Bound

I’ve absolutely adored retold fairy tales ever since I took a fairy tale class for my MA degree. (Yes, it was a real class, and yes, we did real work, though it was perhaps the most fun I ever had taking a literature course. The only class that even came close to that was the class entitled Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults, which was taught by the same professor.) Anyway, to get back to my point, Donna Jo Napoli’s Bound is a beautiful retelling of Chinese Cinderella tales that has very rich depth of character.

Cinderella stories seem to be a part of most cultures. Perhaps, as humans, we have an innate sympathy for the underdog, and innate sense of justice that cannot be at peace while a virtuous and loving young girl is treated as a slave. We naturally want to see the girl come up in the world and want to see her evil stepmother and sister(s) get their comeuppance. Although, one of the things I love about Napoli’s rendition is that, not only does Xing Xing (Cinderella) not feel any animosity towards her stepmother and sister (which is typical of Cinderellas since it highlights her magnanimity), she actively seeks to empathize with them and can understand why they do many of the things they do. Rather than simply overlooking their bad behavior based on the fact that they are family to her, she tries to put herself in their shoes and genuinely cares about their wellbeing.

Ultimately, Stepmother and her daughter are brought down by their own disregard for the traditional values and religion of their culture. Although the worship of ancestors and a belief in reincarnation is central to the story, many of the religious values described throughout the novel are virtues that every Christian strives for, most notably, humility. Ambition and pride are the stepmother’s downfall, while Xing Xing’s humble spirit gives her a warmth that attracts both the reader and the prince.

I also love that Xing Xing turns out to be an unlikely feminist. While this jars the historical aspect of the novel, as a female reader, I rather enjoyed her newfound self-awareness towards the end of the story. She proves that true humility and a healthy respect for one’s self-worth are not mutually exclusive.

February 24, 2007 Posted in: fiction, retold fairy tale