Ella Enchanted
by Gail Levine
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gail LevineEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Published: 1997
ISBN: 0590920685
Number of pages: 232
Publisher: Scholastic
Book Reviews of Ella Enchanted
Book Review: Book vs. Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
There I was. Probably the only one in the movie theater above the age of thirteen, but I didn't care. It was my twenty-second birthday, and I was going to watch the movie I wanted to see - even if I was alone. It was my birthday gift to myself, watching Ella Enchanted. I was interested in this movie, even though it was directed toward the average age of ten, because I had read the book at sixteen. At that time I was working in a library and had discovered that I had missed out on all sorts of literature when a younger child because I rarely read. Before working in the library, the only thing I would read would be the Sunday comics and only the books required in school. So when I found reading pleasurable, I wanted to make up for lost time.
I was introduced to Gail Carson Levine's books by the library's young adult book club. Ella Enchanted was a modern Cinderella story. I had always loved the story of Cinderella, and when I read Ella Enchanted, I loved it. But at the same time I took wonder in loving this book. There was a part of me at sixteen that wondered why I loved this story.
The story was about Ella, a girl cursed by her fairy godmother with obedience. Any time Ella was ordered to do something, she had to do it. Ella kept this curse a secret. Eventually Ella's mother dies, and since her traveling salesman father is rarely home, Ella only has her maid to raise her. One day Ella's father gets the idea to marry into money, but, unfortunately, he picks out a wicked lady with two equally wicked daughters. When her fairy godmother shows up at the wedding, she gives the happy couple the gift of love forever, which only serves to mess up Ella's life even further. Ella's father feels that the only way for him to live a happy life is to stay away from home thereby leaving Ella utterly alone in a full house. Ella's curse eventually becomes a particularly complicated problem for her when she is ordered by her stepsisters to give up her money and other possessions. Ella decides her only way out is to find her fairy godmother.
Ella sets out to find this fairy, so she can take back the curse. Ella, in the meantime, meets up with Prince Char on her adventure, falling in love with him. But when the prince's evil uncle figures out Ella's curse, he orders Ella to kill the Prince. Ella tries to stay away, but the curse is too strong. Eventually Ella finds a way out of her spell, while at the same time saving the life of the prince and redeeming herself from being thought a murderer. The story ends happily ever after.
Why did I love the story of Ella Enchanted when I read it? My first instinct is to say that the magic in this story was exciting, and it gave me a chance to fantasize about magical places and creatures. I imagined that somehow I could have power like Ella's and was intrigued by the relationship between Prince Char and Ella.
At the time I read Ella Enchanted, I wondered, what was the connection between this modern Cinderella to the original? The first story of Cinderella I was introduced to was the Disney movie. As a young child I loved the music where the mice make Cinderella's dress, and I thought the little mice were funny, especially Gus. It was a story with the only bad characters being the stepmother, stepsisters, and one fat cat. While Cinderella's life revolved around pleasing her stepfamily, the mice struggled with the evil cat.
My young mind loved this story because of the great struggle that Cinderella has and how she triumphs at the end. I did not take into consideration all the messages that were in the story at the time. Disney's Cinderella, which came out in 1957, has many moral lessons, which correspond to the thoughts of that time.
Everyone must reach a stage where they leave the nest. In our society, it is expected that eventually children will leave home for a life of their own. When I watched Disney's Cinderella, the idea of being taken away from a bad place that was home to a fancy, rich, good place was particularly attractive to me. Home for me could not be compared to Cinderella's home. I did not have evil parents or stepsisters. I think that what I really wanted to escape from was my boring, everyday life. Everyday seemed the same with school and chores. The thought of going to a palace where I would not have to be in school, or to be told what to do, was attractive. That was what moving to a palace was to me in my very young years.
Why must the princess move away in order to get her happily ever after? It's the formula of all fairytales, but why? I believe there is something in us that innately knows that we must first break away from our maternal bonds in order to become our true selves. In both versions of Cinderella, the mother dies. Perhaps that is an easy way to separate the child from the home. If both parents are still alive, and the child is happy at home, the child may never have the desire to leave. If the child still wants to be home, how can moving away be a happily ever after? Cinderella must then have a crappy home life in order to give the audience satisfaction when she leaves the home.
In the movie, Cinderella is the perfect example of humility, kindness (shown through her animal friends), and goodness. When I was a young, I thought Cinderella was the best child a person could ask for. She was always pleasant, even though her stepmother and stepsisters were mean. Cinderella endures all the ordering around that she is given. Even when her dreams are dashed, as in the scene where the two stepsisters rip up her dress for the ball, she still never talks back to her family. Instead she runs away crying. There is an obvious lesson in the story of Cinderella teaching children to be good, even if they have an evil parent (or parents). It teaches that things will get better, no matter how horrid the situation. However, this does not take into account the many children that are being physically, sexually, and mentally abused by their parents. How could Disney give the message "just be good," as if it has something to do with how these children are treated later in life?
