Fan Art Friday: Cinderella

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Cinderella and her glass slipper have become a modern day institution since Disney’s classic film debuted 65 years ago.


The tale we’ve come to know today originated in Europe, but its roots can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt where we find the original “Cinderella,” a Greek slave girl named Rhodopis who goes on to marry the king of Egypt. The Cinderella plot is so popular and widespread it has earned its own classification of type 510A, “the persecuted heroine” in the Aarne–Thompson system which helps identify and classify recurring plot patterns in traditional folk and fairy tales. The variations and adaptations of this tale differ quite drastically and are estimated to range anywhere from 345 to over 1,500. Let’s explore just two of the most popular ones.



The most well known version and the basis for Disney’s Cinderella is Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon published in 1697 in his Histoires Ou Contes Du Temps Passé. Perrault was the one to introduce the pumpkin carriage, fairy-godmother, and the famous glass slippers. The tale follows the basic Cinderella plot — a mistreated young woman who is forced to serve her stepmother and stepsisters collapsing by a fireplace at the end of the day only to awake covered in cinders. To prevent her from attending the ball they have all been invited to, her stepsisters give her an impossible task.


Enter her animal friends who help her complete the impossible task and her Fairy Godmother who gives her a gown for the ball and beautiful glass slippers.


The Godmother then turns a pumpkin into a carriage, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. At the ball, the Prince falls in love with her, but she must rush off before the clock strikes midnight and her magical adornments vanish, leaving her in rags. In this tale there are two balls, it is on the second night that she loses a shoe while running away, which the Prince retrieves. He scours the kingdom in search of the maiden who fits the shoe and who will become his future bride. None of the young ladies nor the stepsisters get the slipper to fit, but Cinderella was finally given the opportunity to try on the slipper which fit perfectly onto her foot. At this point Cinderella’s Godmother appears and transforms her clothes into an even more beautiful gown than the one before. The tale wraps up with Cinderella forgiving her ashamed and apologetic stepsisters and going off to marry the Prince.



The Brothers Grimm had a slightly darker version of the fairy tale called Aschenputtel.


In this tale Cinderella plants a twig over her mother’s grave which, when watered by her tears, grows over time into a glowing hazel tree. When she prays three times a day under the tree a white bird comes to comfort her. After Cinderella is not allowed to attend the ball she goes to the cemetery to ask her mother for help and a white bird delivers a white gown and silk shoes. This continues for three days as she attends a different ball at the palace each night with an even more dazzling dress than the one before, a silver dress with glass shoes the second night and a dress spun of gold and golden slippers the third night. On the final night the Prince covers the stairs in tar to capture the runaway beauty, but only manages to snag her golden slipper. In order to fit into the slipper on, the oldest stepsister cuts off her toes and the youngest her heel, but the blood dripping from the slipper gives them both away. Not only did they lose parts of their feet, but at Cinderella’s wedding doves fly down from Heaven to peck out the sisters’ eyes, leaving them blind. Those familiar with the musical Into The Woods will recognize this version of the tale.



Not only are there hundreds of variations of the Cinderella story, but there are also many different types of adaptations. The story has been turned into operas (La Cenerentola), musicals (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella), books (Ella Enchanted), movies (Ever After), ballets (Aschenbrödel), even anime (Cinderella Monogatari). The most recent retelling of this story is Disney’s live action Cinderella movie which follows their 1950 animated film very closely with a few modern day changes.


We can thank Perrault for inventing the now iconic glass slipper and through his creative twists establishing one of the most well known and beloved fairytales of all time. But unlike his tale, you won't need a Fairy Godmother to have a ball with this lovely collection of Cinderella fan art. Don’t worry — the magic of fandom lasts well past the stroke of midnight.
















A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep.”


— Cinderella










In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for, you keep.”


— Cinderella










Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through.”


— Cinderella










No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”


— Cinderella












Your Thoughts


  1. Who is your favorite Cinderella character and why?
  2. What would you like to see in future editions of Fan Art Friday?












Comments41
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inuyasha-angel's avatar
I enjoy the Czech version, Tři oříšky pro Popelku ( Three wishes for Cinderella).