Editing Cinderella (section)

==Literary versions==
[[File:Giambattista Basile by Nicolaus Perrey.jpg|thumb|upright|Italian author [[Giambattista Basile]] wrote the first literary version of the story.]]
The first European version written in prose was published in Naples, Italy, by [[Giambattista Basile]], in his ''[[Pentamerone]]'' (1634).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Canepa |first1=Nancy |title=Giambattista Basile's The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones |date=2007 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |id={{Project MUSE|14344|type=book}} |isbn=978-0-8143-3738-7 |page=83 (footnote) |quote=Basile's tale is the earliest literary version of Cinderella in Europe, preceding Perrault's "Cendrillon" (1697) by over sixty years. }}</ref> The story itself was set in the [[Kingdom of Naples]], at that time the most important political and cultural center of [[Southern Italy]] and among the most influential capitals in Europe, and written in the [[Neapolitan Language|Neapolitan dialect]]. It was later retold, along with other Basile tales, by [[Charles Perrault]] in ''[[Histoires ou contes du temps passé]]'' (1697),<ref name="Bottigheimer, Ruth 2008 pp. 175"/> and by the [[Brothers Grimm]] in their folk tale collection ''[[Grimms' Fairy Tales]]'' (1812).

The name "Cenerentola" derives from the Italian word ''cenere'' "ash, cinder," an allusion to the fact that servants and [[wiktionary:scullion|scullion]]s of the time were usually soiled with ash, partly as a result of their cleaning duties and partly because they lived in cold basements and so tended to huddle close to fireplaces for warmth.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===''La gatta Cenerentola'', by Basile===
[[Giambattista Basile]], a writer, soldier and government official, assembled a set of oral folk tales into a written collection titled ''Lo cunto de li cunti'' (''The Story of Stories''), or ''[[Pentamerone]]''. It included the tale of Cenerentola, which features a wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters, magical transformations, a missing slipper, and a hunt by a [[Absolute monarchy|monarch]] for the owner of the slipper. It was published posthumously in 1634.

'''Plot:'''
:A prince has a daughter, Zezolla (the Cinderella figure), who is tended by a beloved governess. The governess, with Zezolla's help, persuades the prince to marry her. The governess then brings forward six daughters of her own, who abuse Zezolla and send her into the kitchen to work as a servant. The prince goes to the island of Sardinia, meets a fairy who gives presents to his daughter, and brings back for her: a golden spade, a golden bucket, a silken napkin, and a date seedling. The girl cultivates the tree, and when the king hosts a ball, Zezolla appears dressed richly by a fairy living in the date tree. The king falls in love with her, but Zezolla runs away before he can find out who she is. Twice Zezolla escapes the king and his servants. The third time, the king's servant captures one of her pattens. The king invites all of the maidens in the land to a ball with a patten-test, identifies Zezolla after the patten jumps from his hand to her foot, and eventually marries her.<ref>Basile, Giambattista (1911). ''Stories from Pentamerone'', London: Macmillan & Co., translated by John Edward Taylor. [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2198/2198-h/2198-h.htm#chap06 Chapter 6]. See also [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pentamerone/6cenerentola1911.html "Il Pentamerone: Cenerentola"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123051321/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pentamerone/6cenerentola1911.html |date=23 November 2019}}</ref>

===''Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre'', by Perrault===
[[File:Jean-Antoine Laurent - Cinderella, a perfect match.jpg|thumb|''Cinderella: a perfect match'', an 1818 painting by {{ill|Jean-Antoine Laurent|fr}}]]
One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written in French by [[Charles Perrault]] in 1697, under the name ''Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre''. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story, including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of "glass" slippers.<ref>A modern edition of the original French text by Perrault is found in Charles Perrault, ''Contes'', ed. Marc Soriano (Paris: Flammarion, 1989), pp. 274–79.</ref>

'''Plot:'''
A wealthy widower marries a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She has two [[false hero|daughters]], who are equally vain and selfish. But the man also has a beautiful young daughter from his first wife, a girl of unparalleled kindness and sweet temper. The stepmother, jealous of the young girl because her good graces show up her own two daughters' faults, forces her into servitude, where the girl is made to work day and night doing menial chores. After her chores are done for the day, she curls up near the fireplace in an effort to stay warm. She often arises covered in ashes, giving rise to the mocking nickname "Cendrillon" (Cinderella) by her stepsisters. Cinderella bears the abuse patiently and does not tell her father, who would have scolded her.

