Symbolism and Metaphor in Cinderella: Director's Blog 45 (B)

So this is the Blog B for today for anyone who is interested in the metaphor and symbolism embedded in the story of Cinderella, and which informed both Olly's retelling of the story and my preparation and rehearsal process. So here goes.

As with many other fairy tales, the symbolism in Cinderella plays a very important role, especially when directed at the fairy tale's primary audience - the children.  This blog focuses on the original tellings of the story from a range of cultures, so elements of this are not included in our panto version.

With Cinderella, the symbolism begins from the very first lines and has to do with the message of how to react to the loss of a parent. From the dying woman's conversation with her daughter, it is obvious that Cinderella is asked to believe in the existence of God and in and an afterlife.In order to deserve God's favour,Cinderella must be "good," and this also will assure the love and favour of her mother who, although dead, will be looking down upon her daughter.

Goodness, however, is not the only thing that her dying mother asks of Cinderella on her deathbed. She also asks her to be pious, which is a word that may be unfamiliar to children today, but was in wide use at the time the story was written. Today, the word 'modest' would successfully act as a substitute. As a symbolic message, to be modest to a child does not mean to deny herself the pleasure of things she might want, but rather to make sure that her wants are not unnecessarily extravagant. This message is reinforced later on by the fact that the two evil stepsisters ask their stepfather for dresses and jewels - things they already have plenty and have no real use for more.

Cinderella, on the other hand, asks for the first branch that knocks her father's hat off his head. This request carries multiple meanings. (This is left out of our Cinderella and most pantos and in our case we have no father character in the script, only by reference to his having gone away to seek his fortune).

First, the branch serves as a symbol of attracting her father's attention, since he has to stop and come back for his hat, as well as to break off the branch. The second meaning is in the search for closer connection with the father because it involves him directly into action, such as breaking off the branch, instead of him doing what he probably does all the time for other girls, which is shop for them. Finally, Cinderella's request means to attract father's attention by its uniqueness and thus reestablish the connection between the father and his obviously neglected daughter.

Cinderella's request, as well as what she does with the branch when she receives it, symbolises her love for both parents, because she tries not to overburden her father by asking for expensive gifts and remembers her mother by planting a branch on her grave. 

It also sends a message of what the true parental love can do to a child, with a branch symbolising the child. The child, even hurt before, will grow up strong and healthy emotionally if nurtured with love, just as the broken branch, planted and nurtured with love, grew up into a beautiful tree.

Another message, expressed in Cinderella's relationship is to be nice to animals. Her generosity and kindess is a powerful message to children, that without ever being untrue to herself or trying to please too much, little acts of kindness go a long way to making life feel better.

Another enduring message in the story of Cinderella is to never lose hope. Despite all the abuses that Cinderella must endure and all the tears she sheds, in the end, things turn out well for her and bad for her enemies. There is probably a double message here, as well, because it also calls for the child not to do bad things in return to those who abuse her because eventually her tormentors will receive their punishment one way or another. 

Finally, Cinderella's behavior after the ball offers a message of how she should keep her modesty just at the moment she receives the most attention.

The symbolism woven into Cinderella also finds its translations in the myriad of stories that carry these messages. Yesterday Alison stumbled across the Chinese version and you can find the story in practically every culture. 

Looking specifically at the story through the cultures of France, Germany, Russia, Ireland, and America sheds light on the core themes in the story of Cinderella. The six themes, colours, and symbols prevalent in each story consist of the following: birds/animals, nature, gold, grey/ash, kindness, and separation of good vs. evil.

In all the stories from these five countries,  animals and nature play an important role in helping Cinderella reach her final goal; going to the ball,dressing in beautiful gowns, or escaping evil (the Baba Yaga or the stepmother/stepsisters). 

It seems as if animals and nature are constant loving sources in Cinderella’s life when society fails her. She is often rejected by her stepmother and stepsisters and sometimes, even her father when he is present indeed all human beings. 

In turn, helpful animals help her find her way, trees fulfill her wishes, and birds protect her. The animals in The Baba Yaga (Russian version) form a connection with nature through the wide river and the deep forest as both symbols work together to keep Cinderella away from The Baba Yaga, who could be a representation of the evils of human society. 

The type of protection by animals and their love for Cinderella is also seen in Anne Sexton's Irish telling of the story when honey birds accompany Trembling ( as she is called in this version) to church, making sure she is safe. Nature and animals are central to both Anne Sexton’s Irish Cinderella telling and that of the Brothers Grimm.

The planted twig grows into a giving tree and with the help of a white dove, provides Cinderella with all of the right clothes for the royal ball. In essence, these two themes are held throughout the diverse cultural versions of Cinderella in order to emphasise the importance of animals and nature in her life. They are symbols of love and protection.

The colours gold, a vibrant, brilliant colour, and grey or ash, colours that have a downtrodden and dreary association are constant symbols throughout the stories.The stepsisters are constantly mentioning that Cinderella only exists to clean up the dust and ashes and that she sleeps there, in the cinders, because she is not worthy of a finer bedroom. 

Cinderella is painted as a dirty and dusty young girl who is “dressed in an old grey smock." In the early scenes of the story when Cinderella is seen as a servant wearing only grey and sleeping in the ashes, we have yet to see her full character. She is just a servant girl. However, these ash colours serve as a disguise of Cinderella’s true character and full development as a kind-hearted, honest and courageous young woman.

The grey colours present a danger that she has the potential to be dragged down, as of course it disguises her goodness. At the beginning of the story even she accepts the disguise as real and does not believe in herself. Just as kindness is a severe contrast with evil, grey is a harsh contrast with gold, a symbol of Cinderella’s ‘true colours’.

When Cinderella is clothed in “cloth of gold and silver” (Charles Perrault 1629-1703) with “beautiful golden hair” riding on a golden saddle, wearing “slippers of solid gold” she is revealed as the princess the reader wants her to be. Her physical beauty seems to bring out her graciousness even more than when she was just Ash Girl or Cinderwench. The colour gold suggests spiritual, good-hearted faithfulness...a being in a more perfect state, in greater perfection. Cinderella can finally have faith in herself because gold reveals her inner beauty and the true nature of her kindness.

The Cinderella messages for children wrote Perrault is that 

A struggle against severe difficulties in life is unavoidable, is an intrinsic part of human existence — but that if one does not shy away, but steadfastly meets unexpected and often unjust hardships, one masters all obstacles and at the end emerges victorious.

It is perhaps the case that the Cinderella story has survived and reappeared in various incarnations over the years is because of its underlying spiritual messages, especially involving beauty. Because everyone feels like an ugly duckling at some point in his or her life, it has given those of us who feel maybe like underdogs a source of hope.

Even if a girl doesn’t have a wicked stepmother, at times she feels her mother is the wicked stepmother. Every child experiences the feeling of being adopted, as though they don’t belong in their family.

So CInderella is saturated with powerful metaphors and messages, not unlike the storytelling that informs all the drama and theatre we make at Arc, and will continue to do so, whatsover form it might take.

So that's that Blog B.  Until tomorrow. Enjoy your day!