A little girl at heart, I finally broke down and read Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine- something I should have done in fourth grade. Although a Newbery Honor book, this is hardly college literature. It’s a fairy tale, a Cinderella story- which I’m now realizing is a story line running around in more abundance than I’d ever imagined. I thought I’d seen them all by sixth grade, but no, I’ve discovered two since starting college. Not that it’s a bad thing. It’s the quintessential chick flick. You’d be hard pressed to find a girl who doesn’t appreciate the story of a young girl, who when thrown into deplorable and hopelessly dismal situations endures bloodthirsty foes, impossible fairies, and manipulative family ...and acts nobly anyway. There is something of a spiritual triumph in this simple act of one-sided nobility. It speaks to the prince and princess inside each of us and inspires us to live up to our title.
This particular rendition of the Cinderella story is fun because Ella is more of a realistic person than the Disney movie makes her out to be. She’s not perfect, and her disposition is not blindly submissive despite (or more accurately because of) the curse which was bestowed upon her at birth by an impertinent fairy to “Always be obedient”; she obeys orders, but only because the curse will not allow her to do otherwise.
She is a real person with real relationships with the people around her. Something the Bruno, Gus and Lucifer version doesn’t have that this one does is this: not only does Ella’s prince, Shar (prince Shar-ming, ha ha ha! :) sweep her off her glass-slipper shod feet, but they start as friends long before the prospect of marriage is considered. While not nearly as involved as a Jane Austin novel, similarities exist as their friendship is based primarily on intellect, interests, and conversation.
I recently found an old, beat up copy of The Slipper and the Rose while going through some videos. At my mom’s request I popped it in to see if it still worked. It did, barely, and I ended up watching the whole thing. Yup, another Cinderella story. The reason I bring this up is because I found it uncanny when just a week later I read Ella Enchanted and found that both Cinderella and Ella choose selflessness over their happiness when faced with practically the same situation. Their decisions in this instance are noble, but also make me positively sick. Fortunately neither The Slipper and the Rose nor Ella Enchanted end right there.
The story ends, of course “And they lived happily ever after”, however, I figure this came as no surprise to you. I guess it’s borderline spoiling, but this should in no way dissuade you from reading the book if you so desire- if you consider those people in real life who really do live “happily ever after” when the end of their story comes have the stories worth reading (take President Gordon B. Hinckley’s biography for example), knowing the ending won’t really ruin the read. Everyone should indulge in some fairy tales once in a while. I’ll bet Charles Dickens would even agree with me on that one.
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4 comments:
I loved Ella Enchanted, when I read it back in the day, and I have continued to read Gail Carson Levine books, but each one leaves me liking her stories less and less. I don't know if it's the repetition or something about her style that is starting to bug me, or if I've just outgrown her (and I feel that one can never outgrow a truly great author, case in point "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett). Have you read any of her more recent stuff?
First off, I feel really stupid over the "Shar" is prince "Shar-ming". Yeah, I'm slow.
I agree with Beth's opinion of Gail Carson Levine's stories. They've become rather stale, but her older stuff was full of Chick-flick goodness.
I've put this one on hold too. Thanks for the suggestion. The salt lake county library system says that the target audience is ages 4 to 7. Is that true?
Ok- I'll try to answer all of your questions in one fell swoop:
No, I have not read any of her more recent books, but I understand she does kind of stick to the princess/ fairy thing, and she is certainly geared to a younger audience. While I enjoyed the story, I honestly don't think I would have gotten through it if it had been in print, hence I don't plan to seek out her other writings. For what it's worth though, if you're dying to read another one of her books, someone told me they liked "The Two Princesses of Bamarre".
Four years old, huh? I suppose it's posible if it's read to them. The princess complex has taken hold by then, yes. As far as the recommended age is concerned, I haven't heard any official word.
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