Cinderella And Yeh-Shen Comparison

Since its first release in 1697, Cinderella has been rewritten to connect with different cultures and audiences. There have been a variety of versions from around the world like Scottish, Native American, Chinese, Korean, Egyptian, and Italian. Yeh-Shen, a Chinese story, written by Ai-Ling Louie writes about a girl mistreated by her stepmother. When she finds out that her best friend, a fish, has magical powers, she wishes for something that will transform her life. Cinderella by Charles Perrault, revolves around the hard life of a poor girl ordered around by her stepfamily. When the family heads to a ball, Cinderella dreams of attending come true with the help from her fairy godmother, where she will meet the prince. Although Cinderella and Yeh-Shen had similarities throughout the plot,

Without Cinderella’s father putting her foot down and standing up for her daughter, it opened an opportunity for the stepmother to take advantage of Cinderella and make her do all the chores. Her father did not do anything to help her daughter instead do all her wife said, just like her daughter, “The poor girl bore all patiently, and dared not complain to her father, who would have scolded her if she had done so, for his wife governed him entirely” (Perrault 4). The stepmother did not allow Cinderella’s father to speak out much, which resulted in no one standing up for Cinderella. In Cinderella, although her father is present, his wife looked down and outcasted by his wife, but in Yeh-Shen, her parents had passed away. In the beginning of Yeh-Shen, the author explains that after giving birth to her, her mother died and shortly after, her father died, as well. Yeh-Shen had to grow up with someone that did not like her and with no friends she grew isolated with no friends. Without a parental figure, Cinderella and Yeh-Shen grew lonely and had no one to look up