Who owns one of the most famous fairy tales in the world, who wrote Cinderella? Does it belong to the hand of Charles Perrault or was it invented by the Brothers Grimm? Or did this unique story come out of the mouth of the people? Is it possible to answer at least one of these many questions?
Most folklore scholars are sure not. The legend of the girl who lost the shoe is so ancient that it is no longer possible to establish the source. In London, at the end of the 19th century, a book by MRKoksa was published, which mentioned a specific number of variations of a fairy tale discovered by the author - 345. Modern collectors of myths and legends found a much larger number, among which, probably, one of the oldest is Chinese, recorded eleven centuries ago.
But for many, those who wrote Cinderella will undoubtedly have Charles Perrault, a French storyteller, writer and poet. Taking on plots that already existed in folklore, he remade them in his own way, and at the same time for the sake of His Royal Highness, often ending each story with a conclusion - “morality”, set out in an ironic and witty poem by his own authorship.
In the elegant creation of Perrault, Cinderella appears before us in the guise of a kind, obedient and beautiful daughter of a nobleman, whose first wife was also a beautiful woman. But, unfortunately, she dies, and Zamarashka’s father has to marry another. So the misadventures of the main character begin, which gets its name only due to the fact that the frequent cleaning and bullying of her stepsisters and stepmother covered her with ash and dust. Naturally, thanks to her gentleness and kindness, she will withstand all the trials destined by fate, and she will certainly marry the prince thanks to her slipper trimmed with fur (no, not crystal!) And will live happily ever after. But has this sweet story about a girl named Cinderella always ended so happily? Charles Perrault, in fact, showed the reader a simplified version, where negative characters are almost never punished for their atrocities.
In the hands of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collectors of folklore, the fairy tale acquires completely different tones, becoming an order of magnitude more magical and tougher. For example, there is no German godmother as such in the exposition, but there is an amazing tree growing on the mother’s grave, as well as two doves that settled in its branches, from which Cinderella receives the main help. Charles Perrault, who took the Northern European variation of history as the basis of his version of the tale, which the brothers took advantage of almost a hundred years after the Frenchman’s death, probably also removed from her the bloody details of “revenge” on the stepmother and her daughters for mistreating the main character. It is worth mentioning that at the end of the Grimm fairy tale, the two stepsisters of Zamarashka cut off one or another part of their legs to fit into a gold shoe, after which the two aforementioned doves peck both eyes in each wedding episode.
In the Pentameron by the Italian storyteller and poet Bazile, you can see that edition of the story, which, according to some assumptions, Perrault also saw. Cinderella here - Zezollah - is not the sweet girl we are used to representing her. She kills the first stepmother with a chest, after which the second becomes her teacher, who, in fact, persuades the main character to a crime. There are not two sisters in the Italian variation, but six, and the godmother herself does not appear on the scene. But the father of the unlucky girl brings a special set of magical things received from her fairy friend, with the help of which Zezoll easily passes through a series of balls, the loss and subsequent fitting of the shoe and marries the prince.
When we hear another version of the tale, set out in a book of stories about beautiful Greek courtesans published in France, it becomes even less clear to us who wrote Cinderella. In it, the author dispenses with balls, stepmothers, half-sisters and magic, leaving only the fact of the loss of the shoe, or rather the abduction of sandals from the main character by an eagle. As a bird , she is dumped at the feet of the pharaoh Psammetich, who then orders to find the owner. The narrative still ends with a happy wedding.
The Chinese Cinderella, mentioned above, by the name Yehhsien differed from others in her intelligence and talent for engaging in ceramics. The magic assistant here is a goldfish, which, unfortunately, is killed by the stepmother. Nevertheless, this does not prevent the main character from using her bones, which also have magical powers. With their help, Yehhsien goes to the carnival in a cloak trimmed with the feathers of a kingfisher, and in golden shoes, one of which she, of course, loses. Her commander finds him, who then searches for an owner throughout China, and then, after finding his Cinderella, marries her. And for the mistreatment of her stepdaughter towards her stepmother, and at the same time, her daughters are stoned to death.
But, despite the huge number of versions of this famous story, it is up to you, and not the researchers, storytellers and numerous collectors of folklore, to decide who wrote Cinderella. After all, it may so happen that only one of all will fall in love with your heart, which means that it will turn out to be the main and most faithful. And this will undoubtedly be the right choice.