Cinderella Themes
Women and Femininity
The narrator of "Cinderella" has a pretty dim view of certain tendencies that women have (according to said narrator). Between the nursemaid who uses her looks to get ahead, Cinderella's use of the...
Wealth
The entire poem of "Cinderella" hinges on wealth, really. It, and women's pursuit of it, are the major thematic elements of the piece. The example "Cinderella stories" (sarcastically called "that s...
The Supernatural
In "Cinderella," the magical tree and bird are Cinderella's magical buddies. Supposedly she's a "good" and "devout" (25) girl, and so maybe she deserved this supernatural help, but Cinderella would...
Good vs. Evil
Almost every fairy tale involves a battle between good and evil, and this one's no exception. The interesting part about the way Sexton retells the story, though, is that it's not quite clear in "C...
Luck
"Cinderella" seethes with a kind of sarcastic anger, a bitterness about people who get something for nothing. It's what everyone wants—to win the lottery, to marry a rich guy/girl, to never have...