Linguistic Communication
CINDERELLA WITHOUT THE ASHES
Noemi BOMHER1
1. Prof., Phd, Dept. of Communication, Public Relations and Journalism, “Apollonia” University of Ia[i Corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract who (after having accepted humiliation) will get The modern success in advertising and in narrative social compensation –marriage with a prince – structure of fairytales starts from the way the mythical owing to her qualities: hard-working and universe is being organized regarding the tests that the obedience. characters have to pass and by which their humble initial This demonstration points out that any condition changes into a marvelous final condition with the help of love, fate and hard-working and their poor communication can be verbal (when information clothes become gorgeous. is transmitted in written or spoken form) or non- Keywords: fairytale, Cinderella, advertisement verbal (when this form of language is not used). With the help of emblems4 , we can semantically Fairytales belong to a world of fantasy, they understand many cultures and also the systems are part of our childhood, and in time we that are enclosed in them, we can see the discover that they are mirrors of the real life. transgressions of dynamic distances and When we talk about Cinderella, we should think furthermore, different social attitudes that are not only of an imaginary character, but also of a linked together, by means of a device used in the real one. She is a character that has survived over story. centuries in space, time and modernity. We must remind our readers that the first Who is Cinderella? First, we should think element in a fairytale sends us to communication about a girl unfairly treated and tortured by her based on gestures, the distances that are present step mother, a girl humiliated by her family, who in the inter-human space: had overworked herself near the vital source that · The intimate distance is the distance of love, 1 is fire, the ash pan (actually, in Romanian, her of protection, of caressing, of hugging, of name - Cenu[\reasa - signifies a household dance and of public distance, but at the 2 chore , meaning to be covered with ashes, same time it is the distance of aggression, coming from the word “cenu[ar” – ash pan – of violent clashes. For Cinderella, the with the feminine suffix “eas\”. In English, the distance of love had disappeared and was word is also derived from “cinder”, which is a replaced by the Step-Mother/The God- burned or partly burned substance, that is not Mother, the Step-Sisters. However, at the reduced to ashes). The term Cenu[\reasa – ball, the distance of dance and embrace Cinderella -, comes from the Latin *cinusia (< was present. cinis). However, in the end of the story, the ash · The personal distance is distinguished from on her clothes is being transformed into a the relation of Cinderella/cinder, ash, from wedding dress with the help of a magical shoe. the fire/ family love. In other words, the humiliation from the · the social distance, of the Step Family towards beginning of the fairytale becomes the glory of Cinderella, is an arbitrary culturally birds and songs. conditioned distance and can be handled With Cinderella we can follow the history of according to the communication intentions 3 communication , starting from the relationship with a Father, who turns into a protector with her own body (the symbol of the foot), with with the help of hazel nut tree twig/Absent her clothes and with a social model, young or Mother, as Prince. mature body, naked or dressed. The myth in this · The public distance – Cinderella/the Prince is fairytale illustrates a model of a human being reduced with the help of the glass shoe.
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But what do we discover regarding 4. the sacred model in discovering fear and subconscious from this fairytale? The function wonder (the Birds); of “the hero’s departure” corresponds to an 5. the decoding of the paradox in the unity of action, while the function of “ absence, opposing elements (Fire/Ashes); prejudice”, represents a condition, a canonic 6. the imagery of symbols and metaphors, form of story, as a relationship between initiating identity (Princes and Cinderellas) characters and as a succession of actions – the 7. communication with a group of naïve, narrative scheme is used artistically and efficient and competent readers ( high practically at present. When she gives up being a heeled shoes ,Fendi) Cinderella, we have got a new paradigmatic segmentation or a combination of polar My title, Cinderella without Ashes, tries to be a functions: joke, pointing to a Cinderella without clothes, it • leaving vs. returning. aims to be an advertisement meant to draw • the formulation of the interdiction vs. the attention to the disappearance of a chromatic transgression of the interdiction. final residue, ashes, as a symbol of fear in the There are three main tests that define the fairytale. canonic scheme owing to their articulations that All readers are familiar with this fairytale, characterize a (figurative) story: they all know that shoes are a paradox of vanity, • the qualification test: the hero is endowed they catch the attention of an ephemeral prince, with magical instruments or powers, e.g., who has money and dances; while ladies cannot he may become invisible, etc. resist the attraction of a clothing symbol, the • the decisive test: the subject fulfills the shoes, which are not a symbol of hard working, tasks imposed on him, such as killing the but of vanity, which is more attractive than an evil forces, the liberation of victims etc. academic system. • the glorification test: the subject is The linguistic message depends on the image, perceived for what he/she is and for what on the name of the brand, Fendi, and also on the he/she has done (as Cinderella recognized verbal commentary: as princess). • the iconic denotative