“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

Oscar Wilde

Last week we talked about Cinderella’s glass slipper, which is iconic. But what’s this mask business, you ask? The idea of Cinderella wearing a mask at the ball is only in some retellings (most notably, perhaps, the movie adaptation Ever After!).

Well, bear with me. In almost all Cinderella stories, her fancy ballgown and new updo function as a mask, or a fool-proof costume, because nobody recognizes her until after the fact. (Except, notably, in Ever After, which is funny given that they went for a physical mask! 😉 ) While this does make the ball more romantic and less of an inevitable confrontation with the stepmother, it’s not actually necessary, since the main point was just to make Cinderella look nice enough to get into the party. So why the added deception?

Costumes and masks have a lot of varied symbolism behind them, as you might imagine. You might also remember that last week, I mentioned some scholars who think of Cinderella as a metaphor for leaving behind earthly life for something more spiritual (a theory laid out in books like Cinderella’s Gold Slipper). Well, if you think of the story that way, then you might think of the ceremonial associations with masks and robes. In many religions, spiritual leaders wear robes or masks that signify that they’ve transcended their everyday human selves and can tap into a divine power.

On the other hand, masks can have exactly the opposite connotation, too. In medieval folklore, masks were often thought of as demonic or sacrilegious, particularly in animal costumes. Vigilantes would often wear them. I haven’t yet come across a retelling of Cinderella where she’s a vigilante (though, now that I say that, in Ever After she does attack the prince) but it makes me think of the recent pop song “Cinderella Snapped!”

Personally, the reason I chose to highlight the mask or “masking” part of Cinderella’s costume circles back to the Oscar Wilde quote above. Masks do often reveal something deeply intrinsic about the wearer’s nature; with Cinderella, her magical makeover highlights how good and noble her nature is. And like Ever After (maybe I should consider reworking this post into a tribute piece, haha), I went with a masked ball in my retelling, Cinders to Dust. It’s fitting for a fairy tale in which everyone’s natures are so obvious and yet at the same time, so many of the characters pretend to be something they are not (particularly after the ball, when everyone wants to fit into that glass slipper!). It’s also a fun extra bit of drama–whether for good or bad. 😉

Selected Sources

Medieval folklore came from:

Lindahl, McNamara, and Lindow. Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

And as usual, supplemental symbolism came from Nozedar’s Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols (Harper Element, 2008).

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