The Brothers Grimm were not the only authors of Cinderella, nor were they the first. Several other versions existed first, the earliest version being told in Ancient Greece. Variants appear in Medieval France, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Giambattista Basile wrote an Italian version which features the Cinderella character (Zezolla) as a princess sent to live and work as a servant in her household. Zezolla murders her step-mother so that her father, the prince, can marry her Governess. The Governess has 6 daughters and she and the prince ignore Zezolla. She asks for a gift from her father while he's away on business and he brings back a magical sapling. The tree grows and produces a fairy who grants Zezolla's wishes. She goes to a three-night festival where she doesn't dance with the king but he observes her and tries to meet her. When he obtains her slipper (and finally gets around to Zezolla) he recognizes her right away (good job, king!) The shoe magically jumps onto Zezolla’s foot, and they marry (granddaughter/grandfather marriage?)
Charles Perrault wrote the French version of Cinderella. His account includes the fairy godmother, pumpkin carriage, and the glass slipper, which we most associate with Cinderella. Some interpreters think the glass slipper was intended to be made of fur, as the French words for "glass" and "fur" are similar. Whichever is correct, glass has stuck in the cultural mind.
Other versions include the father or male characters as a villainous figure, but most have a female abuser, either the stepmother, sisters, governess, or other female character. Some even gender-swap the roles and portray Cinderella as a boy and her abusers as male. Not every story has a glass slipper. In others it’s been a gold slipper, an anklet, a ring, or other object. In different accounts there are a different number of balls to attend: one, two, or three—with three being a popular choice. Though each story has its differences, a common thread is the name of the protagonist. Cinders or ashes are a defining trait of the character’s name.
Today, there are thousands of versions of Cinderella. They span across movies, books, ballets, and musicals.
The Narrator’s Moral of the Story: If you are kind and good, and with a little help, you will get your happily ever after. And altering your appearance won’t secure you a mate…except when it does.
The Narrator’s Favorite Variations:
Cinderella (1997)--Movie Ever After--Movie A Cinderella Story--Movie Cinderella--Ballet Into the Woods--Musical Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine--Book Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, by Gail Carson Levine--Book Cinder, by Marissa Meyer--Book Before Midnight, by Cameron Dokey--Book