The super dark origins of the classic fairy tale CINDERELLA

The original Cinderella story, popularized by Charles Perrault in his 1697 fairy tale “Cinderella, or the Glass Slipper,” is significantly darker and creepier than Disney’s beloved animated film adaptation.

In the original fairy tale, Cinderella is subjected to extreme cruelty at the hands of her stepmother and stepsisters, who not only mistreat her but also force her to do all the household chores. When her stepsisters are preparing for the royal ball, they cut off parts of their own feet to fit into the magical glass slipper, leading to a gruesome revelation when the prince discovers blood dripping from their shoes.

Eventually, Cinderella forgives her stepsisters and they are invited to her royal wedding, but not before the birds peck out their eyes as a form of punishment.

Disney’s animated adaptation, released in 1950, obviously toned down the darkness of the original story. While it retains elements of Cinderella’s mistreatment at the hands of her adoptive family, the focus is on her kindness and resilience, making it a more family-friendly and heartwarming version of the classic story.

Weird History’s Tom Blank recently shared a video that dives into the super dark origin stories behind Cinderella. The video came with the following note:

Largely thanks to the Disney version of her story, Cinderella is a familiar fairy tale character. The girl is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters and essentially ends up becoming their servant. When the time comes for a royal celebration, Cinderella is unable to attend, until the intervention of her fairy godmother, some adorable creatures, and a magical pumpkin. When the story ends, Cinderella finds her prince – well her, he finds her – and they live happily ever after. But this is just a “Cinderella” tale, and she is quite tame.

There are a lot of interesting insights in this video, so check it out!