Comparative Analysis of Clock Strikes
Throughout the years many stories have been passed down from generation to generation. One of the stories that has evolved over the years is the fairy tale of "Cinderella." It is one of the most popular fairy tales to date because it has seen in over 700 versions and translated into multiple languages. Tanith Lee, a prolific writer of stories for young adults, took the Cinderella story, and reversed it with her tale "When the Clock Strikes." In her tale, the Cinderella heroine character is a witch. Lee is able to turn the magic and the rest of the tale into a dark revenge story. Madonna Kolbenschlag, a literary scholar and feminist, wrote the article "A Feminist's View of Cinderella". Karol Kelley, a feminist and professor of history at Texas Tech, also wrote an article, "Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella," which shares some feminist views of the story. Both Kolbenschlag and Kelley have viewpoints that would explain why Lee's story is more or less feminist. Both Kolbenschlag's and Kelley's viewpoint on feminism would make Lee's story ,"When the Clock Strikes," seem to be feminist because the main character Ashella is active, aggressive, and powerful throughout the entire story, but since revenge i
Ashella and her mother are aggressive because they both have a desire to take revenge on the Duke for his extreme tactics. When their plan comes under attack, Ashella is able to stay active by pretending to be passive. The true power lies in the slippers, animals, and the hazel tree. Cinderella stories, including the Perrault and Grimm versions, all have powerful men controlling women as an outlying theme. The following excerpt from Lee's tale explains his insanity. Feminist tales have many different characteristics that are point out in both Kolbenschlag's and Kelley's articles. Many of these Cinderella stories claim to be feminist, but because of flaws they are not. These actions by Ashella and her mother are all qualities of a feminist because they are active, but then it is pointed out that all this is done for revenge. Kolbenschlag points out that a character who holds the qualities of a feminist would not be passive or rely on their male counterparts. When Ashella is questioned by her father about what happened, Ashella played dumb and pretended to be bewitched. When the Prince offers Cinderella the lost slipper, he makes his kingdom hers" (Kolbenschlag 78). Ashella and her mother's aggression appear to be feminist because they hold these qualities that Kolbenschlag speaks of. The Prince was put under a black magic curse, which lead him to his death. Kelley points out that, "Women who have power [in non-feminist tales] are either evil or silly" (Kelley 81).
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