Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
Author(s)	Gregory Maguire
Cover artist	Douglas Smith
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publisher	William Morrow
Publication date	November 1, 1999
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	368 (Hardback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-06-039282-7 (Hardback), ISBN 0-06-098752-9 (Paperback)
OCLC Number	44681757
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 21
LC Classification	PS3563.A3535 C66 1999

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel by Gregory Maguire, retelling the tale of Cinderella through the eyes of one of her "ugly stepsisters." In 2002, the book was adapted into a TV movie of the same name, directed by Gavin Millar.

Plot

The story follows Iris, the plain younger daughter of Margarethe Fisher, as she takes care of her mentally-challenged older sister Ruth and her stepsister Clara. Having fled from England to Haarlem, Iris is slightly at odds with the world and often contemplates the value of beauty and ugliness. While caring for her sisters and keeping the peace between Clara and Margarethe, Iris develops a painter's eye and spends time studying under a local painter known as The Master, and his apprentice, Caspar.

On the verge of losing everything after a sudden drop in the tulip market, Margarethe devises a plan for Iris and Ruth to attend the ball being held in honor of the Dowager Queen of France and her godson, the Prince of Marsillac. She leaves out Clara because she knows full well that if the girl wedded the prince, she would abandon her family and they'd end up in the poorhouse. However, out of love for her stepsister, Iris and Ruth devise a plan to bring Clara to the Prince, believing that Clara's beauty will win him over and that she will be happy.

While at the ball, Ruth does the unthinkable out of jealousy and love of Clara and Master. That night the fairy tale of Cinderella and her pumpkin carriage is spun, and the next morning her prince comes to collect her.

Characters

• Iris Fisher is the one whom the tale follows as she views the events that would become the fairy tale. She is the daughter of Margarethe Fisher and Jack Fisher, and younger sister to Ruth Fisher. When her mother marries Cornelius van den Meer, Iris becomes Clara van den Meer's stepsister. She is described as "painfully plain-faced" by her own mother,^[1] and several times refers to herself as a hound. Over the course of the story Iris develops an interest in art and painting, and develops feelings for Caspar, but firmly denies them.
• Margarethe ten Broek Fisher van den Meer is the mother of Iris and Ruth Fisher, and later becomes the stepmother of Clara after marrying her father. Her motives for marrying Clara’s father are purely to keep herself and her daughters fed. Whether she loves Clara’s father is unstated and unlikely, especially given her motto of "Give me room to cast my eel spear, and let follow what may", but she is reasonably kind to him. It is hinted that the Master is interested in Margarethe, but his feelings are not returned.
• Ruth Fisher is the older, mentally challenged daughter of Margarethe Fisher. She is ultimately revealed as the story's narrator.
• Clara Van Den Meer is the only child of van den Meer and his first wife, Henrika. She is a beautiful girl but is kept hidden away in her home, originally against her will by her mother, but once her mother dies, she stays at home by choice. As a child she was kidnapped and kept hostage in a windmill by a Mr. Van Stolk, her father's business associate, who received half of her family's fortune as ransom. Clara believes that it was water-spirits who kidnapped her, and turned her into a changeling, which she believes that she is. After her mother's death, Clara begins to spend her time by the hearth and coins her own names of "Ashgirl", "Cinderling", and "Cinderella".
• Henrika Vinckboons van den Meer is Clara’s mother. She kept Clara locked inside their home, to protect her from the dangers of the world. She is poisoned by Margarethe and does not survive the birth of her second child.
• Cornelius van den Meer is Clara’s father. He is a businessman and involved in the tulip industry. The Fishers later refer to him as "Papa Cornelius". He goes into a seemingly catatonic state of depression, barely paying attention to anything but their oncoming poverty and how much his family has changed.
• Luykas Schoonmaker is a local painter "not quite known as the Master of the Dordrecht Altarpiece" and the first to shelter the Fishers.
• Caspar is Master’s apprentice. He is in love with Iris and she with him, but Margarethe disapproves and attempts to steer Iris away from him by hinting that Caspar is homosexual.

Adaptation

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was adapted by writer Gene Quintano and director Gavin Millar into a TV movie for The Wonderful World of Disney. It was shot in Luxembourg and was first aired on March 10, 2002. It starred Azura Skye as Iris, Stockard Channing as Margarethe, Emma Poole as Ruth, Jenna Harrison as Clara, Jonathan Pryce as Schoonmaker, and Matthew Goode as Casper.^[2] This version was a more traditional interpretation, presenting Cinderella as a more sympathetic heroine (coining the name "Cinderella" when she begins helping Iris with chores so that she can go to the ball), including a Fairy Godmother-like figure, and giving Clara a pet mouse, a possible reference to the classic Disney film.

The film varies widely from the book:

• There are no religious or magical aspects in the movie, Clara never calls herself a changeling and the gallery of God's mistakes does not exist.
• Henrika disappears entirely; in the book she was poisoned by Margarethe and died during childbirth while in the film she has been dead for many years.
• Clara is child-like (in both behavior and appearance) at the beginning of the books and slowly matures, in the movie she is already mature and only spoiled.
• Ruth is mainly mute and slow in the book, while in the film she talks more than a few times and often helps out.
• In the book Clara is kept hidden by her mother until Henrika's death, after which her mother's teaching seemed to have left an impression on her and Clara hardly leaves the house. In the movie, Clara hasn't left since her mother's death and is afraid of the things in the world.
• Van Den Stolk is changed from a young impatient man in the book, to a more sly older fellow.
• The movie adds in a fairy god-mother figure.
• While the book's ending is somewhat tragic, the movie ends on a happy note.
• The book is narrated by one of the "ugly stepsisters", revealed to be Ruth. The movie is narrated by the Master.

References

1. ^ "It is severe, and true," says Margarethe. "Iris is plain to look at. Painfully plain. Don't exaggerate her physical virtues, Caspar, it does no good in the end. She must accept it like the rest of us." Maguire, Gregory (1999). Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. United States: HarperCollins. p. 50. ISBN 0-06-098752-9. 
2. ^ Fries, Laura (2002-03-06). "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117917144.html?categoryid=33&cs=1. Retrieved 2007-10-20. 

External links

• Gregory Maguire's Official Website
• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister at the Internet Movie Database