One day, the prince invites all the people in the land to a [[ball (dance)|royal ball]]. The two [[Ugly sisters|stepsisters]] gleefully plan their wardrobes for the ball, and taunt Cinderella by telling her that maids are not invited to the ball.

As the two stepsisters and the stepmother depart to the ball, Cinderella cries in despair. Her [[fairy godmother]] magically appears and immediately begins to transform Cinderella from house servant to the young lady she was by birth, all in the effort to get Cinderella to the ball. She turns a pumpkin into a golden [[carriage]], [[Mouse|mice]] into horses, a rat into a [[coachman]], and lizards into [[footman|footmen]]. She then turns Cinderella's rags into a beautiful jeweled gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Fairy Godmother tells her to enjoy the ball, but warns her that she must return before midnight, when the [[magic (paranormal)|spells]] will be broken.

At the ball, the entire [[noble court|court]] is entranced by Cinderella, especially the Prince. At this first ball, Cinderella remembers to leave before midnight. Back home, Cinderella graciously thanks her Fairy Godmother. She then innocently greets the two stepsisters, who had not recognized her earlier, and talk of nothing but the beautiful girl at the ball.

Another ball is held the next evening, and Cinderella again attends with her Fairy Godmother's help. The prince has become even more infatuated with the mysterious woman at the ball, and Cinderella in turn becomes so enchanted by him she loses track of time and leaves only at the final stroke of midnight, losing one of her glass slippers on the steps of the palace in her haste. The Prince chases her, but outside the palace, the guards see only a simple country girl leave. The prince pockets the slipper and vows to find and marry the girl to whom it belongs. Meanwhile, Cinderella keeps the other slipper, which does not disappear when the spell is broken.

The prince's herald tries the slipper on all the women in the kingdom. When the herald arrives at Cinderella's home, the two stepsisters try in vain to win him over. Cinderella asks if she may try, but the two stepsisters taunt her. Naturally, the slipper fits perfectly, and Cinderella produces the other slipper for good measure. Cinderella's stepfamily pleads for forgiveness, and Cinderella agrees. Cinderella had hoped her step-family would love her always. Cinderella marries the prince and forgives her two stepsisters, then marrying them off to two wealthy noblemen of the court. They all lived happily ever after.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The annotated classic fairy tales|date=2002|publisher=Norton|editor=Tatar, Maria |isbn=0-393-05163-3 |location=New York|oclc=49894271}}</ref>

The first moral of the story is that beauty is a treasure, but graciousness is priceless. Without it, nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.<ref name="pitt.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault06.html |title=Perrault: Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper |publisher=Pitt.edu |date=8 October 2003 |access-date=17 June 2014}}</ref>

However, the second moral of the story mitigates the first one and reveals the criticism that Perrault is aiming at: That "without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother."<ref name="pitt.edu"/>

{{gallery
|mode=packed
|height=250
|File:Cindarella illustration by Charles Robinson 1900.jpg|[[Charles Robinson (illustrator)|Charles Robinson]] illustrated ''Cinderella in the kitchen'' (1900), from ''Tales of Passed Times'' with stories by Charles Perrault
|File:Cinderella - Project Gutenberg etext 19993.jpg|[[Oliver Herford]] illustrated ''Cinderella with the Fairy Godmother'', inspired by Perrault's version
|File:Cendrillon2.JPG|[[Gustave Doré]]'s illustration for ''Cendrillon'', 1867
|File:Gustave dore cendrillon4.JPG|The fitting with the prince onlooking, illustration in ''Les Contes de Perrault'' by Gustave Doré, 1862
}}

