Essay Questions

How does the short story subvert the classic fairy tale Cinderella?

The story is a dark retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. However, instead of the protagonist and victim in the original story, Ashella (the Cinderella character) is the antagonist and evil doer.

Though her stepmother and stepsisters are kind and go to great lengths to befriend her and make her a part of the family, Ashella actively isolates herself. She also gives herself the name Ashella instead of it being a humiliating pet name from her unloving family.

The love story between Ashella and the prince (here a young duke) is also subverted. Instead of running into the prince by chance and falling in love, Ashella actively seeks to seduce him and the young duke is helpless to her magic.

At the ball, instead of hiding herself behind beautiful clothes, Ashella reveals her actual self after keeping it hidden for many years. And when the last stroke of the clock goes, her magic does not fade, but reaches it climax. The ending is also subverted in that, after a long search for the right woman, the duke does not find her, but is killed on the way to her house.

In which way is the old tower a symbol of the patriarchy?

Ashella’s mother practices her dark arts in an old tower right next to their house during the night. By day, she plays the beautiful, obedient wife of the silk merchant, who never suspects his wife of any wrongdoing. This way, she has stayed hidden for many years. When she is finally discovered, the tower becomes a phallic shaped prison that she cannot escape from. The men from the city have her circled and hunted and the tower seals her fate.

After Ashella takes over her mother’s dark arts, she avoids the tower and instead practises her magic wherever she goes. Other than her mother, she also completely eschews the ways she is supposed to act by society and instead opts to mostly remove herself from society. Only after several years does she enter the tower again, for the purpose of getting ready to re-join society for one night. She dresses in clothing and ornaments designed to make her look not only like one of the women but the perfect woman.

Why is there no fairy godmother in the story?

In the original fairy tale, Cinderella’s mother sends her a fairy godmother to look after her. This fairy godmother and her magic eventually makes it possible for her to go to the ball. However, in the short story, this character is notably absent. Instead, Ashella herself becomes a subverted version of the fairy god mother. She has her magic that she carefully nurtures over years and stays hidden. When the right time finally arrives, she transforms from Ashella into her own godmother, claiming her familiar animals and using her magic the same way the character in the original story does.

However, her magic appears neither finite (as her spells only grow stronger at midnight, not stop) nor is it positive or harmless. Instead of using her magic for an innocent night at a ball, she curses the young duke and with him the entire city.