In Praise of ... Cinderella

If there is one character who has gotten an unfairly bad rap, it's Cinderella, feminism's whipping girl. Cinderella's name is tossed about willy-nilly to disabuse women of happily-ever-after "fantasies." (And wait, isn't happily ever after what we should all be going for here? Or are we going for, "Meh ... he'll do, I guess" until we snap out of it and file for divorce? Are we supposed to just presuppose that we'll live bitterly ever after, shacking up with chardonnay and five cats?)  

For some women, Cinderella is a symbol for a sister who only thinks her life is complete when she lands a prince. Well, what movies were they watching? Cinderella is a solid heroine. She's imaginative, talented, kind-hearted, hard-working and a thrifty little thing, who could probably school us all in how to survive tough economic times. (And in the animated version, at least, she's very devoted to caring for animals.)

It's not the prince who victimized Cinderella by falling in love with her, it was that awful stepmother, who held all the power and was aided by those fugly stepsisters. If anyone deserves a lecture here, it's those three for being too envious to support other women. Don't hate on Cinderella because her beauty, grace, charm and ability to rock a ballgown ended up with her settling down with a handsome sweetie from a good family with more money than God, moving in to a primo piece of real estate and never having to lift a diamond-laden finger again if she didn't feel like it. Cinderella earned that after all the years she toiled for that no-good stepfamily. And she earns herself a Great Underestimated Fashionistas of Fiction Award.