Anne Sexton's Poem, Cinderella

At the beginning of her poem, Sexton uses four stanzas that depict myths wherein someone who is put upon, a ôplumber,ö a ônursemaid,ö etc., suddenly has their life transformed into one of bliss (Sexton 1). However, the poet uses a number of phrases that show she is mocking the traditional use of such myths. The speaker feels such myths are invalid in reality and are repeated so often they have a brainwashing effect on individuals that makes them believe they are truth. We see this when the speaker intones, ôThat storyö four times (3 in the opening four stanzas and once in the final stanza) and when she uses other phrases like ôThatÆs the way with stepmothers,ö ôWhich is no surprise,ö and ôAs you all knowö (Sexton 1-2). By including such phrases, Sexton is commenting on the worn-out appeal of such oft

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venth stanza when the bird drops Cinderella a dress and a pair of slippers. SextonÆs (1) speakerÆs sarcastic response is, ôRather a large package for a simple bird.ö In this manner, Sexton is not only mocking the ludicrous notion of the promises and expectations offered by such mythical nonsense, she is also equating the bird to a male who bestows gifts upon the woman she is too helpless to obtain for herself. In stanza eight, the hunt for the woman whose feet fit the slippers occurs. In this stanza we see a number of criticisms of the patriarchy and its self-destructive impact on women who try to conform or fit into the narrow or demeaning roles defined for them by society, primarily male society. We see this when the speaker tells us, ôNow he would find whom the shoe fit / and find his strange dancing girl for keepsö (Sexton 2). In this line we see that only those women who ôfitö into a certain mold, in this case shoe size, are fit for a ôprince.ö We also see that in the notion of union, SextonÆs speaker appears to see confinement or imprisonment. For this Prince wants his dancing girl for ôkeepsö (Sexton 2). Sexton goes further to mock this notion of fitting into a mold. When she ends the stanza her description of Cind
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Approximate Word count = 1215
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)