History Main / CinderellaCircumstances

ChangelingFantasy is a more upbeat variation of the concept in which the child imagines themselves to be a {{Foundling}} of RoyalBlood instead of an unappreciated stepchild. Not to be confused with ChangelingTale, in which the child is [[RedHeadedStepchild abused and discarded]] because he's actually one of TheFairFolk (the original baby was stolen long ago). See also EvilUncle. Not quite the same thing as RagsToRiches.

* The 1980s version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Pound Puppies|1980s}}'' has Holly, an orphan who is constantly abused/exploited by her aunt and cousin. By the end of the first season, it was implied she inherited their house and lived happily ever after. Then came the second season...

When characters in rich -- or at least comfortable -- situations suddenly find themselves at the bottom of the pile, often forced to become servants in their own homes. Since this is often because of family circumstances, the death of the family breadwinner may be involved, especially if Mom or Dad remarried before passing, because the step-parent isn't likely to give the "old children" any share in the estate, ''especially'' if they have children of their own.

ChangelingFantasy is a more upbeat variation of the concept in which the child imagines themselves to be a {{Foundling}} of RoyalBlood instead of an unappreciated stepchild. Not to be confused with ChangelingTale, in which the child is [[RedHeadedStepchild treated differently]] due to abduction by TheFairFolk. See also EvilUncle. Not quite the same thing as RagsToRiches.

Compare SculleryMaid, GuessWhoImMarrying. Contrast ''Literature/TheFrogPrince'' and related stories where the heroine must learn to live with an animal.

Similar to [[ChangelingFantasy Riches to Rags]], this trope may come into play when a rich child's [[ParentalAbandonment single parent]] marries [[WickedStepmother someone secretly cruel/mean]] who acts sweet and nice around said parent and two-faced/terrible around their new child. If the stepparent has children of their own, expect the children to have a similar personality; the child may lose their parents or be abandoned by them and sent to an OrphanageOfFear. Worse still, the poor child may have been born into such circumstances where she is forced to work for her keep.

In other words, the formerly well-to-do child is reduced to a lower state in life (they may be put into the position of a servant for their new stepmother and stepsisters) though he or she may not have been all that well-to-do to begin with.

* At the start of ''WesternAnimation/BarbieMariposa'', Mariposa is forced to wait on Rayla and Rayna, with little time for her own interests.

Similar to [[ChangelingFantasy Riches to Rags]], this trope may come into play when a rich child's [[ParentalAbandonment single parent]] marries [[WickedStepmother someone secretly cruel/mean]] who acts sweet and nice around said parent and two-faced/terrible around their new child. If the stepparent has children of their own, expect the children to have a similar personality; the child may lose their parents or be abandoned by them and sent to a OrphanageOfFear. Worse still, the poor child may have been born into such circumstances where she is forced to work for her keep.

* This is Hana Morenos's situation at the start of ''Anime/MichikoAndHatchin'', a.k.a. ''Finding Paradiso''. She lives with a foster family who are nothing but assholes to her, and not only has to endure bullying from both her foster brother and her foster sister, but is also made to do all the chores by the parents, including one [[KickTheDog asshole moment]] where the foster mother dumps the omelette that Hana cooked for her on the floor with the rest of her plate because she'd burned the underside of it, and orders her not only to cook another one, but also to ''clean up the mess the mother just made''! And when Michiko, who becomes one half of the BadassAndChildDuo of the series, kidnaps Hana, the father decides to [[spoiler:try to out and out ''murder her'' for the insurance money]].

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/asbjornsenmoe/katiewoodencloak.html Katie Woodencloak]]'', the stepmother turned Katie out to tend the cows. When she finds that a dun cow is magically helping her, she set out to have the cow killed. Katie ran away, and found a job working in the kitchen.

* Angelica, in ''WesternAnimation/TitanicTheLegendGoesOn'', is basically a Cinderella {{expy}}, complete with the evil stepfamily. It's not made entirely clear how they became her stepfamily, since her father is never seen [[spoiler:and her mother is still alive]], but they definitely treat her like Cinderella; in one scene, one stepsister even deliberately smashes a teacup just to make her clean up the mess.

* ''Film/NotCinderellasType'': A modern and semi realistic update to the formulae.

* ''Literature/JamesAndTheGiantPeach'': After an escaped rhino [[ArtisticLicenseBiology eats James parents]], James goes to live with his two cruel aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, who play this trope to its hilt.

* The Baudelaire siblings in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' are sent from one IllegalGuardian and useless caretaker to the next, after their parents die in a fire, and their first guardian, Count Olaf, was pretty much the worst of them. It's revealed that he didn't care about them at all and merely wanted their fortune and was trying to kill them to get it. As such, he makes his hatred and hostility towards them quite clear during their time with him. He makes them sleep in one sparsely decorated bedroom together, with a uncomfortable bed, and no crib for Sunny. Also, he usually leaves them a long list of difficult and tedious chores to do, while he's out for the day. He also abuses them.

