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“They were not pretty, these women. Pretty did not begin to describe them.
They were shrewd. Powerful. Wily. Proud. Dangerous.
They were strong.
They were brave.
They were beautiful.”
Isabelle is not pretty. She’s also not kind. Isabelle is Ella’s ugly stepsister. Lucky for Isabelle, Marquis de la Chance -- chance, personified -- wants to give her an opportunity to change all of that.
Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly is an extension to the fairytale Cinderella in which we get to see what happens after Cinderella is whisked away by her prince. We see how an evil stepmother goes crazy, why two ugly stepsisters turned cold, and how the town reacts to their now queen’s dark upbringing. However, Donnelly’s feminist story about how all women are in a fight against beauty standards and feminine stereotypes helps us realize even ugly stepsisters have the ability to change.
Unknown to Isabelle, Fate (fate, personified) and Chance are fighting over which force will be more powerful in her life. Chance believes humans have the ability to choose and power to take control over their lives, whereas Fate thinks humans are far too weak and no match for the life she has set them up for.
Ultimately, it does take a little bit of magic to jump-start Isabelle’s journey to putting the broken pieces of her heart back together. Often it takes a little bit of magic -- a good deed, a wise friend, for example -- to push us in the right direction, too.
In this version of Cinderella, it’s not Ella’s Fairy Godmother who grants her wish to get her to the ball, but the Fairy Queen, Tanaquill, who responds when a person’s heart is sincerely calling for her to grant their wish. When Isabelle first meets Tanaquill, she makes the wish to be pretty -- she believes this will solve all of her problems. If Isabelle were pretty, she believes she’d find a husband, townsfolk would stop referring to her as the “ugly stepsister,” and instead be more forgiving of a pretty face, and overall Isabelle has been taught this is all women are good for.
Tanaquill doesn’t know if she can help Isabelle at first, because, “It was easy to help Ella, but I cannot help a girl such as you. You are too full of bitterness. It fills the place where your heart used to be,” (page 72). While disappointed in her wish, Tanaquill ends up agreeing to help Isabelle so long as Isabelle finds the three broken pieces of her heart. Bitterness tends to push out our positive qualities, and Isabelle learns this fast.
Isabelle decides that in order to put her heart back together, she must be more like her stepsister, Ella. She attempts charity, kindness and gentleness; all of which land her in bad situations. When she attempts charity, the townsfolk have yet to forgive her for her harsh treatment of Queen Ella, and so she ends up getting into a food fight with the orphans she was donating eggs to. When she runs into Tanaquill after each attempt at being like Ella, Tanaquill reminds her that Ella’s heart and her heart are not the same.
Something I believe is that there are a handful of negative traits people can have and share. I think that people either choose to feed into those traits, and in turn become just like everyone else; or, they choose to feed into their positive traits instead, and that’s what really makes them unique. Stepsister is a good example of this belief. Ella is not more or less a person or a woman than Isabelle because of her quiet nature or forgiving heart. Isabelle was born different, in a world where women are told they should be more like Ella. While Ella’s strength lies in her ability to respond with kindness 99% of the time, Isabelle’s strength lies in her ability to fight for what’s right. Sometimes, people can be both a lover and a fighter, as both are necessary in this world.
What Isabelle realizes is that her story is different from other women, and theirs different from each other. What makes her powerful are her own unique talents.
I loved Stepsister’s aspect of differentiating “pretty” from “beautiful.” “Pretty” is a rather shallow term, where “beautiful” hints at depth. As Isabelle finds the broken pieces of her heart, even townsfolk take notice on the change in her countenance. Some look at one another in confusion when she walks by, asking “That’s Queen Ella’s stepsister? Isn’t she supposed to be ugly?” When we are being the best versions of ourselves, or trying to be that, that’s when we are the most beautiful. Donnelly reveals how even the worst of us can become the best of us, and how women are warriors, no matter what war they are fighting. Ella fights with love in order to feed the homeless, Isabelle fights physical battles in order to save cities, and even Tavi (the other stepsister) fights with intelligence in order to bring forth new inventions to the world.
In this story, Fate represents what the world wants us to be. Fate represents the lazy man’s belief that life is just going to happen for you, that hardship happens to bad people and good things happen to good people. Chance represents how often the world gives us the ability to choose between being mediocre or being a better version of ourselves. Tanaquill and her magic represent the little reminders -- think quotes on our Instagram feed, eating good food, watching the sunset, the small motivations in life -- which urge us to search for our inner truth and ultimately better life beyond.
Jennifer Donnelly’s writing style is very fairytale-esque. She breaks out of the story to speak directly to the reader at times, making it a bit of a fluffy story but a solid one nonetheless. She uses enough descriptive detail to paint a picture for lazy readers (but doesn’t drag on), and she comes up with an entourage of colorful characters that hopefully will turn into fanart. Set in the town of Sont-Michele, France makes this story even dreamier. I gave it 4.5 stars; it lost a star just due to personal taste in writing style. Overall, it is one I’ll reread time and time again, especially when I need a pick-me-up reminder that I am beautiful, and women are powerful -- especially when we are united.
You can purchase the book here.
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