Abusive Relationships: The Cinderella Effect in Myth and Reality

One of the most popular fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The story of Cinderella tells the story of a young woman whom is absorbed into a new, reconstructed stepfamily after her own mother has died. Her father has married another woman, a widow with two children from a previous relationship. After the wedding, Cinderella finds herself in a reduced state. Once she was the favored only daughter. Now she is judged harshly and belittled by her stepmother. Nothing Cinderella does is good enough in comparison with her stepsisters. Cinderella cannot work hard enough in her stepmother's estimation, even when she is scrubbing away the cinders of the family's burnt-out fireplace while her stepsisters live a life of leisure upstairs. Rather than display Cinderella at an upcoming ball at the palace, her mother refuses to let her attend.

Everyone knows what...
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