Fairy tales are a deeply ingrained part of our world’s culture. From Disney adaptations to childhood bedtime stories, very few people haven’t been exposed to the witches, princesses, children, and fairy folk that make up these ageless classics. Good defeats evil, and all live happily ever after, but…are these stories really as wholesome as they appear? Unfortunately, many of the most well-known fairy tales send a wrong message when placed under the microscope with strong undertones of misogyny, ageism, cruelty, and subservience. “Happily ever after” is exposed to a dose of reality as beloved stories become the subject of deeper scrutiny.

In Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After, author Anne Beall uses her doctorate in psychology to put traditional fairy tales under critical and academic analysis. Throughout the book, she addresses all the absurdities and questions that eventually occur to all reasonable adults about the stories we grew up with. Then, she proceeds to examine each of them, presenting a plethora of research about the formulaic ways they are constructed. Whether intentional or not, much of the shared information deals with the disparity between the sexes throughout fairy tales. In addition, the author provides statistics in various areas such as who holds the most power most frequently, which demographic of characters endure the most suffering, and a basic breakdown of what kind of characters are good vs. evil- just to name a few.

Beyond the deeply analytical nature of the book, it also serves as a fascinating deep dive into some of the lesser-known fairy tales collected by the Grimm brothers. (Their collection of stories specifically was mined for the detailed results as shown here.) Beall repeatedly references the most commonly adapted fairy tales. Such tales are deeply ingrained in cultures worldwide and use frequent excerpts from stories that are not likely to be recognized. It provides an eye-opening look at the wide variety of stories that made their way across Europe at one point in time and also creates a starting point for anyone who wants to know more about a more extensive selection of “classics.”

Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After: The Hidden Messages in Fairy Tales is an excellent study on the history and the psychological impact of fairy tales. The research is top-notch and backed up with numerous graphs and charts. It’s clear that a great deal of time went into the work here, and the result is a body of work that simply can’t be contested. Readers that want to take a deep dive into the message of fairy tales past and present and look at an in-depth analysis of them will find this book fascinating.

Pages: 127 | ASIN : B07KJHZF2H