smart girl who just graduated from Northwestern University which is a good university in U.S.. She has won a national competition for college journalists. But when she goes to New York to get a job in the Runway fashion magazine, she has no style or sense of fashion and is laughed at by girls around for being ugly and fat.
As to the improper treatment, Cinderella and Ashputtle are both ill-treated by their step-mothers. In Perrault’s version, Cinderella is made to do “the roughest work of the house”, sits down “among the cinders” and sleeps in an attic. Her step-sisters make fun of her by saying:” What an idea! Lend one’s dress like that to a filthy Cinderbottom!”
In Grimms’ version, Ashputtle has to get up before daybreak to do all the work, doing the cleaning, cooking all the time. Meanwhile, she has to suffer from their insults, such as “why should this silly goose sit in the parlor with us?” and “Get into the kitchen where you belong!” Even worse, they would pour peas and beans into the ashes and ask Ashputtle to pick them out.
In the movie, Andrea works under Miranda as an assistant. She has to fulfil her responsibility under any circumstance. Once Miranda is in Miami, her flight to New York is cancelled because of hurricane. She urges Andrea to arrange a flight for her. Andrea stops her dinner with her father and calls everybody that has a jet. She tries so hard but still fails to make it. She gets criticized by Miranda severely.
Sometimes Miranda asks for her steak in 15 minutes, but in half an hour will the restaurant, Smith & Wollensky’s, open. When Andrea finally gets the steak for her in time, she changes her mind to have a dinner out.
One of the most impossible tasks is Miranda asks her to get the unpublished Harry Potter manuscript for her twins. Andrea knows even she calls frickin’ J.K. Rowling herself, she is not going to get a copy of that book. Worst of all, Miranda wants it within four hours.
If Andrea doesn’t catch what Miranda has said, she says to her: “Did you fall down and smack your little head on the pavement?”
One of the criterions Jane Yolen mentioned is a magical help. Cinderella and Ashputtle are both magically helped to be the most beautiful girl in the ball. One gets help from her godmother and another does from a little bird at her mother’s grave.
In the movie, Andrea gets the magical help from Nigel, the magazine’s art director. When Andrea feels upset and disappointed at Miranda’s viciously treatment, she goes and cries at Nigel’s office. He listens to her and points out what her problem is. He goes to the sample room to choose clothes, shoes and bags for her and takes her to the beauty department, saying:” You’ll take what I give you and you’ll like it.” She gets a completely makeover and looks trendy and fetching.
In classic Cinderella story, there are balls or festivals where the heroine comes in radiant display. In Perrault’s version, when Cinderella appears at the ball, there falls a sudden silence and everyone gazes at her beauty. In Grimms’ version, the king’s son invites Ashputtle to dance and refuses to dance with anyone else. She is so beautiful that her step-sisters don’t recognize her and believe she must be the daughter of some foreign king.
In the movie, there is a benefit called Runway Celebrates the Age of Fashion. That night, Emily, who always looks down over Andrea, is astonished by her elegance and high-fashion when Andrea appears in a chic gown. And there, Christian Thompson, a famous writer, says to her: “You are a vision.”
When Andrea goes to Paris for the couture shows, she meets some outstanding designers in the world and keeps being taken pictures by photographers. She wears with good taste and is very attractive. Even Nigel thinks she is gorgeous.
In the classic Cinderella story, there is a shoe test which Jane Yolen （1977） believes it’s “recognition through a token”（p.25）.
In Perrault’s version, when Cinderella loses one of her glass slippers, the Prince decides to have a shoe test among all the ladies. As soon as Cinderella is found fitting the slipper very well, the Prince marries her.
In Gimms’ version, Ashputtle’s step-sisters hack off their toes and heels in order to fit the shoe. And it is Ashputtel whose foot fits it perfectly. She becomes the wife of the king’s son.
In the movie, there are two examples of “recognition through a token”.
