CinderellaCinderella Notes Notes

But first, what does the term But first, what does the term “folktale” really mean?“folktale” really mean?

1. “Folk” refers to people.1. “Folk” refers to people.2. “Tales” are stories.2. “Tales” are stories.3. Thus, a folktale is a story 3. Thus, a folktale is a story

told by folks (people)told by folks (people)

How many How many CinderellaCinderella stories? stories?

1. There are more than 1. There are more than 340 340 known known versions of the story. versions of the story.

2. They can be found worldwide, in most 2. They can be found worldwide, in most countries.countries.

3. They represent the culture of the area 3. They represent the culture of the area they originate from.they originate from.

Where did Cinderella stories Where did Cinderella stories originate?originate?

1. The European version, that we are 1. The European version, that we are familiar with, dates back to the 1500s or familiar with, dates back to the 1500s or 1600s. There are versions from both 1600s. There are versions from both Germany and England.Germany and England.

2. This is not the oldest, however.2. This is not the oldest, however.

The oldest is….The oldest is….

1. A story from China, dating back to 1. A story from China, dating back to somewhere between 600-900 A.D. This somewhere between 600-900 A.D. This means the story is more than 1,000 years means the story is more than 1,000 years old.old.

2. The girl in this story was named 2. The girl in this story was named Yeh-Shen.Yeh-Shen.

Why the glass slipper?Why the glass slipper?

In ancient Chinese culture, people thought In ancient Chinese culture, people thought of the feet as the most beautiful part of the of the feet as the most beautiful part of the human body. human body.

Tiny feet were thought to be more Tiny feet were thought to be more beautiful than larger feet. beautiful than larger feet.

Chinese Foot BindingChinese Foot Binding

1. To achieve the beauty of the small foot, 1. To achieve the beauty of the small foot, Chinese girls had their feet “bound” or Chinese girls had their feet “bound” or wrapped tightly in fabric, at an early age. wrapped tightly in fabric, at an early age.

2. The toes were folded under and foot 2. The toes were folded under and foot bones broken. Binding stopped blood flow. bones broken. Binding stopped blood flow. Bones deteriorated. The foot became Bones deteriorated. The foot became extremely misshapen. extremely misshapen.

3. The goal was to have a foot of 3. The goal was to have a foot of approximately 3 inches in length.approximately 3 inches in length.

Bound vs. Normal Feet Bound vs. Normal Feet

X-ray of Bound FeetX-ray of Bound Feet

LinksLinks

CinderellaCinderella

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.htmlindex2.html