Why I Want to Be Like Cinderella

With the release of the new Cinderella movie, I want to take the opportunity to talk about this incredible character and what I love about her. But to illustrate why I love her, I think I need to talk about the arguments that many have used against her. Back in my teen years, I used to love the Cheetah Girls movies. I loved their music and their sisterhood. One of the songs from their first movie was Cinderella, and although I still like parts of it, it does illustrate the flaws that many in today’s culture find in Cinderella’s character.

This song is very much in line with feminist arguments that we can do it all ourselves and don’t need a man. I have a problem with people blaming Cinderella for creating the problem. I don’t see that in her at all. In fact, she is probably one of the strongest heroines Disney has made to date, especially with the way she is portrayed in the new movie. There is so much more to her than her love story or her happily ever after, more than most people realize. As I watch the original movie as well as the new one (I went on opening day!), I have come up with a list of five qualities she has that make me want to be like her.

1)  Her Kind Attitude

In the new film, this is presented as an attribute she learned from her mother. It is true that her kindness is presented as one of her greatest attributes in almost all of the different versions of her story. Some of her critics would present this as one of her greatest weaknesses, because she allowed her stepmother and stepsisters to walk all over her. Although it is true that her kindness was used against her in this way, kindness is not a weakness and should not perceived as such. The desire that her mother placed in her to be kind turned into so much more. It made Cinderella compassion, selfless, and gave her a heart for both people and animals.

It was important for her to have a selfless heart when she was faced with loving those that were difficult to love. He continued to be kind and selfless, even when she received no kindness in return and when those receiving her kindness did not deserve it. This kindness she had towards all was inspiring to those who knew her, and it should be inspiring to us too.

2)  Her Courageous Heart

The new film presents this as another tract she learned from her mother. Having courage was also quite crucial to all that Cinderella would face. As if facing the death of both her parents wasn't hard enough, she also had to face losing everything else and being disowned by the rest of her family. That is a lot to have to face at such a young age (she was only nineteen when she went to the ball). These experiences could have been quite negative, but she turned that into courage to face whatever life brought her way. She never faltered or gave into fear. That's pretty amazing and very inspiring to children and adult alike.

Something that stands out to be about Cinderella’s courage is that she was not necessarily bold or brave. These tracts are sometimes made synonymous with courage, but that may not be completely true. She had the courage to stand up for herself but chose not to on many occasions. It reminds of the quote about courage from The Princess Diaries, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear.” In this way, Cinderella almost showed more courage by not standing up to her stepmother, because she overcame her fears and sadness but made the judgment that honoring her parents’ wishes was more important that being right. That’s an important lesson for all of us. 

3)  Her Hopeful Outlook

Cinderella didn't have much to hope for. Her life was bleak and difficult. Her parents were dead and the only other family she had hated and abused her. Her only real friends where animals. They had even resorted to only calling her a terrible nickname. But she still had hope. Even when things looked darkest, she clung to a hope that a better day was to come. Even when she was at her lowest low (after her stepmother and stepsisters damaged her mother’s dress) and she claimed she had no more hope, her fairy godmother said, “If you had lost all hope, I wouldn't be here, yet here I am.” Cinderella had even more hope in her soul than she realized. As Christians, we should have just as much hope, because ours is a Living Hope.

Although I don’t completely agree with the line of the song “No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true,” I do think there is a grain of truth in it. As Christians, we should never assume that God will always fulfill our greatest wishes. That’s just not true. There are some dreams that will probably never be fulfilled in this life. However, I think that what a Christian should do is put their hope and trust in the Lord, not in their dreams. Because once your heart is in line with the Lord, He will give you dreams that are in line with His will. Those are the ones He’s more likely to fulfill. But even if he doesn't He will teach you to be satisfied in His hope, and that is so much better than any dream that can be fulfilled in this life.

4)  Her Submissive Spirit

The word submission is looked down on negatively in our culture and our world today. They look at characters like Cinderella and say that her desire to submit meant that she had no backbone and could only be rescued by a man. That is absolutely ridiculous! I believe that it is quite the opposite. There is more decision or opinion involved in submission that most people realize. When you begin to see submission in its correct context, you realize that it comes down to a matter of choice.

The word submit is properly defined in the military sense, choosing to put yourself under the authority of your commanding officer. Even if you don’t agree with what they are doing, you keep yourself under that authority because that is what is being asked of you. This is exactly what Cinderella does. Out of respect for her parents, she places herself under her stepmother’s authority, even though she proves to be less that deserving of that authority. Cinderella has to purpose herself to obey, even when it was hard. We should all learn to do likewise.

5)  Her Forgiving Nature

Cinderella truly had every right in the world to hold a grudge against her stepmother and stepsisters. She have every right to be angry and bitter by the world’s standards. But she did not choose that path. She was patient and understanding about the way they treated her. Her kindness, courage, and hope never faltered through all they did to her, even after they abused her, humiliated her, gave her a horrible nickname, and damaged her mother's dress. 

Her kindness, courage, and hope gave her the ability to keep her heart from the bitterness and angry that is so prevalent in those that have been treated in similar ways. This gave her the ability to forgive, even though it wasn't easy. At the end of the new movie, she actually tells her stepmother that she forgives her. That is truly incredible. I don’t know if I could do that. But I think there is something that children and adults alike can learn from it.

It's Not About the “Happily Ever After”

Don’t get me wrong, I love happily ever after’s as much as the next girl or Disney fan. But that’s not why I love Cinderella. To me, Cinderella is so much more than a princess or fairy tale character. She is a character that I want to be like in more ways than one. I will never forget how I came to view Cinderella and her character in this way. About January of 2012, my youth minister at the time was doing 30 Day Disney Character Challenge on Facebook (like all those "30 Day Photo Challenge" things that were popular at the time). When he listed his favorite Princess, he said Cinderella and mentioned her attitude and her heart. But there was one other comment he made about her that stuck out to me and remained with me ever since. He said, “Even if she didn't get her happy ending, her story would be worth telling because of the life she led.”

The more I thought about it, the more I agreed. If Cinderella had been stuck as a servant the rest of her life, or had gone to the ball but never tried on the glass slipper because she was locked in the attic, her story would still be worth telling because of the person that she was. She would have a legacy of kindness and courage that would have honored her parents' name, and that probably would have satisfied her. If I end up with half of Cinderella’s kindness, courageous, hopefulness, submissiveness, or her ability to forgive, then I will be better person, even if I don’t have a happily ever after of my own. That is what I want to strive for in my own life.

When I did the same Disney Character Challenge for myself, I listed Cinderella as the one of two characters I wanted to be the most like (the other one I've save for another post). After saying I wanted a heart like Cinderella, I said, “I hope and pray to have a testimony that not only reflects a good heart, but that also brings glory and honor to my Savior, and I hope that is a story worth telling someday.” I still hoping and praying this will is true of my own life story. Despite what the Cheetah Girls tried to tell us, Cinderella would be a great person to be like (although I hope to do a little better job of making sure my shoes stay on my feet during special occasions! haha). I hope that some of you are able to follow her example.