For Miranda, Paris is the most important week of her entire year. She wants to bring “the best possible team” with her. Several months after Andrea working with her, she asks Andrea, instead of Emily, to go with her. Paris is the coolest fashion event of the year, and Andrea gets the chance to go there. She is recognized by Miranda as a trendy, helpful and practical assistant.
At the very beginning, Andrea knows clearly that “being Miranda’s assistant opens a lot of doors”. When she finally leaves Runway and has a job interview as a journalist. She gets a reference from Miranda, who gives a high opinion of her work as an assistant.
According to the criterions Jane Yolen （1977） believes by which a Cinderella tale is recognized, the movie The Devil Wears Prada is sure to be regarded as a retelling of a Cinderella story. But the most cherished dream in Cinderella story, Jane Yolen （1977） believes, is the true magic inside us all--- the ability to change our own lives, the ability to control our own destinies （p.26）.
When Cinderella is having a bad time, she “bore everything in patience” and doesn’t tell her father because she knows it is useless. When her stepsisters’ taunts her about going to the ball, she knows they are teasing her and choose to tell her godmother how she’s eager to go there. She has the ability to think for herself and act for herself.
When Ashputtle is refused by her step-mother to go to the ball, she goes to ask the hazel tree at her mother’s grave: “Throw gold and silver down on me.” She moves on by finding another way to solve her problem.
In the movie, Andrea does lose her ability to control her life during a time. She turns back to her family. Her friend Lily believes she has changed her attitude to love and life. Her boyfriend Nate thinks she is no longer the one who said she doesn’t care about the fashionable stuff and wants to be a journalist. Even Emily says to her:” You sold your soul the day you put on that first pair of Jimmy Choo’s.”
Moreover, she insists she has no choice when losing the control to act for herself.
Finally, she changes her mind. When she is in Paris with Miranda, she sees what happened to Miranda’s marriage and what happened to Nigel’s career. She gets to realize the way Miranda lives isn’t what she wants. She leaves her job.
Back from Paris, she says to Nate in a restaurant:” You were right.” She agrees that doing a job doesn’t mean you have to change your belief and lose your dream. If you make a change just to satisfy others, you are losing yourself. Eventually, she chooses to live her own life. She has her true magic inside now.
Cinderella fairy tale is so influential and powerful that the retelling of it keeps on and on. Now without the glass slippers, godmother or Prince charming, the movie The Devil Wears Prada retells it in a contemporary way: a girl goes to a big city to look for a job. No wonder, the movie is popular and successful. The dream of being a Cinderella exists among all of us. But what exactly is the true Cinderella? Again, the movie makes it clear that how a true Cinderella should be. It helps us to reconsider how to behave in today’s society, how to make our living more meaningful and how to realize our dreams.
References:
[1]Perrault, Charles. “Cinderella.” College English Composition Researching a Topic. Ed. Linell Davis. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2007. 142.
[2]Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm, “Ashputtle.” College English Composition Researching a Topic. Ed. Linell Davis. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2007. 147.
[3]Yolen, Jane, “America’s Cinderella” Children’s Literature in Education vol 8,1977 21-29.
[4]The Devil Wears Parada. Dir. David Frankel. Producer. Wendy Finerman.20th Century Fox, 2006.
（作者简介：唐力忻，女，江苏海事职业技术学院，外语系英语专业教研室）
After I read the classic Cinderella story, I realize it is the ancient story that gives us a full and detailed description of a cruel step-mother. The image goes down a long history and impressiveness inevitably follows. Now it seems a wicked step-mother is a common incident by which a “Cinderella” tale is recognized. But actually, it’s not the case.
Jane Yolen （1977） in her article “America’s ‘Cinderella’ ” points out that the common incidents by which a “Cinderella” tale is recognized is “an ill-treated though rich and worthy heroine in Cinders disguise; the aid of a magical gift or advice by a beast/bird/mother substitute; the dance /festival/church scene where the heroine comes in radiant display; recognition through a token”（p.27）.
Thus, maybe you don’t think a movie The Devil Wears Prada tells a Cinderella story. There is no step-mother in it, nor are the glass slippers or magical help. But I am sure after you read the article, you may change your mind and enjoy it as a Cinderella story.
