Cinderella is Dead

Sophia’s parents try to support their daughter within the confines of an oppressive society, in which she must marry a man or risk death. However, their insistence that Sophia deny who she is crushes her; since she is willing to defy King Manford and risk death herself, she wishes her parents would do the same for her. However, Sophia’s mother understandably says, “What matters is that you are safe…Happiness is a bonus, Sophia. You’re not entitled to it, and the sooner you accept that, the easier your life will be” (36-37). Although she loves her daughter and admits she wishes society were different, she is resigned to make the best of a bad situation, like most people in Lille. Meanwhile, Sophia’s father works overtime to provide Sophia with extravagant clothing for the annual ball, which is his way of trying to ensure her safety.

After Sophia escapes the ball, her parents admit they can’t keep her safe, and although her mother wants to hide her, her father says she has to leave; otherwise, all three of their lives will be at risk. Although Sophia’s parents seem harsh in their treatment of their daughter, they are in an impossible situation, similar to Liv’s parents. However, they do begin to reconcile with her at the end of the novel, where they finally show their support once the king is dead.

Erin, also 16, is Sophia’s best friend with whom she has a romantic relationship. As of the beginning of the novel, Sophia has been in love with Erin for three years, but they’ve been friends for longer. Like Sophia, Erin is “different” (a lesbian). However, unlike Sophia, Erin is willing to push her feelings aside to appease her family (who threatens to forfeit her) and avoid being executed. She is a product of her environment, with King Manford’s decrees having a stronger hold on her than they have on Sophia. For example, Erin is thrilled by the palace’s elaborate decorations, whereas Sophia sees everything as nightmarish.

Even after Erin gets chosen at the annual ball and is abused by her fiancé, she and her family are thrilled because she was chosen during her first ball and by a wealthy man. Ironically, their idea of a “good match” doesn’t keep Erin safe from danger. Still, Erin refuses Sophia’s offers to try and escape because she doesn’t believe it’s possible. Erin’s transformation is therefore tragic: She allows her love for Sophia to be passed off as an adolescent phase, and on the night of the ball, she says they’ve “run out of time” as if a part of her is dying. Once she accepts her role as a wife, she becomes cruel because she’s so unhappy living a lie and being abused. Since Erin marries the brother of the man (Édouard) whom Sophia was supposed to marry (Morris), she represents the violence of being chosen—serving as a stand-in for all the girls who were brought low by Prince Charming’s rule, no matter their defiance.

Liv is Sophia’s 17-year-old friend, who already attended the annual ball once but wasn’t chosen. This is considered shameful and has taken a toll on Liv’s well-being; she doesn’t talk about last year often, but this year, since her family doesn’t have much money, she’s hoping to earn the favor of a fairy godmother by exhibiting relentless, religious-like faith in the Cinderella story. Liv understands Sophia’s objections to the story and ball, but fearing for the younger’s safety, she asks Sophia to give in and have faith. Sophia doubts magic exists at all, whereas Liv believes in magic but is confused about how it works.

Like Erin, Liv’s transformation is tragic, but it instead represents the violence that comes with not being chosen. In Liv’s case, no fairy godmother visits her because, although she (Amina) is real, she lives deep in the White Wood. When King Manford sees Liv’s dress, which isn’t formal enough, he drains and kills her. She’s made to feel as if it’s her fault for not being faithful or trying hard enough, but in reality, her fate was sealed. The king holds her up as an example so others don’t think his standards for the ball have been lowered. This shame is extended to Liv’s family but also frees her parents to speak out against the king since they don’t want to send their two younger daughters to the ball.

Luke is a 20-year-old man who, like Sophia, is gay, although this has different implications for a man than a woman in Mersailles. At first, Sophia won’t open up to Luke, who drives the carriage for her family, because she’s skeptical of everyone, and later because she’s resentful that he, as a man, doesn’t have to attend the annual ball. However, Luke is like Sophia in that it’s not enough for him to simply make a decent life for himself—he wants to help others find liberation as well. This is why he plans to claim Sophia at the ball so the two of them can hide in plain sight and work together to plan an escape. However, this plan is thwarted because another man with more money and status, Morris, makes a claim on Sophia as well.

Although Luke is a man and has more privileges than Sophia, he is also an example of how not all men are equal in Mersailles. As is the case for women, it’s illegal for Luke to enter an unsanctioned union, and the last time he had a boyfriend, the latter was forfeit and likely killed. He shows Sophia that there are others like her (other gay citizens seeking liberation) and that she needs to seek them out because teamwork is the best way to enact change. In order to do this, she has to remain cautious but also learn to trust. To the very end, Luke continues to resist King Manford’s decrees and support Constance’s rule.

