Previous
Chapter 6
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
The day of the ball arrives, and Eve wakes Sophia up early to begin the day’s preparations. Eve has hired dressers to dress Sophia, and they straighten her hair and lace her corset uncomfortably tight. The dressers discuss Cinderella, and Sophia wonders if the princess would have wanted this fate for the women of the kingdom. She resents Cinderella’s story, which is to blame for society’s complete disregard for what Sophia wants.
All women and girls in Mersailles are held to a single beauty standard informed by the mythologized version of Cinderella. Attempting to meet that beauty standard can be uncomfortable, as in the case of Sophia’s corset, and can also perpetuate other harmful expectations. Like many young women of color, especially Black women, Sophia is expected to straighten her hair rather than wear it naturally to conform to a Eurocentric beauty standard.
Active
Themes
Sophia’s father Morgan comes into the room and asks the women to leave him alone with Sophia. He gives her a sapphire necklace that belonged to Sophia’s grandmother, who was killed for her open hatred of the way Lille is run. Sophia remembers that her grandmother never spoke of the ball as inevitable, and she once said that if Sophia ever went to the ball, she should burn the palace down. Sophia begs her father not to make her go to the ball, but he tells her they can’t disobey King Manford.
The necklace that once belonged to Sophia’s grandmother is a tangible reminder for Sophia that women before her spoke out against the injustices in Lille. Though her grandmother was killed for her courage, Morgan passing down the necklace to Sophia gives her a second chance to take up her grandmother’s cause.
Active
Themes
Eve and Morgan send Sophia off to the ball in a carriage with Erin. Erin tells Sophia that they are out of time and that she doesn’t want to run away with her. Sophia is crushed. Erin is the only person she has loved romantically, and their secret relationship kept Sophia from despair. Recently, though, as the ball approaches, Erin has been distant. Now Erin explains that her parents plan to bring Erin to the palace as forfeit if she disobeys them. She has no hope of running away: Lille is King Manford’s capital, but his power extends beyond its borders across Mersailles.
Active
Themes
Sophia says that she would risk everything for Erin and that she doesn’t care about what King Manford wants. Erin accuses Sophia of being selfish for not considering that Erin doesn’t want to be different. As they reach the palace, the two of them share a luck potion that one of the dressers gave to Sophia.
Get the entire Cinderella is Dead LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
