Cinderella is Dead

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-15

Chapters 16-22

Chapters 23-30

Chapters 31-38

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

Weaponizing and Challenging Gender Roles

In Cinderella Is Dead, the Cinderella story is used to justify rigid gender roles—specifically, a subservient position for women. This patriarchal system harms all women in Mersailles, but it especially harms women like Sophia, who are “different” (a lesbian). As soon as a girl turns 16, she is forced to attend an annual ball until claimed by a man; unclaimed women at 18 are forfeit (which means death or imprisonment). Under the threat of death, girls are pushed to see each other as competition for men’s attention, making solidarity difficult. Additionally, the patriarchal system harms men who are gay, such as Luke and his former boyfriend Louis, as well as other men, who are forced to sell their daughters off to the highest bidder or otherwise risk being killed. In other words, patriarchy as a system harms not just women but everyone. The same system is responsible for sexism, anti-gay bias, and classism (against those who can’t afford fancy ball gowns, like Liv).

King Manford’s version of patriarchy is extreme, but it’s nothing that hasn’t existed in the world before. Laws like banning “unsanctioned” unions (in the novel’s case, unions outside of those arranged at the annual ball) and not allowing women to have jobs or weapons were enacted in various countries throughout history. Furthermore, men in Mersailles (and various countries throughout history) can abuse or even murder their wives without question or consequence. Sophia is especially well equipped to see the patriarchal system for what it is, and to critique it, because of her position as a lesbian woman living under its thumb.

All women in Mersailles are expected to live out the same story as Cinderella, a story already written for them. They all must marry a man, and they have little choice in who this man might be, unless their parents can afford to pay a specific man to choose them (in which case, the choice becomes their parents’ choice, not their own). Like real-life cases, patriarchy is often intertwined with capitalism: Some women in Mersailles are in a better position than others because they have more money. Other women are doubly disadvantaged, being both female and working-class, such as Liv, who is killed for her transgression of not having an expensive ball gown. Women in Mersailles know the fate of those who are not chosen by men, so they hope to be chosen by someone “decent” and not abusive (another consequence of patriarchy, as violence against women without consequence breeds more violence). However, most women can’t imagine (or don’t dare imagine) different endings to their own stories since the palace-sanctioned version of Cinderella’s story ended with marriage (“happiness”).

Rather than go along with the story written for her, Sophia chooses to break out of the system and write her own story. In order to do this, she has to learn the truth about Cinderella’s story, which has been falsely used to lead young girls in a direction that Cinderella would have hated. Through meeting others like Constance and Amina, who have lived outside the confines of Mersailles—and thus outside the confines of traditional gender roles—Sophia learns that women can wield power that she didn’t realize they (or she) had before.

The Complexity of Oppression and Rebellion

In addition to being patriarchal, other aspects of King Manford’s oppressive regime are also eerily true to life. Mersailles’s borders are heavily guarded, and most people sincerely believe there is no escape—even going so far as to think their desires to escape or live differently are “wrong.” The first time Sophia is shown asking Erin to run away with her, the latter says, “There is no leaving, Sophia. Not for you, not for me, not for anyone. We are going to the ball because it is the law. It is our only hope for making some kind of life” (5). Sophia has to watch what she says around her family and friends because “[t]hey hear [her] speak of leaving, of resisting what is expected of [them], and they tell [her] to lower [her] voice…No one resists who isn’t courting death” (33). No matter how hard Sophia tries to convince her parents, Erin and Liv, or the seamstress to try and escape with her or stand up to King Manford, none of them want to try because they’d be risking death. Being brave and doubly suffering as a lesbian woman, Sophia seems to be the only one in her circle who thinks living a lie isn’t worth living at all and the only one who’s willing to risk death for a chance at living a real life. However, this just comes to show how determined she is, as her circle’s fear of death is understandable. Having experienced 200 years of restrictive decrees, the people of Mersailles have grown weary, exhibiting internalized misogyny and anti-gay bias, as well as prioritizing survival above all else.

