Cinderella is Dead: Chapter 2  Summary & Analysis

Sophia and Erin were separated in the forest, so Sophia walks home by herself. She worries about Erin, alone in the forest that is off-limits to them. On her way home, Sophia passes many guards. They are on high alert due to a recent incident in the northern city of Chione, in which the statue of “Mersailles’s savior” Prince Charming exploded and the people responsible were executed. In response to the incident, King Manford made the citizens’ curfew earlier and distributed pamphlets assuring them that all was well.

Sophia returns home. Portraits of the previous king Stephan and the current king Manford hang over the door, since the tyrannical Manford requires all houses to hang his portrait. Next to the portraits are the official Lille Decrees. The decrees state that the annual ball is mandatory, and young women must attend three times before being considered “forfeit.” They also declare that every household must be led by a man, and all women and children must obey the head of the household and adhere to a strict curfew. Every household must also keep “a minimum of one pristine copy of Cinderella.”

Sophia’s mother Eve is expecting her at the seamstress’s shop for a dress fitting, so Sophia cleans herself up and bandages her wounds from the forest. She sees the copy of Cinderella she keeps in her room, which her mother left open to an illustration of Cinderella preparing for the ball. As a child, Sophia hoped a fairy godmother would visit her, but as rumors of fairy godmother visits grew rare, she began to wonder if the story of Cinderella was nothing more than a story. Eve was horrified at the suggestion, and Sophia hasn’t said anything more about it. She has not read the book in years, but she still remembers every line.

Sophia looks at the invitation to the ball that arrived on her 16th birthday. The invitation is polite and formal, but printed along its outer edge is a warning that failure to attend the ball will result in imprisonment and the seizure of all assets belonging to Sophia’s family. The ball is in two days, and the “choosing ceremony” will take place at midnight that night. Sophia hopes she won’t be selected. She makes her way to the seamstress’s shop, passing other mothers preparing their daughters for the ball.