Write 6 pages with APA style on Cinderella as One of the Most Read Folktales. However, with changing times people’s values and expectations are changing. Young children demand a more logical explanation and are not satisfied with the stories of fairies and elves. Hence, to maintain the charm and spirit of Cinderella yet make it more realistic, the director, Andy Tennant portrayed a newer version of the story in his movie, “Ever After”. Here, the fairy godmother is replaced by a live human being who helps her in her search for happiness with the Prince of France. Similarly, the writer, James Finn Garner has also given a comic twist to the original version of this children’s short story putting in a bit of didactic tone. Now let us get a closer look at all the three texts on the basis of different critical approaches.

Grimm Brothers’ Cinderella is a creation of a patriarchal society that has some fixed norms and expectations for the fairer sex. It is totally anti-feminist. This story clearly shows that the qualities such as beauty, selflessness, modesty, wealth and piousness are some of the desired traits looked for in a Christian woman. A woman in possession of these virtues is rewarded by being wedded to the most eligible bachelor. Cinderella is appreciated only when she appears in all her refinements. She has to depend on external factors (here the prince) for her happiness. This book shows that men have power over women and can grant them happiness or punish them as suits their specific character. On the other hand, Garner’s Cinderella is a purely feminist story. This book shows that women do not have to depend on men for their happiness. All they need is to get rid of a good bearing of themselves and explore the path of joy. They have to shed off their foolishness in the guise of tight clothes and chemically made cosmetics and feel comfortable in sensible clothes and bearings. This story shows the death of all the eligible bachelors at the end while the ladies take a sigh of relief.