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Chapter 3
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Cinderella is Dead, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sexism and Feminism
Love
Oppression and Control
Coming of Age
Revolution, Solidarity, and Teamwork
Summary
Analysis
Mr. Langley, a friend of Sophia’s father Morgan, has sent his son Luke to drive Sophia and her mother home. Eve wonders if Luke will make a petition for Sophia’s hand in marriage at the ball. The carriage brings them past the palace and the homes of the aristocracy to the cramped alleyways of ramshackle houses where Sophia’s family lives.
King Manford imposes strict social hierarchy on Lille. That hierarchy does not only take the form of sexism; it is also apparent in the classism of the city. Manford is at the top of the hierarchy, with the aristocracy directly below him and the poorer families—including Sophia’s—below them.
Active
Themes
Once they get home, Eve recalls her own time at the ball. Sophia’s father Morgan chose her mother in her first year at the ball, and she regards it as a good match because he is a decent man and the son of a land baron. She reminds Sophia that if she isn’t chosen by a husband within three years, she will end up in servitude. Recently, several girls who are considered forfeit have disappeared into the castle. Liv wasn’t chosen last year, and her family are hoping a fairy godmother will help her this year before she becomes forfeit. Sophia is frustrated that a girl becomes a spinster at age 18, while boys aren’t required to attend the ball until they want to.
The double standard that girls are considered “forfeit” spinsters by age 18, while boys and men are allowed to wait as long as they want to marry, highlights the way marriage and the king’s ball system perpetuate the systemic misogyny in Lille. Sophia inherits this violent system from her parents, who in turn inherited it from the generations before them.
Active
Themes
Eve remarks that she knows Sophia is “different,” but insists that she must conform and find a husband. Sophia is frustrated that whenever her mother references Sophia’s attraction to women, she does so indirectly and with disapproval, simply calling her “different.” She came out to her parents when she was 12, and they responded by telling her to hide her feelings. Sophia asks if Eve wants her to be happy, and Eve responds that she wants her daughter to be safe––happiness is “a bonus.”
