While Sexton herself never refers to them as fairytales, each of the stories she paraphrases in "Cinderella" involves an encouraging reversal of fortune and a happy ending, both of which are characteristic of fairytales. Based on Sexton’s word and image choices, the poem’s tone communicates her cynicism, expressed by way of a tongue-in-cheek brand of humor.
Stanzas 1-4: Real World Fairy Tales
The poem’s first four stanzas detail real-life fairy tales, the kinds heard on the news: a plumber wins the lottery; a nursemaid is married by the oldest son of her rich employer; a milkman invests in real estate and does extraordinarily well; and a charwoman, or cleaning lady, receives a hefty insurance payment for an accident in which she was involved. Each is a figure in a servile position and, through some fortunate twist of fate, is placed in a position of power or means.
Each of the four stanzas includes some restructured variation of the cliché “from rags to riches, and each closes with the sarcastic expression, “That story.” This phrase communicates Sexton’s cynicism, indicating her disbelief in such positive reversals of fortune.
Using the Brother’s Grimm fairytale as her model, Sexton relates the story of "Cinderella," who despite early misfortune, grows lovely, marries a prince, and experiences an even more significant reversal of fortune than the plumber, nursemaid, milkman, or charwoman.
Stanza 5: Cinderella’s Double Reversal of Fortune
In stanza five, comprised of 19 lines, Sexton relates Cinderella’s loss of her mother, who, while on her death bed, advises Cinderella to “Be devout. Be good.” If Cinderella does these things, her mother “will smile/down from heaven in the seam of a cloud.” This is especially significant advice because the moral of nearly every fairytale involves the victory of good over evil. Here, Cinderella's mother indicates the behavior appropriate for a "good girl," especially one deserving of eventual triumph.
Sexton then details the father’s remarriage, the arrival of Cinderella’s lovely but black-hearted step sisters, and her relegation to the work of charwoman. Each night, she sweeps cinders from the hearth. And while her father brings back luxurious gifts for the other women of the household, he brings back only a twig for his under-appreciated first daughter. However, this twig, once planted, becomes Cinderella's single hope. It turns into a tree in which a white dove resides. This dove grants Cinderella’s every wish. Sexton sardonically points out the bird’s significance to her readers with the concluding line, “The bird is important, my dears, so heed him.”
Stanzas 6-9: Cinderella pursued by the Prince
Stanza six and seven describe Cinderella’s attempts to go to the prince’s ball, which Sexton mockingly describes as a “marriage market.” When her stepmother denies Cinderella the chance to attend, Cinderella runs to the tree, where the dove resides, and pleads her case there. The dove brings her a dress and slippers, which Sexton sarcastically indicates was a rather large package for such a small bird to carry.
Stanza eight details the prince’s tenacious pursuit of Cinderella, and his attempt to locate her by fitting eligible ladies with the abandoned slipper. He is twice fooled by Cinderella’s step sisters, who cut off toes and heels to fit into the tiny shoe. Here, Sexton seems to comment on women's tendency to change themselves--here, even to disfigure themselves--for a man, often to the women's long-term detriment.
The shortest, at five lines, stanza nine covers the wedding scene and the retribution enacted on the stepsisters, whose eyes are pecked out as they attempt to regain graceful footing with the woman to whom they have been so mean.
Stanza 10: The Biggest Fairytale of All
Sexton’s final stanza reveals further reason for her skepticism. Cinderella and the prince remained perfect outside the boundaries of the story, according to hearsay. Sexton says, “Cinderella and the prince/lived, they say, happily ever after,/like two dolls in a museum case”. There has been no event or real-world intrusion to dispel the fantasy of perfection. Their happiness is untouched by petty arguments, boring familiarity, or changes in appearance. Instead, they smile on forever.
Because she again concludes with the expression,“That story”, Sexton's sarcasm is evident. This brand of happily-ever-after faultlessness is not a story Sexton believes in. It is a tall tale, unlikely to happen in the real world. The story is similar in character to those told about the plumber, nursemaid, milkman, and charwoman. But because Sexton spends so much time telling it, we are to understand that such eternal happiness is the biggest fairytale of all.
Savannah Schroll Guz - Savannah Schroll Guz holds a Master's Degree from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1997-1998, she was a Fulbright Scholar and worked as a ...
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