To begin with, let’s look at the classic Cinderella story. There are two European versions written by Charles Perrault and Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm.
In Perrault’s version, “Cinderella, in spite of her ragged clothes, was still fifty times as beautiful as her sisters.” Besides, Cinderella has excellent taste and they would ask her opinion on how to dress up for the ball.
While in Grimms’ version, Ashputtle’s step-sisters “take away her fine clothes and give her an old gray dress”. Make her always look “dusty and dirty”.
Jane Yolen （1977） believes, “Cinderella” is a story of rich girl rescued from improper treatment. And it is really a story about “the stripping away of the disguise that conceals the soul from the eyes of others…” （p.21）.
So the case is the same in the movie. Andrea Sachs, the heroine, is a smart girl who just graduated from Northwestern University which is a good university in U.S.. She has won a national competition for college journalists. But when she goes to New York to get a job in the Runway fashion magazine, she has no style or sense of fashion and is laughed at by girls around for being ugly and fat.
As to the improper treatment, Cinderella and Ashputtle are both ill-treated by their step-mothers. In Perrault’s version, Cinderella is made to do “the roughest work of the house”, sits down “among the cinders” and sleeps in an attic. Her step-sisters make fun of her by saying:” What an idea! Lend one’s dress like that to a filthy Cinderbottom!”
In Grimms’ version, Ashputtle has to get up before daybreak to do all the work, doing the cleaning, cooking all the time. Meanwhile, she has to suffer from their insults, such as “why should this silly goose sit in the parlor with us?” and “Get into the kitchen where you belong!” Even worse, they would pour peas and beans into the ashes and ask Ashputtle to pick them out.
In the movie, Andrea works under Miranda as an assistant. She has to fulfil her responsibility under any circumstance. Once Miranda is in Miami, her flight to New York is cancelled because of hurricane. She urges Andrea to arrange a flight for her. Andrea stops her dinner with her father and calls everybody that has a jet. She tries so hard but still fails to make it. She gets criticized by Miranda severely.
Sometimes Miranda asks for her steak in 15 minutes, but in half an hour will the restaurant, Smith & Wollensky’s, open. When Andrea finally gets the steak for her in time, she changes her mind to have a dinner out.
One of the most impossible tasks is Miranda asks her to get the unpublished Harry Potter manuscript for her twins. Andrea knows even she calls frickin’ J.K. Rowling herself, she is not going to get a copy of that book. Worst of all, Miranda wants it within four hours.
If Andrea doesn’t catch what Miranda has said, she says to her: “Did you fall down and smack your little head on the pavement?”
One of the criterions Jane Yolen mentioned is a magical help. Cinderella and Ashputtle are both magically helped to be the most beautiful girl in the ball. One gets help from her godmother and another does from a little bird at her mother’s grave.
In the movie, Andrea gets the magical help from Nigel, the magazine’s art director. When Andrea feels upset and disappointed at Miranda’s viciously treatment, she goes and cries at Nigel’s office. He listens to her and points out what her problem is. He goes to the sample room to choose clothes, shoes and bags for her and takes her to the beauty department, saying:” You’ll take what I give you and you’ll like it.” She gets a completely makeover and looks trendy and fetching.
In classic Cinderella story, there are balls or festivals where the heroine comes in radiant display. In Perrault’s version, when Cinderella appears at the ball, there falls a sudden silence and everyone gazes at her beauty. In Grimms’ version, the king’s son invites Ashputtle to dance and refuses to dance with anyone else. She is so beautiful that her step-sisters don’t recognize her and believe she must be the daughter of some foreign king.
In the movie, there is a benefit called Runway Celebrates the Age of Fashion. That night, Emily, who always looks down over Andrea, is astonished by her elegance and high-fashion when Andrea appears in a chic gown. And there, Christian Thompson, a famous writer, says to her: “You are a vision.”
