Fairy Tales: Cinderella "rags to riches"

"Rags to riches" is a classic tale in modern stories and movies.  It is an important part of stories perhaps because it is a common problem among all people.  Everyone dreams to be in a higher position.  People are always hoping for something bigger and better.  In the case of Cinderella, it is the hope that there is something better than being held back by a wicked stepmother and stepsisters.  The wicked stepmother, represents the actual mother ignoring a child and focusing more on her other children.  In this story the father is absent.  In the Disney's "Cinderella", Cinderella is a young girl, her father and mother are dead and she and her stepmother and stepsisters are in debt.  Due to this debt they are not able to hire servants and use Cinderella as a their own personal servant since she is not really family and the youngest.  She works so hard and is kind and patient and only hopes for her stepmother to let her become part of the family and go to the ball.  Even after she works so hard, the stepmother says no and ruins her entire evening, it is only when she has finally reached her wit's end when her fairy godmother appears.  However in other stories she achieves her happy ending solely through magic and complaint.  Many dislike this type of story, even if it inspires hope and imagination, they think it's better that children learn that they can achieve things through hard work but only when they get to the end will they get some help.  This part of the concept of "rags to riches" must not be ignored especially with children, they need to learn that it's not so easy to work your way from the bottom all the way to the top.