Module 2-Book 2 Cinderella Variant

1 Bibliography
Fair Brown and Trembling :an Irish Cinderella Story. Daly,Jude.2000.
New York,NY: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.ISBN 0374322473.

2.Plot Summary
In medieval Ireland, poor, beautiful sister "Trembling" is mistreated and hidden-away by her evil sisters "Fair" and "Brown", because they do not want her to marry before they do. One Sunday while she is doing chores because she is not allowed to attend church, a hen-wife appears to Trembling and exchanges the girl's rags with magic finery. The hen-wife sends her to church on a milk-white mare ,but issues a few warnings:"Do not go inside the church door. And the moment the service finishes ,ride home as fast as the mare will carry you!"Each successive Sunday after that, Trembling rides a different colored horse and stands at the entrance of the open village church wearing another magically colored dress. Soon the Prince of Emania and other princes from near and far crowd into the church to catch a glimpse of the mysterious beauty. The prince of Emania,who stayed outside the church during the service,reaches out and grabs Trembling's slipper as she flees the church on her horse.In an unusual continuation of the Cinderella story,after the Prince of Emania finds Trembling, he must still battle many foreign princes for her hand. Trembling and the Prince live happily ever after and have fourteen children.


3.Critical Analysis

It is possible that this Irish re-telling of the Cinderella story may not hold the attention of younger readers. The flat pictures, which show spindly-legged horses and characters with strangely-elongated fingers recall the medieval works such as The Bayeux tapestry and the Psalter of Saint Louis. These plain illustrations,done in a mixed media of watercolor and pastels, serve to emphasize the archetypal elements of the Cinderella story because of their lack of closely observed detail. Ms. Daly does make good use of the color green, so emblematic of "Erin" or Ireland where the story is set, because she creates vibrant hills and fields as a bacgkground for the figures in the story. Even though they are done with some bright colors, the simple illustrations with little detail will not hold children's interest.

The language of the tale,while adequate, lacks poetry and never manages to create a sense of drama. The pacing of the story, which seems awkward and labored, also fails to create a feeling of suspense. The characters of the evil sisters,Fair and Brown,while mean,never really emerge as characters that we love to hate. The lack of this intensity robs many readers of the ability to really despise the villains. This is one of the joys of the fairy tale. The wicked sisters do, however, receive a satisfying and original punishment;They are put out to sea in a barrel. In addition to the punishment of the sisters,there are other unusual aspects to the story. The scenes between the battling princes are unusual and will appeal to boys who must ordinarily feel bored and excluded by the original Cinderella tale.

4.Review Excerpts
School Library Journal
"Daly's retelling is enhanced by the lusciously colored, somewhat fey illustrations. However, it is diminished by language that is less rich than that in Joseph Jacobs's version of the tale."

Booklist
"This is a traditional version of the Cinderella story--no fractured fairy tale with a feminist hero who runs the show."

5.Connections
Though limited in its appeal,this book could still serve as a good starting point for an activity.

Readers could try making some Irish inspired crafts like the ones suggested in the book, Crafts for Saint Patrick's Day by Kathy Ross.ISBN 0761313060


Children could research other Cinderella variants.

Gather other Cinderella stories such as Soot Face: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story By Daniel San Souci ISBN 0-440-41363-X or The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo. ISBN-13: 978-0060267650 and compare and contrast the elements of the story. See how many common elements the children can find. How do the stories differ from the Disney story everyone is familiar with?