Is that Prince Charming?
Nov 23rd, 2009 by aanders2
Cinderella is arguably the greatest of all the fairy tales. Cinderella is the princess all little girls want to be, and Prince Charming is the man every girl and woman wants. Because it is the most loved fairy tale story, Terry Prachett chooses it to poke fun at. He takes what the world knows about Cinderella and changes some of it, tweaking some of the beloved plot points like the glass slipper, the “perfect” prince, and the dress that all girls would kill to wear to prom.
Witches Abroad address many fairy tales, but it all centers around the Cinderella story. The thing that makes this evident is when Desiderata says, “Ella Saturday muste NOTTE marry the prins” (34.) Though her spelling is wrong the message is clear, there will be no traditional ending to the story. Ella is the Cinderella in the story and is being forced to marry the not so perfect prince. The prince in the story is actually a frog, making him out to be the frog prince, instead of Prince Charming. Lilith is the witch who is manipulating the story to make it Cinderella. She is trying to make everything perfect like the story the world knows, but Nanny, Granny, and Magrat are trying to change it so the world doesn’t become a boring story. These three witches are working on behalf of Pratchett, who wants to spice up the monotonous fairy tale we all know. Pratchett keeps the shape of the story so it is recognizable to the reader, but then changes it when the three witches are trying to “save the world” from Lilith’s plan.
The world Pratchett creates is a world the reader can relate to, but still is different in the respect that it is a secondary world. He takes everything known about traditional fairy tales and makes the reader question if it is right. With all his stories he makes you question the norms in fairy tales. While Magrat told Ella she did not have to marry the prince Ella questioned it, because in the town Lilith had created, that was the way things are done. In choosing Cinderella, Pratchett pries on the yearnings of young girls who want to meet and marry a charming prince, therefore cracking the biggest fairy tale there is. Pratchett makes the move from children’s fairy tale to adult’s tale in order to give adults, mainly adult women realistic expectations about their prince. This is one of the most important things he changes in the story. Duc, the princely figure, is a pawn in Lilith’s game, but unfortunately for Ella’s sake is not attractive or charming in any way. It is telling women that there is no prince charming and these well known fairy tales are just that fairy tales, and not something to be longing for.
Pratchett use of the well-loved Cinderella as the central fairy tale to use is particularly directed to those who can’t differentiate between real world and fantasy. In doing so he leaves the reader questions like, “ Was the prince really so charming?”