When Sophia meets Luke, she learns important lessons about oppression and rebellion. After exercising caution, Sophia comes to trust Luke and realizes that analyzing situations with others is helpful, rather than considering situations by herself. On a personal level, Sophia and Luke recognize each other as people who don’t adhere to Mersailles’s heteronormativity. They work together to start an escape plan, but it’s thwarted when Morris, a man with more money, makes a claim on Sophia as well. Although neither Sophia nor Luke has ever heard of anyone escaping alive, Luke reasons, “That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. We’ve also rarely heard about people like us and yet here we are. Just because they deny us doesn’t mean we cease to exist” (105). This hope that others like her exist sustains Sophia, especially when she meets Constance, who confirms that Luke’s hunch is true. Despite the dangers of living under an oppressive rule, Sophia learns that to successfully rebel, one must be smart and take chances to find allies.

King Manford’s oppressive regime isolates people from each other by making them afraid to discuss their true feelings or stand up to him in any way. This makes people wonder if their own feelings are valid, having no one to confide in or use as a point of reference. When Sophia gains the tool of teamwork (finding allies in Luke, Constance, and Amina), her ability to gain knowledge increases, as does her ability to stand up against the king.

Parsing History and Truth

In the novel, learning the truth is shown to be a complex endeavor that requires sifting through multiple layers of lies, misunderstandings, and political propaganda. Rather than being a fictional fairy tale, “Cinderella” is taken as historical fact, so much so that questioning the story is considered blasphemous. Because of this, Sophia doesn’t get far in terms of discovering the truth while surrounded by Lille’s citizens. Few others are willing to discuss the possibility that the story isn’t completely true. To learn the truth, Sophia has to conduct archival research, digging through old records and speaking to people who were present during Cinderella’s time (using various forms of magic).

King Manford’s oppressive regime shields people from the truth, being built on his resentment toward Cinderella. People from Cinderella’s life were either erased from the palace-approved version or turned into villains to detract attention from Prince Charming. Meanwhile, the evil magic that Charming and Amina performed in order to secure his rise to power was left out of the story, as was Charming’s immortal nature. Manford’s regime can only continue as long as people believe the web of lies he has spun, making himself look like their “savior” while most of the women in Cinderella’s story remain “villains.”

When Sophia meets Constance, who has been keeping her family’s secrets alive for many generations, it initially seems like she’s discovered the truth. However, while Constance’s version of Cinderella’s story is closer to the full truth than the palace-approved version (revealing Cinderella’s lineage), her version is still missing details—and the girls are still at a loss for how to defeat King Manford. Only by teaming up with Amina are they able to ascertain the whole truth, and even then, this is not accomplished in a single moment. Sophia learns the truth in pieces, which is necessary for the trio’s success. Amina revealed what she could at the time but omitted her identity as Prince Charming’s mother until the right moment, knowing that Constance would kill her once it was revealed.

Seeking the truth and ending political oppression go hand in hand in the novel. Additionally, both of these endeavors require teamwork. Sophia can’t simply parse the truth on her own; she has to interview and trust others to learn what they know and then analyze this information with others to come to the best conclusions. Sophia, Constance, and Amina were previously isolated and unable to enact large-scale change, but when they combine their knowledge and unique abilities, they’re able to learn the truth behind Cinderella’s death and Prince Charming’s rise to power—and end King Manford’s oppression.

Sophia feels that even King Manford is entitled to the truth at the end of the novel and shares with him Cinderella’s intentions to kill him. She later shares the truth with the crowd outside the burning palace and then records her own true, people’s-approved version of “Cinderella” to replace Manford’s twisted version. Sophia is dedicated to sharing Cinderella’s truth, consulting Cinderella herself (via necromancy) as well as Cinderella’s diary and last descendant (Constance) before recording the story—unlike Manford, who created a legacy for Cinderella based on lies.