单项选择题
The basic story is very old indeed and familiar to
most of us. The heroine, Cinderella, is treated cruelly by her stepmother and
mocked by her two ugly stepsisters. And even though her father loves her, she
can’t tell him how unhappy she is because her stepmother has bewitched him. One
day Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters are invited to a ball at the royal
palace. Cinderella is told she cannot go and is understandably very unhappy.
However, her fairy godmother comes to the rescue and, waving her magic wand,
produces some beautiful clothes for Cinderella as well as a carriage to convey
her to the ball. There, she dances with the handsome prince, who falls in love
with her…
Just a sweet, pretty tale Not in the view of Ellen
Macintosh, who has written extensively about fairy tales. "This story features
the stock, two-dimensional characters of most fairy tales, and little character
development is attempted," she says. Indeed, although her comment does make one
wonder why simplicity of this sort should be out of place in a story for
children. Be that as it may, Ellen’s main problem is with what the story
implies. "Instead of standing up to her cruel stepmother and absurd stepsisters,
Cinderella just waits for a fairy godmother to appear and solve her problem. But
wouldn’t you want a daughter of yours to show more spirit"
The
story is enduring, whatever its shortcomings, and it doesn’t take much in the
way of analytical skills to see its influence on a number of recent Hollywood
productions, all aimed at girls aged five to fifteen. In these versions for the
silver screen, the Cinderella character no longer has to clean the house and has
no siblings to make her life a misery, though she persists in not showing much
backbone. The character of the rich and handsome stranger, however, is retained,
and in some cases really is a prince. The role of the fairy godmother is often
played by coincidence or sheer luck; we live in an enlightened age when even
very young children might reject the notion of fairies. The wicked stepmother
may be transformed into a villain of some sort. In the majority of film
versions, the heroine has a profession and is even permitted to continue working
after marrying her prince — this is the twenty — first century, after
all.
Doesn’t the success of these films indicate that the story
has relevance to children even today "Yes," admits Ellen, who sees its message
as being rooted in a fundamental childhood desire for love and attention. "Most
children experience a sense of inner loneliness as they are growing up and
empathies with the protagonist who faces some sort of test or challenge. This
can be seen in the original story of Cinderella, where the fairy godmother tells
the heroine that she must learn to be gracious and confident if she is to go to
the ball. She has to grow spiritually, and by maturing, she becomes attractive
to the prince, thus ensuring that the ending of the story will be happy." "In
the later versions, this element is missing," says Ellen, "and the theme of the
story is simply that a girl’s role in life is to be more beautiful than other
little girls so that she can carry off the prize: the handsome prince. Is this
really what we want girls to grow up believing"Unlike the original tale, modern versions of the Cinderella story
______.
A. suggest that girls need the strength of character
B. do not require the heroine to develop spiritually
C. underestimate the desire for love and attention
D. are aimed solely at young children