Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part B
The True Bride (Page 1)
This story reminds me a little bit of Cinderella. None of the characters have names, so let's call the main character Ella, her stepmother Madonna, and Ella's half sister Drizella. Ella's mother died, so her father remarried her stepmother, Madonna. After remarrying, Madonna gave birth to Drizella. Just like in Cinderella, Madonna did not like her stepdaughter and was always rude to her. On a snowy day, Madonna tells Ella to go and pick berries outside. Obviously this was an impossible task, but Ella goes anyway. While out, she finds a lodge where four brothers live (I am going to call these men her "fairy god brothers" ha ha). She tells the brothers her predicament, and they tell her to shovel snow off the roof, where there are lots of strawberries growing. She collects the strawberries and then her "fairy god brothers," who must have some type of magical powers, make it so she can spit gold nuggets and transform her rags into fine clothes. When Ella returns home, Madonna sees her transformation and orders Drizella to follow Ella's footprints to where she found the stuff. Drizella goes, finds the lodge of brothers, and they tell her where to find the strawberries. However, after seeing that she is vain and arrogant, they don't give her the nice things they gave Ella.
A lesson in this story could be, "Kindness and humbleness pay off."
A plot hole in this story is that is doesn't tell about Ella's relationship with her half-sister. Since they are actually related, and since Drizella has grown up with Ella, you might think that Drizella would be a little kinder. But the story doesn't describe Drizella's character as "vain and haughty" until the end.
Bibliography: The True Bride by Stith Thompson
This story reminds me a little bit of Cinderella. None of the characters have names, so let's call the main character Ella, her stepmother Madonna, and Ella's half sister Drizella. Ella's mother died, so her father remarried her stepmother, Madonna. After remarrying, Madonna gave birth to Drizella. Just like in Cinderella, Madonna did not like her stepdaughter and was always rude to her. On a snowy day, Madonna tells Ella to go and pick berries outside. Obviously this was an impossible task, but Ella goes anyway. While out, she finds a lodge where four brothers live (I am going to call these men her "fairy god brothers" ha ha). She tells the brothers her predicament, and they tell her to shovel snow off the roof, where there are lots of strawberries growing. She collects the strawberries and then her "fairy god brothers," who must have some type of magical powers, make it so she can spit gold nuggets and transform her rags into fine clothes. When Ella returns home, Madonna sees her transformation and orders Drizella to follow Ella's footprints to where she found the stuff. Drizella goes, finds the lodge of brothers, and they tell her where to find the strawberries. However, after seeing that she is vain and arrogant, they don't give her the nice things they gave Ella.
A lesson in this story could be, "Kindness and humbleness pay off."
A plot hole in this story is that is doesn't tell about Ella's relationship with her half-sister. Since they are actually related, and since Drizella has grown up with Ella, you might think that Drizella would be a little kinder. But the story doesn't describe Drizella's character as "vain and haughty" until the end.
The first illustration of the 1865 edition of Cinderella.
Source: Wikipedia
Bibliography: The True Bride by Stith Thompson
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