When Andrea goes to Paris for the couture shows, she meets some outstanding designers in the world and keeps being taken pictures by photographers. She wears with good taste and is very attractive. Even Nigel thinks she is gorgeous.
In the classic Cinderella story, there is a shoe test which Jane Yolen （1977） believes it’s “recognition through a token”（p.25）.
In Perrault’s version, when Cinderella loses one of her glass slippers, the Prince decides to have a shoe test among all the ladies. As soon as Cinderella is found fitting the slipper very well, the Prince marries her.
In Gimms’ version, Ashputtle’s step-sisters hack off their toes and heels in order to fit the shoe. And it is Ashputtel whose foot fits it perfectly. She becomes the wife of the king’s son.
In the movie, there are two examples of “recognition through a token”.
For Miranda, Paris is the most important week of her entire year. She wants to bring “the best possible team” with her. Several months after Andrea working with her, she asks Andrea, instead of Emily, to go with her. Paris is the coolest fashion event of the year, and Andrea gets the chance to go there. She is recognized by Miranda as a trendy, helpful and practical assistant.
At the very beginning, Andrea knows clearly that “being Miranda’s assistant opens a lot of doors”. When she finally leaves Runway and has a job interview as a journalist. She gets a reference from Miranda, who gives a high opinion of her work as an assistant.
According to the criterions Jane Yolen （1977） believes by which a Cinderella tale is recognized, the movie The Devil Wears Prada is sure to be regarded as a retelling of a Cinderella story. But the most cherished dream in Cinderella story, Jane Yolen （1977） believes, is the true magic inside us all--- the ability to change our own lives, the ability to control our own destinies （p.26）.
When Cinderella is having a bad time, she “bore everything in patience” and doesn’t tell her father because she knows it is useless. When her stepsisters’ taunts her about going to the ball, she knows they are teasing her and choose to tell her godmother how she’s eager to go there. She has the ability to think for herself and act for herself.
When Ashputtle is refused by her step-mother to go to the ball, she goes to ask the hazel tree at her mother’s grave: “Throw gold and silver down on me.” She moves on by finding another way to solve her problem.
In the movie, Andrea does lose her ability to control her life during a time. She turns back to her family. Her friend Lily believes she has changed her attitude to love and life. Her boyfriend Nate thinks she is no longer the one who said she doesn’t care about the fashionable stuff and wants to be a journalist. Even Emily says to her:” You sold your soul the day you put on that first pair of Jimmy Choo’s.”
Moreover, she insists she has no choice when losing the control to act for herself.
Finally, she changes her mind. When she is in Paris with Miranda, she sees what happened to Miranda’s marriage and what happened to Nigel’s career. She gets to realize the way Miranda lives isn’t what she wants. She leaves her job.
Back from Paris, she says to Nate in a restaurant:” You were right.” She agrees that doing a job doesn’t mean you have to change your belief and lose your dream. If you make a change just to satisfy others, you are losing yourself. Eventually, she chooses to live her own life. She has her true magic inside now.
Cinderella fairy tale is so influential and powerful that the retelling of it keeps on and on. Now without the glass slippers, godmother or Prince charming, the movie The Devil Wears Prada retells it in a contemporary way: a girl goes to a big city to look for a job. No wonder, the movie is popular and successful. The dream of being a Cinderella exists among all of us. But what exactly is the true Cinderella? Again, the movie makes it clear that how a true Cinderella should be. It helps us to reconsider how to behave in today’s society, how to make our living more meaningful and how to realize our dreams.
References:
[1]Perrault, Charles. “Cinderella.” College English Composition Researching a Topic. Ed. Linell Davis. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2007. 142.
[2]Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm, “Ashputtle.” College English Composition Researching a Topic. Ed. Linell Davis. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2007. 147.
[3]Yolen, Jane, “America’s Cinderella” Children’s Literature in Education vol 8,1977 21-29.
[4]The Devil Wears Parada. Dir. David Frankel. Producer. Wendy Finerman.20th Century Fox, 2006.
（作者简介：唐力忻，女，江苏海事职业技术学院，外语系英语专业教研室）