What Children Learn From Cinderella Characters
Popular Children's Story Teaches Youngsters About Human Behavior
Aug 9, 2009
Cinderella is the quintessential rags-to-riches story but the tale does so much more. The characters in Cinderella teach children powerful lessons about human character traits and how these are revealed through treatment of others.
The Cinderella characters are a human palette exploring a range of behaviors: unfairness and favoritism, selfishness and vanity, spite and cruelty, kindness and consideration.
Cinderella's Character
Cinderella is good and kind but is in a situation where these character traits would not normally flourish. She has to work hard at menial tasks, she's forced to wear tattered clothing, and she is cut off from a support network and isolated in the attic. How does she cope with her maltreatment?
Cinderella maintains a cheerful attitude and purity of heart. She refuses to become bitter or hardened and cruel like those around her.
She shows initiative and resourcefulness by befriending small creatures who prove to be kindred spirits.
Cinderella's stepfamily does not look to Cinderella's physical needs and yet she cares for the mice and birds, even making outfits for them to wear. Her stepfamily does not show her compassion yet Cinderella shows compassion for Gus by protecting him from Lucifer, the cat bent on eating the plump mouse.
Cinderella's Stepmother
The cruel and distant stepmother character teaches children that adults are not always fair and they do not always show kindness. By identifying with Cinderella and how she must feel, children learn that those who are unkind cause suffering to others.
Cinderella's Stepsisters
Cinderella's stepsisters' characters are almost as bad as the stepmother's. They are jealous, selfish, and vain.
Instead of befriending Cinderella, they treat her like an underling. Children learn that people can be unfriendly, even when there is no just cause.
When her stepsisters see the dress that Cinderella's friends have made for Cinderella to wear to the ball, they tear it to shreds. Through the stepsisters' actions, children are taught that thoughtless and spiteful behaviors impact others.
The Fairy Godmother
The Cinderella fairy godmother character is the epitome of kindness--she's kind simply for the sake of being kind. She assists Cinderella to get to the ball by repairing the torn dress, providing glass slippers, and magically transforming the mice into horses and a pumpkin into a coach.
The fairy godmother character teaches children that kindness can be an desirable character trait. This concept is made even more appealing by the fact that the fairy godmother is in possession of magic. Perhaps a secondary message is that kindness can work almost magical results in others' lives.
The main Cinderella characters are compelling because they accurately portray the different personalities young children encounter while growing up. Cinderella and her companions teach invaluable lessons about human nature and behavior.
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