Saved?

I came across yet another reference to the Cinderella myth.

A writer dissing the erroneous Disney-fied idea that Cinderella was saved by an outside force (okay the horrid word with no bark on it – saved by a man after being saved by a Fairy Godmother) that I rail against so often.

That version of Cinderella is a product of the last century and not indicative of the versions before it. In fact one of the most interesting things about European Myth is the pattern repeated again and again where young people (both male and female) go out and find adventure as a way of finding themselves. But I digress… As I was lying in the shower forming my rant a completely different take on the Cinderella myth – both ancient and modern – fell into my mind.

It isn’t about being saved – it’s about being seen.

Cinderella has spunk, in almost every version, she has values and a work ethic. The dress, the shoes, are all superficial. It is that moment when she is seen – for who she is – and accepted – that is the magic of the enduring romance. Not being saved – since that implies debt and the idea that we couldn’t have done it on our own – both concepts that I reject.

But being seen….

Isn’t that what we all want? To be seen by someone for our flaws, our brilliance, our strengths, and our weaknesses and to still be loved for who we are not what we are. This is the Myth – and it is a good Myth.

So, now when I think of Cinderella – when I hear people talk about Cinderella Complexes I’m going to remember that it isn’t about being saved. It isn’t about something outside ourselves swooping down and fixing our lives. It isn’t about something outside ourselves at all. It is about what we are inside.

It is about the desire to be seen as special and unique.

Wanting to be seen is a wondrous thing – worthy of myth and not a bad complex to have.

~ Just Tess