message (the Finding a unique partner and trying a shoe on photographic image of the object, quasi may be either a ceremonious or a ridiculous tautological in relationship with the real gesture, like in the American movie, but, at the object); same time, it represents the transition from a • the iconic connotative message (symbolic cultural system somehow fixed in time and for all associations in Cinderella represents space(here it is evident the differences between the image of the product). the French and the German version) to a global The publicity genre has been defined in the cultural system, where motives are being light of the complementarity of codes and by organized allegorically, from failure/ making the clear cut distinction between overt discomfort/ unhappiness towards success / meaning –shoes help walking – and hidden comfort /happiness. On the other hand, from a meaning – buy them! There are five types of linguistic and an imaginary point of view, the codifying a message in an advertisement: two versions of the initial story differ: • iconic (similar to the denotative icon: a 1. the unique denominator (Cinderella); flying shoe!) 2. the relationship with the space of hell and • iconographic (based on the cultural paradise (Mother, Godmother, Step traditions and genre conventions, similar Mother); to the icon: a magical shoe); 3. the relationship with the external and • tropologic (visual stylistic figures, internal duality (the desire for primarily the metaphor and the embellishment); metonymy: high heels make you sexy!);
International Journal of Communication Research 33 Noemi BOMHER
• topic (the pre-requisites and the argumentative common elements, especially if we consider quantity: Everyone uses Fendi shoes! And when we take into discussion quality, it is the uniqueness that matters: Only Fendi makes you beautiful!) • enthymematic (actualized narrative structure, based on enthymemes, or Clothes play an important role nowadays and mystery, such is the case of winning the fairytales are marvelous opportunities illustrate prince’s heart so that the argumentative the symbols of clothing designs. The symbol of efficiency is emphasized). clothes may express the opposition between the The communication with one’s own body is sobriety and the power that some clothes might more or less symbolic5 , but it is an important have, especially when they belong either to a part of existence. The happy-ending in Cinderella, master or to a servant in a sacred or dangerous the main character is rewarded by marrying the space, and the erotic game present also at this Prince, can offer useful pieces of advice to level (for instance, Catalin Botezatu got his first educate its listeners (they could become hard- success by presenting naked male models, while working and they could start loving birds, his second success was linked to his name maybe a Step Mother and Step-Sisters), but it humorously changed into Catalin Dezbracatu - can also have the role of advertising for women Catalin Undressed). who can buy elegant shoes, in order to create an The main character with a pejorative erotic image. nickname, Cinderella, assumes necessary Actually, a fairy-tale like Cinderella, humiliation; although she is hard-working, she represents a series of features with which some admires the beautiful clothes of her Step-Sisters. characters are endowed and an analysis of the She asks for an apparently insignificant gift, a fairy-tale will reveal the symbolism of gestures. rod, but with this gift she gets rid of her It seems that this fairytale, Cinderella6 , is nickname by attending, for three times, under characteristic for modern melodrama, because it disguise, the dancing parties in the company of contains a special polyphonic value, being the Prince. Cinderella manages to get a husband created as a counterpoint mystery (the characters and is in the position to be generous to her Step are arranged in visible and invisible pairs). Sisters or to punish them. Nowadays, psychoanalytical comments are Like in any fairytale, we have the myth of the often humorous, not only on the Internet, but also male hero, who is rescuing the female character. as they are discussed in certain studies. Shoes She is the contemporary symbol of perseverance become the emblem of this fairytale. and dance, despite of the obstacles imposed by The essential motives are illustrated on four fate (her Mother’s death, the Step Family) she German stamps, with drawings representing the tries to find a second family (Father remarries); main stages of the fairytale: when she listens to she loses her initial position and there follow and takes care of birds, the elegant dress, the some tests (which in fact are mainly for the dance and the lost shoe, the happy wedding. Prince). We can find here the object of the advertisement – footwear, which becomes active concomitantly by means of: - the material and semantic relationship with other distinctive symbols (E.g.: the musketeer boots from Puss in Boots are used as an ad for Adidas); - material and semantic relationship with groups and series of other symbols (elegant