King Manford is the tyrannical ruler of Mersailles, who requires that his portrait and list of restrictive decrees be posted in every household. Manford has actually been ruling Mersailles for 200 years, under various disguises, beginning with Prince Charming. Under his rule, women must be betrothed by 18 or die, have a curfew, can’t hold their own money or property, can’t use weapons, and may be beaten or even killed by their husbands. It turns out that these mandates are rooted in his rejection by Cinderella, who didn’t return his love. After punishing Cinderella by draining her slowly, causing the “illness” that led to her early death, Charming then punished the other women of the kingdom with his decrees.

Unable to find true love or acceptance, King Manford instead seeks power and dominance over all. Since he doesn’t like the feeling of being denied, he tries to make it impossible for anyone to deny him, killing all who disobey or are suspected of disobedience (such as Liv and the seamstress). His vampiric behavior is a metaphor for what his policies do—drain people to the point of death, sometimes slowly and sometimes immediately—and alludes to him being Amina’s resurrected son by necromancy. Draining sustains him because he has essentially become addicted to hurting others who defy him. It irks him that Sophia refuses to be controlled, which is why he becomes obsessed with defeating her the way he defeated Cinderella, who also refused to feel the way he wanted.

Morris and Édouard are two brothers from a wealthy family that vehemently supports the king. Like their father, they are blatant misogynists, not “good men” who have become complacent or trapped in the system, such as Sophia’s father. During his first appearance, Morris bullies Luke, but proves to be a coward when he runs off as soon as Luke punches him. Morris and Édouard were the ones who outed Luke’s former boyfriend, Louis, to his parents, resulting in his forfeiture. Later, at the annual ball, Morris claims and threatens Sophia, and Édouard claims and abuses Erin.

Morris and Édouard represent the type of person who could easily emerge in a dystopian setting like Mersailles. With no penalties for abusing women, or even killing and replacing them with new partners, some men run rampant with violence and hatred. Morris and Édouard also resemble King Manford because they take rejection out on others. When Sophia rejects Morris, he threatens her, whereas when Édouard can’t afford a specific house immediately, he beats Erin. Their abuse seems to stem from feeling like they don’t have enough power, despite having more power than most people. They are unwilling to transform to the very end, being among those banished to the Forbidden Lands.

Constance is the last living kin to Cinderella, the great-granddaughter several times over of Gabrielle, one of Cinderella’s stepsisters. She is also Sophia’s romantic interest after Sophia parts ways with Erin. Sophia is in awe of Constance, who has grown up outside the confines of Lille, being part of Cinderella’s exiled family who keeps Cinderella’s story alive through the generations. Constance is brave, bold, and skilled with the dagger but sometimes too quick to act or to judge, as with Amina. Because of their different perspectives and personalities, Constance and Sophia make a competent team.

Constance is a lesbian, and Sophia is thrilled when Constance doesn’t tell her that their love is impossible like Erin did. Sophia tells her, “Since I’ve been here with you, I’ve gotten a glimpse of what it’s like to not have to watch what I say or pretend to be something I’m not” (160). This ability to speak freely is tantamount to Sophia’s success at overthrowing King Manford and Constance’s ascension to the throne.

Amina is the fairy godmother from Cinderella’s story—a witch. She is morally complex and unpredictable, committing both heinous and saintly actions. In this way, she resembles some witches from folklore who seem to answer to a morality beyond human comprehension. Upon meeting Amina, Sophia and Constance learn that she is responsible for Prince Charming’s rule, having provided the spells that resulted in his rise to power (after he saved her life). Because of this, Constance is suspicious of Amina, whereas Sophia decides to trust her because she seems to genuinely regret her past actions and wants to help now.

It is later revealed that Amina is Prince Charming’s mother and that, although he did save her life, it was only because she was almost killed for raising him from the dead (which bound them together through magic). Presumably, Amina loved her son and possibly still does. However, she decides to act upon meeting Sophia, who explains how much Mersailles suffers under King Manford’s rule. Amina claims she hid in the woods out of guilt, but she also likely didn’t want to see her son’s tyranny for what it was and still is. But in the end, she sacrifices herself, allowing Constance to kill her (which she predicted in a vision) so Sophia can kill King Manford. She also provides Sophia with Cinderella’s dagger, presumably knowing it has the power to kill her son once she herself is dead (as mother and son are bound by necromancy). Torn between allowing her child to be killed and allowing him to keep killing innocents, Amina ultimately makes the necessary choice after enduring a long period of loneliness.