It’s not like she was reading books on how to be a “good parent.” And she has to do her best with what she knows. In fact, she has to ‘step it up’ because he died. She can’t stop being a mother because her husband died. Taking care of her children is primary, especially now that she again is alone to raise them. The Stepmother has no permission to luxuriate in her feelings of fear and concerns about the future. We don’t know what she is feeling and thinking because that is never added to the story line. Who may want to marry a woman who has lost two husbands to death? Or maybe in that time period, it’s pretty common so that isn’t a big deal. What is the future going to bring? She is getting older. How long can she live in this home, she probably wonders. The Stepmother’s ‘resource’ is suddenly gone. I’ts suddenly a big challenge to manage, and completely unexpected or planned for. One of them beautiful, unlike her daughters, and almost a stranger, add complications. I’m sure she is also petrified of how she is now responsible for the care of 3 girls, not just her own two daughters. When he abandons them both through death, it’s possible she feels grief but we never see that side of her displayed. It appears to be a ‘marriage of convenience.’Ĭinderella and the Stepmother don’t have much time to become familiar with each other before her father dies, nor do they develop deep respect or love as Stepmother and stepdaughter. It’s a support role for her new husband’s life,with Cinderella thrust upon her. So the Stepmother’s role isn’t really one of being cherished, honored and deeply loved. He does not have that same feeling for his second wife,the Stepmother. It’s obvious how much he loves his daughter, who is alive and vibrant and feels very loved and supported by both her parents, and now especially her father. It’s been home to Cinderella for her entire life. The Stepmother and her daughters move into his castle like home. And he needs care for his daughter in his absence. Cinderella’s father, who also doesn’t have a name, travels for his work, he’s a ‘salesman’ for lack of a better term. The Stepmother needs income and protection to support her daughters. We have two grieving people who connect and marry, most likely not for deep love, but for practical reasons. That’s what women did who wanted to maintain a wealthy lifestyle. Working to earn a living isn’t really part of her culture so ‘marrying into’ support and money is the only option from her viewpoint. It’s assumed the Stepmother had also lost her first husband to death since in those days, divorce wasn’t really a common thing, and she’s a single mother with two teenage daughters. Then married not long after his wife’s death. He was very much in love with his first wife, who also passed over. It’s a second marriage for both of them, each with daughters. The Stepmother has married Cinderella’s father, who dies shortly after their marriage. I’m sharing the Cate Blanchett version of the Stepmother that she played in the movie where Lily James is Cinderella. Whoa! It’s impactful in our culture and perspective as females and males. I looked up “Cinderella movies” on the internet - 20 movies or series. This tale has been told repeatedly, in multiple movies starting with the Disney animated version. I started pondering why they are labeled wicked. And neither has a ‘name’ like Snow White and Cinderella. Yes, that is a real quote! From a real movie! That is supposed to be funny! If there were a lower ranking than 12th place, Cinderfella would take it.In both Snow White and Cinderella stories, there is an ‘wicked woman.’ We don’t know much about their history. "When we finish, the married men of the world will be able to look their wives in the face - that is, if they have their makeup on - and put them in their place," the godfather says. The gist of the latter is that the fairy godfather (Ed Wynn) tells the hapless Fella (Jerry Lewis) that Fella has been chosen "to rectify all the great wrongs brought about by the original Cinderella story," the biggest of which is that the fairy tale gave women of the world unrealistic expectations (a tired cliché to begin with) that they would find charming princes, which led them to become dissatisfied with normal men and turned them into nagging wives. Frank Tashlin's thoroughly humorless comedy Cinderfella accomplishes none of those things, with all of its intended laughs derived from either abuse sustained by its weak and irritating protagonist or else misogyny disguised as dated battle-of-the-sexes humor (which I can't imagine would have even been funny in 1960, either). Gender-swapping classic tales or even silly '60s movies can be fun and subversive or illuminate layers of the story we didn't even know were there.
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