===''Aschenputtel'', by the Brothers Grimm===
Another well-known version was recorded by the German brothers [[Brothers Grimm|Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm]] in the 19th century. The tale is called ''"Aschenputtel"'' or ''"Ashputtle"'' or ''"Ashputtel"'' ["The Little Ash Girl"] (or ''"Cinderella"'' in English translations). This version is much more violent than that of Charles Perrault and Disney, in that Cinderella's father has not died and the two stepsisters mutilate their feet to fit in the golden slipper. There is no fairy godmother in this version of the Brothers Grimm, but rather help comes from a wishing tree, which the heroine had planted on her deceased mother's grave, when she recites a certain chant. In the second edition of their collection (1819), the Brothers Grimm supplemented the original 1812 version with a coda in which the two stepsisters suffer a terrible punishment by the princess Cinderella for their cruelty.<ref>Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm; Zipes, Jack; Deszö, Andrea. "CINDERELLA". In: ''The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition''. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2014. pp. 69–77. Accessed 29 April 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/07/books/books-of-the-times-the-monster-under-the-bed-or-teaching-the-class.html|title=Books of the Times|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 7, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/175/grimms-fairy-tales/3104/ashputtel/|title=Ashputtel|publisher=Lit2G|access-date=August 22, 2023}}</ref> A fairy tale very similar to the Grimm one, ''Aschenbrödel'', was published by [[Ludwig Bechstein]] in 1845 in ''Deutsches Märchenbuch''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aschenbrödel |url=https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/bechstei/maerchen/chap011.html |website=Projekt Gutenberg-DE}}</ref>

====Summary====
A wealthy gentleman's wife falls gravely ill, and as she lies on her deathbed, she calls for her only daughter, and tells her to remain good and kind, as God would protect her. She then dies and is buried. The child visits her mother's grave every day to grieve and a year goes by. The gentleman marries another woman with two older daughters from a previous marriage. They have beautiful faces and fair skin, but their hearts are cruel and wicked. The stepsisters steal the girl's fine clothes and jewels and force her to wear rags. They banish her into the kitchen, and give her the nickname "Aschenputtel" ("Ashfool"). She is forced to do all kinds of hard work from dawn to dusk for the sisters. The cruel sisters do nothing but mock her and make her chores harder by creating messes. However, despite all of it, the girl remains good and kind, and regularly visits her mother's grave to cry and pray to God that she will see her circumstances improve.

One day the gentleman visits a fair, promising his stepdaughters gifts of luxury. The elder one asks for beautiful dresses, while the younger for pearls and diamonds. His own daughter merely begs for the first twig to knock his hat off on the way. The gentleman goes on his way, and acquires presents for his stepdaughters. While passing a forest he gets a hazel twig, and gives it to his daughter. She plants the twig over her mother's grave, waters it with her tears and over the years, it grows into a glowing hazel tree. The girl prays under it three times a day, and a white bird always comes to her as she prays. She tells her wishes to the bird, and every time the bird throws down to her what she has wished for.

The king decides to proclaim a festival that will last for three days and invites all the beautiful maidens in that country to attend so that the prince can select one of them for his bride. The two sisters are also invited, but when Aschenputtel begs them to allow her to go with them into the celebration, the stepmother refuses because she has no decent dress nor shoes to wear. When the girl insists, the woman throws a dish of lentils into the ashes for her to pick up, guaranteeing her permission to attend the festival if she can clean up the lentils in two hours. When the girl accomplished the task in less than an hour with the help of a flock of white doves that came when she sang a certain chant, the stepmother only redoubles the task and throws down even a greater quantity of lentils. When Aschenputtel is able to accomplish it in a greater speed, not wanting to spoil her daughters' chances, the stepmother hastens away with her husband and daughters to the celebration and leaves the crying stepdaughter behind.

