Cinderella

Cinderella image by akadarcee @ pixabay

Cinderella

This year we have chosen to perform Cinderella for our spring musical. We are doing the Rodgers and Hammerstein version that most people my age grew up looking forward to watching each year–a television special event. The story is familiar. The music is beloved. The characters are iconic. So why is it that fairy stories like Cinderella continue be so appealing, so intimately familiar, and yet, so exciting?

The Value of Fairy Stories

My favorite author (next to God) is J. R. R. Tolkien. He was a promoter of fairy tales. In his famous essay “On Fairy-Stories” (1939), Tolkien defended fantasy as a high form of art, insisting that fairy stories are not merely for children but are “profound explorations of human desire” that enable one to embrace a clearer view of reality.

On the Power of Fantasy: “The magic of Faërie is not an end in itself, its virtue is in its operations: among these are the satisfaction of certain primordial human desires” (Write for the King).
On the Joyful Ending (“Eucatastrophe”): “The consolation of fairy-stories, the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous ‘turn’ (for there is no true end to any fairy-tale): this joy… is not essentially ‘escapist,’ nor ‘fugitive'” (SuperSummary).
On Truth and Myth: “Fairy-stories are not lies—they are the very opposite of a lie—myths convey the essential truth, the primary reality of life itself” (Anne Maria Clarke).

Tim Keller writes, “Tolkien’s famous essay ‘On Fairy Stories’ argues that there are indelible, deep longings in the human heart that realistic fiction cannot satisfy. Fantasy fiction—fairy tales and science fiction and similar literature—depict characters who:

get outside of time altogether;
escape death;
hold communion with nonhuman beings;
find a perfect love from which they never part;
triumph finally over evil.

[To the Christian, this should all sound remarkably familiar.] Of course readers and viewers know that fairy stories are fiction, but when the story is well told and these things are depicted vividly, it provides a peculiar kind of comfort and satisfaction. What we call ‘fantasy fiction’ is massively popular and continues to be consumed by audiences numbering in the billions. The enduring appeal of stories that represent these conditions is unquestionable. But why? As a Christian, Tolkien believed that these stories resonate so deeply because they bear witness to an underlying reality.”

So are fairy stories biblical? Of course. What about Cinderella? Is Cinderella biblical? Oh, yes!

Cinderella Figures and Themes in the Bible

Ruth (The Book of Ruth): Often cited as the quintessential biblical Cinderella. She is an outsider and widow living in poverty who finds grace, marries the wealthy Boaz, and becomes part of the lineage of King David.
Joseph (Genesis 41): Moves from [being the favorite son, to being] a slave and prisoner, to becoming the Prime Minister of Egypt, effectively saving the nation.
Esther (The Book of Esther): An orphan and exile who is elevated to the position of Queen of Persia, ultimately saving her people.
The Nation of Israel (Ezekiel 16): Described as a neglected infant in a field, who is later clothed, adorned, and taken as a bride by God.

All these stories embody the theological concept of redemption wherein God lifts the lowly outcast (sinner) out of a sad and abusive existence and sets him or her on a throne of blessing and royal inheritance.

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’” (Jeremiah 31:3).

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

“For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called” (Isaiah 54:5).

We Are Cinderella

And what about you and me? We are the lowly, cinder or ash-covered, slaves of sin, living with no hope until our prince, Jesus Christ, enters the picture. The Son of the King seeks us out, He rescues us from our evil oppressors, and He woos us to Himself because, for some reason, He loves us. He clothes us in His own glory. He humbles Himself to claim us as His bride, and to make us forever royalty.

God bless you, and lift you from cinders to grace.