Critique of Morrison's "cinderella's Stepsisters"

In the excerpt "Cinderella's Stepsisters" taken from a persuasive speech given at Barnard College, Toni Morrison encourages her audience of entirely females to avoid the disdainful character shown by the stepmother and stepsisters in the fairy tale, "Cinderella." Morrison, a novelist, editor, and professor, primarily focuses on African American Literature. Though much of her writing focuses on black women, Morrison does not claim her pieces as feminist. However, I believe that this speech declares otherwise.

Morrison delivers this address in order to persuade her female spectators not to behave toward other women of society in a way of domination and cruelty, as did Cinderella's stepsisters. While doing so, she uses examples from the story and relates them to real world actions of violence among women, affirms women's rights, and urges for the spread of her cause against such harmful actions towards other females. Morrison asserts, "I want not to ask you but to tell you not to participate in the oppression of your sisters" (Morrison 2).

In the opening of the selection, Morison claims that she feels a sense of urgency to discuss and relate to this story, specifically the main character, Cinderella. She describes the story as troubling, for it is fundamentally a story of a "household … of women gathered together and held together in order to abuse another woman" (1). Morrison states that it is the stepsisters who catch her attention. She envisions that their mother's scornfulness towards another girl must have caused instability in the raising of the two stepsisters, for this only set a poor example that the two girls would follow.

Morrison speaks of her curiosity about the destiny of the two stepsisters after the story's ending. She refers to description of the young women, and that they were considered of very high status and authority. She questions the future of the sisters, who having witnessed and contributed to such cruel behavior towards another female, and how they will behave toward their own families. She relates this example to potential modern occurrence of feminine power toward other women. Morrison claims, "Soon you will be in a position to do the very same thing … you will … have both the economic and social status of the stepsisters and you will have their power" (2). She gives several real-life examples of domination and violence among females in the workforce and society. She makes a connection to the story when stating, "Since you will have the power to do it, you may also be persuaded that you have the right to do it" (3). Morrison is relating this to the stepsisters, and their power and persuasion by their mother to also enslave Cinderella, and how the females in her audience may feel like they have the same authority in their future. She also makes a connection when she asserts that women are needed to help prevent such abuse, uttering that "another woman must come to the victim's aid" (3). When speaking of the "victim," she is referring to Cinderella and the "aid," her fairy godmother.

Morrison goes on to discuss the equality of all women and the importance of supporting such cause. She claims that many women shall begin to focus on the fulfillment of their hopes and aspirations, and the outcome will be that they come to realize something or someone of the same importance as themselves, and of their true personal goals. She states that "Women's rights are not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair" (4), meaning that this is not just for women as a whole, but a personal cause about and for the individual woman.

Morrison suggests that females focus on their "nurturing sensibilities as to [their] ambition," and claims that "freedom is to free somebody else" (3). Here, Morrison is encouraging women to not take dominion over other females, but rather