[[File:Cinderella by Elenore Abbott.jpg|thumb|right|Cinderella prays to the tree and the little birds provide her a beautiful dress. Art by [[Elenore Abbott]].]]
The girl retreats to the graveyard and asks to be clothed in silver and gold. The white bird drops a gold and silver gown and silk shoes. She goes to the feast. The prince dances with her all the time, claiming her as his dance partner whenever a gentleman asks for her hand, and when sunset comes she asks to leave. The prince escorts her home, but she eludes him and jumps inside the estate's pigeon coop. The father came home ahead of time and the prince asks him to chop the pigeon coop down, but Aschenputtel has already escaped from the back, to the graveyard to the hazel tree to return her fine clothes. The father finds her asleep in the kitchen hearth, and suspects nothing. The next day, the girl appears in grander apparel. The prince again dances with her the whole day, and when dark came, the prince accompanies her home. However, she climbs a pear tree in the back garden to escape him. The prince calls her father who chops down the tree, wondering if it could be Aschenputtel, but Aschenputtel was already in the kitchen when the father arrives home. The third day, she appears dressed in grand finery, with slippers of gold. Now the prince is determined to keep her, and has the entire stairway smeared with pitch. Aschenputtel, in her haste to elude the prince, loses one of her golden slippers on that pitch. The prince picks the slipper and proclaims that he will marry the maiden whose foot fits the golden slipper.

The next morning, the prince goes to Aschenputtel's house and tries the slipper on the elder stepsister. Since she will have no more need to go on foot when she will be queen, the sister was advised by her mother to cut off her toes to fit the slipper. While riding with the stepsister, the two magic doves from heaven tell the prince that blood drips from her foot. Appalled by her treachery, he goes back again and tries the slipper on the other stepsister. She cut off part of her heel to get her foot in the slipper, and again the prince is fooled. While riding with her to the king's castle, the doves alert him again about the blood on her foot. He comes back to inquire about another girl. The gentleman tells him that his dead wife left a "dirty little Cinderella" in the house, omitting to mention that she is his own daughter, and that she is too filthy to be seen, but the prince asks him to let her try on the slipper. Aschenputtel appears after washing clean her face and hands, and when she puts on the slipper, which fitted her like a glove, the prince recognizes her as the stranger with whom he has danced at the festival, even before trying it. To the horror of the stepmother and the two limping sisters, their merely servant-girl had won without any subterfuge. The prince put Aschenputtel before him on his horse and rode off to the palace. While passing the hazel tree the two magic doves from heaven declare Aschenputtel as the true bride of the prince, and remained on her shoulders, one on the left and the other on the right.

In a coda added in the second edition of 1819, during Aschenputtel's royal wedding, the stepsisters had hoped to worm their way into her favour as the future queen. As she walks down the aisle with her stepsisters as her bridesmaids, Aschenputtel's doves strike the two stepsisters' eyes, one in the left and the other in the right. It is their [[Ultimatum|last chance]] of redemption, but since they are desperate to win the new princess' affections, they don't give up and go through the ceremony, so when the wedding comes to an end, and Aschenputtel and her beloved prince march out of the church, her doves fly again, promptly striking the remaining eyes of the two evil stepsisters blind, a truly awful comeuppance they have to endure.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19068/19068-h/19068-h.htm#illus-135 Aschenputtel], included in ''Household Stories'' by the Brothers Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane, at [[Project Gutenberg]]</ref>

==== 1812 version ====
In addition to the absence of the punishment of the stepsisters, there are other minor differences in the first edition of 1812, some of which are reminiscent of Perrault's version. In the first edition, Cinderella's mother herself tells her to plant a tree on her grave. No bird perches on the tree but the tree itself gives the girl what she wants. The birds appear only when they help Cinderella collect lentils, a task that is assigned to her by her stepsisters rather than her stepmother, and they are not a flock but just two pigeons. On the evening of the first ball, Cinderella does not participate but she watches her stepsisters dance with the prince from the pigeon coop. Later Cinderella tells the sisters she saw them dancing, and they destroy the pigeon coop out of jealousy. In the 1812 version the tree also gives Cinderella a carriage with six horses to go to the ball and the pigeons tell her to return before midnight. The episodes in which Cinderella hides in the pigeon coop and on the pear tree were added in the 1819 version. Furthermore, not knowing Cinderella's home, the prince makes other girls in the kingdom try on the slipper before her.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aschenputtel (1812) – Wikisource |url=https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Aschenputtel_(1812) |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=de.wikisource.org |language=de}}</ref>