Cinderella is the model of good behavior, and the stepsisters are a model for bad behavior. Both the stepsisters and Cinderella want to go to the ball and meet the prince, only the stepsisters are cruel, selfish, and untalented. In the Disney version both stepsisters receive music lessons. One sister sings off key while the other plays the flute terribly. At the same time, Cinderella is outside singing beautifully while washing the floor. This is telling children that if you are good inside, it will show outside. This is why Cinderella is talented and beautiful, and why the stepsisters are ugly and awkward. Unfortunately, this movie does not allow the people watching it to get over the exterior lesson, that is to say, that the inside equals the outside. It is a much better idea to teach society to look past people's exteriors and look for the goodness inside. As a child I only thought of Cinderella as a very pretty person. Instead of wanting to be like Cinderella by her goodness, I wanted to be pretty on the outside first, and that is not the same as being well-mannered and honest.
In this Disney version of the Cinderella story, the obstacles that Cinderella has to overcome are small. The first obstacle Cinderella faces is getting to the ball. There is no action taken by Cinderella that has to do with overcoming any of the obstacles she faces. The fairy godmother whisks up a spell and, voila, a dress and carriage appear to take Cinderella to the ball. The next problem takes place when Cinderella is locked away in the attic. The prince's menservants attempt to ask all women in town to try on the glass slipper left behind from the ball. Cinderella's only chance is to try on the slipper. Two of Cinderella's pet mice sneak into the pocket of the wicked stepmother, while Cinderella cries to herself. It's not a heroic part of the movie for Cinderella. The mice rescue her. Although if Cinderella had not been nice to the mice, and let them out of the cages, then these two would not have gotten the key away. The message revealed, when Cinderella never takes action to change her situation, is that her power is in her kindness towards others.
This movie has a love interest for Cinderella, Prince Charming. The prince has a minimal part because he is more of an idea than a person. The Prince is a symbol of the good life. He has everything that Cinderella needs and wants. He is there to take Cinderella away to a life different from her own. He is the reward for which Cinderella had so patiently worked for. In a way, to be able to work toward the goal of a life filled with comforts is very much the American dream. It's something that can be attractive to anyone anywhere, to have something a little better than the way your parents had it.
When Cinderella meets the prince, they both fall in love right away and dance all night. The ball ends and he does not forget her. He searches for her with that fateful glass slipper. I always loved the particular scene in which the prince dances with Cinderella and they both sing in perfect harmony.
So this is love, Mmmmmm
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine
I'm all aglow, Mmmmmm
And now I know
The key to all heaven is mine
My heart has wings, Mmmmmm
And I can fly
I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky
So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of
Mmmmmm
Mmmmmm
So this is love!
Now that I have reevaluated this scene, I know that what the prince and Cinderella have is not love. It's too quick. What they have in this particular scene is infatuation. I think it is important to teach this to young girls, because too many people do not know the difference between love and the "in love" feeling that comes with infatuation.
The updated version for Cinderella has better messages for today's young generation. Ella Enchanted still takes the original story line and twists it up. Like the first Cinderella, I still felt a yearning to get away from ordinary life when I read the book. This time I was older and knew more. Just because you are a queen, does not mean that life will be perfect. The idea of magical creatures in fancy places was much more intriguing, then just getting away from my boring life.
The bonds between Ella and her mom are severed, and since her father is away from home all the time, Ella has a reason to leave home. When Ella runs away from her cruel stepfamily, she alone takes action to try to change her situation. She is trying to change her life for herself instead of waiting till her fairy godmother can change her life for her. Ella too has a bad home life, but she is also given a curse to go with her bad family ties. She must do more than just run away from home. In addition, Ella must break the spell in order to achieve maximum happiness. Then the audience can become happy for her when she has the chance at a better life.
Ella is also an example of morality in this modern story. Ella wants the same things as her stepsisters. But this new story gives a reason for Ella's obedience. The author allows Ella to not want to do what she is told; she is stubborn, but is always good. She is never selfish, like her stepsisters. The movie has a quote that says, "Ella's curse made her obedient, but her heart made her kind." This story makes a difference between obedience and goodness, which Disney does not. Just doing what you are told is one thing, but being kind to others and taking action in the face of moral dilemmas is a very different thing. Also, the movie makes a point of showing Ella's loving and respectful relationship with both parents and her maid. The curse is used to show that free will is good, not as an excuse to rebel.
