Happily Ever After

What you take from life relies heavily on perspective. There are several different phases and transitional periods throughout our existence. As you grow older, your innocence inevitably fades as more developed goals and priorities take shape. The same things that intrigued you as a child usually become obnoxious by your adolescent years, and completely irrelevant by adulthood. It is a common understanding in our culture that as you mature, you must leave behind all of the things that mark you as a child in order to take on your role as a sophisticated member of society. Does this have to be the case? Is there an impenetrable border between childhood and adulthood, or can certain things carry over?
Depending on your age and personal experience, fairy tales like Cinderella can be perceived in several drastically different mindsets. As a young child, Disney portrayed Cinderella as a magical rags to riches tale where a poor maiden was swept off her feet by her Prince Charming and lived happily ever after. Complete with insightful talking mice, extravagant ball gowns and an extremely accommodating fairy godmother, the film was enough to make any little girl feel like a princess in her own rights. However, while reading a less charming version of Cinderella written by Anne Sexton many years later, most people would not get the same spellbinding vibe that they did as a four-year-old. Sexton’s take on the classic children’s story is significantly less alluring. The overall tone is upright and straightforward, leaving very little to the imagination. At the end, Cinderella and the Prince are described as “two dolls in a museum case...their darling smiles pasted on for eternity.” The diction used here is cold and empty, as opposed to the film where the shoe fits, the two are married in a divine ceremony, and share a kiss as they ride away in their elegant horse-drawn carriage. Sexton’s version lacks the enchantment we were drawn to as children, and this parallels with many