Analysis of
Toni Morrison’s “Cinderella’s Stepsisters”
Toni Morrison presented a speech entitled “Cinderella’s Stepsisters” to a graduating class at
Barnard College. In the course of her speech, Morrison parallels the stepsisters in “Cinderella” to many women of power today. The problems that Morrison presents are real, but her ideas my not be so realistic. Is equality among women achievable, or just an out of reach suggestion?
Morrison begins by describing her discontent with the fairy tale. Morrison is disturbed that the story contains a group of women who join together to oppress another woman. She feels that this is a horrid example of how a female to female relationship should be.
In earlier versions of “Cinderella,” the stepsisters are described as beautiful, attractive women of power. Morrison explains to the graduating women of
Barnard College that they now have the same status and power of the stepsisters. Now that these women have obtained this power, Morrison asks them to use in a beneficial way.
Morrison urges women not to participate in “professional violence, competitive violence, [or] emotional violence” (Morrison, 591) against their fellow women. Morrison suggests that “[women] pay