The movie does not used beauty as a source of inner goodness like the Disney version. Both Ella and the oldest stepsister, Hattie, are pretty. The reason that the Prince likes Ella more than Hattie is because of the two sisters' attitudes. Hattie makes it very obvious that she is a big fan of Prince Char, and even is the president of his fan club. Because of Hattie's overzealous nature, Prince Char is totally freaked out. Ella, on the other hand, is not a fan of Prince Char and is upset at the fact that he does not take more interest in the politics of the Realm. This is a much more appropriate start to the couple's relationship.
In Ella Enchanted, it is a little more obvious that the youngest stepsister, Olive, is very dumb and almost bordering on the edge of retarded. In this way this modern story almost excuses the younger stepsister from her behavior toward Ella because she was not intelligent enough to understand everything. Throughout Ella Enchanted, Olive follows her sister's lead, and does what Hattie tells her to do blindly. It almost appears that Olive is a good Cinderella opposite; doing everything she is told, and not thinking for herself. It portrays a bad example of obedience. I wondered why at the end of the film, that revenge is not taken on Olive? Perhaps it is good that one of the two stepsisters is not evil, but is the representation of extremely stupid appropriate?
When Ella has to overcome obstacles, things are slightly different. One particular example shows a similar scene to Disney's Cinderella when Cinderella is locked away in the attic. Ella is sitting in prison for attempting to kill the prince and is rescued by some friends. But this is not the pivotal part of the modern story, unlike the Disney version. The most exciting part is when Ella breaks the spell that holds her in submission. She has to do this by herself, and it is by pure willpower alone that she can do this. It's a lesson to little girls that they can do things that seem impossible. There is also the obstacle at the end of the modern tale in which Ella has to save the prince from his evil uncle. Its empowering girls with the idea that they can be the rescuer, and do not always have to be helpless, which I like.
While Cinderella's prince is the reward for her goodness, the prince in the modern tale plays a different roll. He is a person, and we learn more about his character. He is good, smart, handsome, and humble. He is the dashing figure from girls' deepest fantasies, the perfect guy. The only thing close to a flaw that the prince has is a naive love for his uncle who killed his father to become King. The prince is no longer the symbol of a reward for Ella's hard life. After breaking the spell for herself, Ella's true struggle is overcome. Therefore, saving the prince's life, and marrying him is like a nice extra bonus. The power of Ella's love for the prince breaks the spell, so the love story needs to be there in order to have something powerful enough to force Ella into a tough situation. The real reward for Ella is love, and the prince is just a symbol of the perfect man.
Ella Enchanted has developed the relationship between the prince and Ella much more, but does not seem much better at creating a long-lasting relationship. The Prince has only known Ella for two days when they fall in love. There is a song that Ella sings right before the couple's first kiss.
Can anybody find somebody to love?
Each morning I get up I die a little
Can't barely stand on my feet.
Take a look in the mirror
And I, see what you're doing to me.
I've spent all my years believing in you, but I just can't get no relief.
Won't somebody, somebody, can anybody find me, somebody to love.
This song shows that Ella is just looking for somebody to love. Ella is trying to fill the void of a dead mother, and a father who is always away on business. The prince and Ella only develop a surface relationship. I think that many young people start relationships like this one, even though they have the potential to develop into something more real. But in stories like Cinderella, the development of a relationship should be worked into the storyline.
Regrettably both versions end with marriage, and I think that it is just a little too soon. Cinderella stories give reason for this quick relationship with true love. This idea is being inflicted upon young minds as a truth rather than fiction, which might ruin their relationships later in life. If Ella had just saved the life of the prince and then not married him, the story would still be very good. Sorry to say that in Ella Enchanted, she and the prince have already said "I love you," and it is hard to separate from my mind the possibility of love without coupling it with marriage. I would not be happy to see Ella live with the prince before marriage. Maybe Prince Char should never have asked Ella to marry him. Then the story could end with a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship.
After revisiting the Disney's version of this basic story, I feel let down. The way the story works in subtle ways to keep girls in check gives me the creeps. Why does the once elating conclusion seem empty and false after reevaluating the movie? Is it the quick way the couple gets together? Or perhaps it's the cynic inside me that says, "I give it a week."
Ella Enchanted is better at giving an uplifting, empowering message to girls. It gives more romance and a deeper meaning of self-accomplishment than the old Cinderella. Yet it still inflicts some of the old values of true love. Is the story of Cinderella too old-fashioned to be able to reflect today's values? With all its history, I think that it is a story that should be kept. Maybe someday girls will figure out why it is so fascinating and repair it suitably.
Summary of Ella Enchanted
Gail Carson Levine's 1997 Newbery winning novel, a retelling of the Cinderella story.Subjects Books
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