Donkeyskin = Cinderella?

Maria Tatar argues in her introduction to Cinderella stories that both Donkeyskin and Cinderella stories posses so many similarities that it is reasonable to consider both types together. On page 102 she claims that over time Cinderella stories are reinvented, and it is this idea that bring me to believe that the two types of stories should be considered together.

Tatar explains that usually Cinderella stories are driven by the jealousy of the stepmother/stepsisters and father figures are usually eliminated as characters (but not always as we will see in the Italian version of this tale). In All-Fur stories the plot is driven by the sexual lust of a father for his daughter and the stepmother is eliminated as a character. (These stories, Tatar explains, touch of the taboo of incest thus this is why we may not be as familiar with them). Although there some strong differences, the basics of both stories run parallel, especially in the second half of the tales.

Tatar interestingly points out that in All-Fur stories the mother is basically to blame for all that the daughter must suffer through (because the promise she requested from the kind on her death bed so that he could not marry again). Therefore, in this version both biological parents become the villains even though the mother is essentially eliminated from the tale. In the Italian version of Cinderella, a mother figure of any kind is not present. Instead the father is said to have three daughters of his own. The father in this case becomes a sort of villain, as he does not favor Cinderella, calls her silly, ignores here, and in the end claims to only have two daughters when the prince’s messengers come calling. In this case, Cinderella is also more clever and active as she rejects the initiation to go to the ball with her family, and then shows up later to capture the princes heart. Other parallels between the two stories can be drawn such as the ring compared to the shoes, the occurrence of three balls instead of just one and so on.

Despite the obvious presence of differences in both types of stories, I think that it is fair to conclude that both come from a common point of origin as the similarities are to close to ignore. As stories cross boarders and time passes, they are changed be who ever is telling them. At some point in time these two story types may have been one in the same and depending on the storyteller and audience evolved into the separate tales we have today.