The Little Glass Slipper

A foil is a character that reveals another character’s traits through contrasting qualities. Cinderilla’s stepsisters foil Cinderilla. While Cinderilla is kind, they are cruel. While she exhibits grace and inner beauty, the stepsisters are vain and concerned with external appearances.

One of the stepsisters, Charlotte, is the only other character granted a name besides Cinderilla. Her name establishes a contrasting identity. “Charlotte,” the feminine of “Charles,” means “free man.” Charlotte is “free” while “Cinderilla,” whose birth name is never provided, lacks her own identity. She is the archetype of a common girl dreaming of a better life. The name “Cinderilla” translates to “little ashes,” reflecting her denigrated state.

The contrast between Cinderilla and Charlotte is established early in the tale. The stepmother “could not bear the good qualities of this pretty girl; and the less, because they made her daughters appear the more odious” (Paragraph 2). She  forces Cinderilla into the role of servitude to strip her of her peerage and birthright, making her “less-than” the stepsisters. Yet even in her ragged clothes and apparent lower station, Cinderilla retains her inner beauty—“notwithstanding her mean apparel, [she] was a hundred times handsomer than her sisters, tho' they were always dressed very richly” (Paragraph 3).