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shoes in Cinderella); contemporary world. With the help of the - its relationship with entire systems of metaphor of theatrum mundi, we have a symbols (for instance, various “languages” continuous and theatrical change of masks, of a within the historic language) melodramatic type, a metaphor that is present - its direct relationship with the extra- more than ever in different types of linguistic universe (Cinderella appears as advertisements. an esthetic and social motif, which has been We also find the carnival motif reflecting the taken over in various languages and artistic romantic type of dream, which mingles good genres, having carnival structures; the comic and evil, which mocks destiny, which being understood as part of the carnival encompasses an upside-down world, while world, in an upside-down world: animals dialogues have an extra-linguistic character. talk, kings act foolishly, insane people Gestures in this fairytale reveal synthetically a become kings. sexual semiotics .The thematic structure of the The carnival represents the manifestation of a fairytale is based on binary oppositions, and deep pulsation towards freedom and those who read/watch/listen to the story enjoy subversiveness, towards revolution (in it. Even when we talk about the German version Romanian fairytales the symbol of the leg: the or the French one, people like this text. taste of flesh from the leg, as with Zorila Mireanu However, Cinderella has a sexual connotation which sacrifices a piece of flesh from the sole of as it is evident in the symbol of the leg and his foot to feed the eagle; in Patru Fat-Frumos, the mirror. The fairytale assumes a secret: the art of witch is given to eat “nine barrels of wine, nine being loved, the artifice, magic, an abstract or ovens of bread and nine fat bulls” and finally concrete fantasy, but the portrait triumphs over she claims flesh from the hero’s sole). the body and thus it introduces the utopia of Moreover, the non-verbal language about transparency. shoes offers different congruent or incongruent The discourse in advertisement is related to messages, especially related to the economic fiction, to the universe of desire, it may be a system, where clothing plays a vital role. The projection of the Ego in a mythic universe, where general nucleus of the story, the hero’s the hero may be the Shoe, the Prince or performance, is being validated after we have Cinderella. Also, the ad discourse reflects a discovered that we deal with an initiatory text in playful universe of puns, of irony, of rhyme and happiness and work. The world has a dual symmetry, in which we discover a complicity of character: material, partly intelligible, and pleasure. spiritual, unintelligible. Mirror writing and the fairytale, a crystal References: faceted by means of eloquence, introduces readers into the structure of the text. The mirror 1. Bomher, Noemi, 13 pa[i spre bucuria lecturii. Teorie mystery helps us measure the distance and the literar\, Editura Universitas, Ia[i, 2002; illusion, makes us understand the mechanics of 2. Bomher, Noemi, V\lul lui Isis, Editura Vasiliana, Ia[i, things, as signs and icons, as a mirror reflects the 2002. world in an upside-down way. Every epoch is 3. Caillois Roger, Eseuri despre imagina]ie, translated in characterized by such elements: the moral Romanian by Viorel Grecu, book’s preface by Paul Cornea, Editura Univers, Bucure[ti, 1975; mirror, mirror and beauty, mirror and courtesy, 4. Cassirer Ernst, Limbaj [i mit, «Secolul XX», nr. 325- mirror and theatre, mirror and false or essential 326-327/1988; contemplation. 5. Chevalier J., Gheerbrant A, Dic]ionar de simboluri, Furthermore, I have chosen this fairytale for Editura Artemis, Bucure[ti, 1995; the special clothes. Not only is it an element that 6. Culianu Ioan Petru, Mircea Eliade, Dic]ionar al our female readers are fond of , but it is also religiilor, translated by Cezar Baltag, Editura important in the carnival organized in Humanitas, Bucure[ti, 1993; 7. Ducrot, Oswald, Jean-Marie Schaeffer, Noul dic]ionar
International Journal of Communication Research 35 Noemi BOMHER
al [tiin]elor limbajului, Editura Babel, Bucure[ti, yourself, A-[i pune cenu[\ în cap (to do penance in 1996; sackcloth and ashes) = to be sorry for one’s acts, to 8. Durand Gilbert, Structurile antropologice ale show humility; in Antiquity, the Jews were showing imaginarului, Introducere în arhetipologia general\, their grief by tearing off their clothes and putting translated by Marcel Aderca, Editura Univers, ashes on their heads. Cinderella can be considered Bucure[ti, l977; as a sign of mourning. Dic]ionarul explicativ al limbii 9. Huizinga J., Homo ludens, Bucure[ti, Editura române, Academia Român\, Institutul de Lingvistic\ Humanitas, 1998; „Iorgu Iordan”, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998. 10.C. G. Jung, Psihologie [i alchimie, translated by 2 Carmen Oni]i and Maria Magdalena Anghelescu, 3 The first version of this fairytale is the one from 1697 Editura Universitas, 1988; of Charles Perrault, Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle 11.Pease Allan, Limbajul trupului, Cum pot fi citite de Verre; in Spanish we have Cinderela, A Gata gândurile altora din gesturile lor, Editura Polimark, Borralheira; in Portuguese Cenicienta, and then we Bucure[ti, 1999; have the Grimm’s versions from 1812, Aschenputtel. 12.Prutianu, {tefan, Manual de comunicare [i negociere în In Romania it has got various folk versions. We afaceri, Editura Polirom, Ia[i, 2000; should keep in mind that in Charles Perrault we 13.Frumu[ani-Roven]a, Daniela, Analiza discursului. have the Godmother, and that the glass shoes are in Ipoteze [i ipostaze, Bucure[ti, Editura Tritonic, fact fur shoes; in the German version we have doves 2005. and the step sisters are being punished. 4 For instance, the ash-color is a color obtained by Endnotes mixing white and black, gray. Figuratively, gray expresses someone or something that is lacking expressivity. 1 In Romanian, we have the expressions: A (se) preface 5 Annick de Souzenelle, Simbolismul corpului uman, în cenu[\ (to burn to ashes) = to be completely translated by Margareta Gyurcsik, Amarcord, destroyed (by fire); A nu avea nici cenu[\ în vatr\ = to Timi[oara, 1996, p. 101. be utterly ruined, A-i lua/a-i vinde cuiva [i cenu[a din 6 Cinderella’s name differs from one culture to vatr\ (to eat somebody out of house and home) = to have another: cendrillon, Cenu[\reasa, Óôá÷ôïðïýôá, nothing left, to be very poor, A trage cenu[a/spuza pe popelka, lapsipuolen, assepoester, cinderella, kopciuszek, turta sa [to look after number one] = to think first of cinderela, askepot.
36 volume 1 • issue 1 January / March 2011 • p. 32-36