* In ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'', Sara is packed off to a boarding school for formal education. However, after a few years, word comes that her beloved father is dead, and that his fortune is spent. Since Sara can no longer pay for her education, Miss Minchin, the cruel owner of the boarding school, dismisses Sara's maid, confiscates her possessions (except for her doll Emily), moves her into a drafty attic room, and forces Sara to work as a servant. In addition to that, former fellow students like Lavinia start to treat her like she's less than trash.

** Coral in ''This Girl'' is around 16 and has to work full time as a nanny because her parents can't (or in her mother's case, won't) get jobs. She's subsequently exploited by the wealthy couple that employ her, and even after getting away from them, she ends up working long hours in a marketplace to support her new girlfriend and stepson.

* In M. M. Kaye's ''Literature/TheOrdinaryPrincess'', Princess Amethyst runs away from her home kingdom in order to keep her parents from hiring a dragon as a last-ditch effort to get her married off. She takes a job as a scullery maid in the castle of a neighboring kingdom, and unlike most examples of the trope she's much more satisfied with the job than she ever was as a princess.

* After being [[BalefulPolymorph cursed and forcibly transformed]], Sabrina Bunahr of ''Literature/Birthright2017'' is pressed into servitude [[ManInTheIronMask in order to keep her hidden]]. Rather than the traditional houskeeping, however, Sabrina is instead forced to do manual labour, carrying building materials around a construction site.

* Marian's situation in ''Literature/BlackJewels'' before meeting the other main characters. She was the least favored daughter of her family, and had to do all the housework.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* The ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "Fitting Punishment" is based around a homeless, orphaned teenager being sent to live with his EvilUncle. The uncle uses the boy as slave labour in his mortuary, verbally and physically abuses him, cripples him during a beating and then murders him because the boy is costing too much money to keep. [[spoiler:Eventually the boy returns as a zombie and kills his uncle.]]

[[folder:Web Comics ]]

* The 1980s version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Pound Puppies|1980s}}'' has Holly, an orphan who is constantly abused/exploited by her aunt and cousin. By the end of the first season, it was implied she inherited their house, and lived happily ever after. Then came the second season...

* ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'', of course.

Compare SculleryMaid, GuessWhoImMarrying. Contrast "Literature/TheFrogPrince" and related stories where the heroine must learn to live with an animal.

For other tropes associated with "Literature/{{Cinderella}}", see WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve, TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper.

[[folder:Fairy Tale]]

* Rhodopis, the heroine of "Literature/TheEgyptianCinderella", is a Greek girl captured by pirates and sold to Egypt where she is not only forced to work as a slave, but also mocked by her fellow slaves for her foreign looks.

* This is Hana Morenos's situation at the start of ''Anime/MichikoAndHatchin'', a.k.a. ''Finding Paradiso''. She lives with a foster family who are nothing but assholes to her, and not only has to endure bullying from both her foster brother and her foster sister, but is also made to do all the chores by the parents, including one [[KickTheDog asshole moment]] where the foster mother dumps the omelette that Hana cooked for her on the floor with the rest of her plate because she'd burned the underside of it, and orders her not only to cook another one, but also ''clean up the mess the mother just made''! And when Michiko, who becomes one half of the BadassAndChildDuo of the series, kidnaps Hana, the father decides to [[spoiler:try to out and out ''murder her'' for the insurance money]].

* This is Hana Morenos's situation at the start of ''Anime/MichikoAndHatchin'', a.k.a. ''Finding Paradiso''. She lives with a foster family who are nothing but assholes to her, and not only has to endure bullying from both her foster brother and her foster sister, but is also made to do all the chores by the parents, including one [[KickTheDog asshole moment]] where the foster mother dumps Hana's omelette on the floor with the rest of her plate because she'd burned the underside of it, and orders her not only to cook another one, but also clean up the mess the mother just made! And when Michiko, who becomes one half of the BadassAndChildDuo of the series, kidnaps Hana, the father decides to [[spoiler:try to out and out ''murder her'' for the insurance money]].

* This is Hana Morenos's situation at the start of ''Anime/MichikoAndHatchin'', a.k.a. ''Finding Paradiso''. She lives with a foster family who are nothing but assholes to her, and not only has to endure bullying from both her foster brother and her foster sister, but is also made to do all the chores by the parents, including one [[KickTheDog asshole moment]] where the foster mother dumps Hana's omelette on the floor with the rest of the food and orders her to cook another one AND clean up the mess the mother just made! The family are so cruel that when Michiko, who becomes one half of the BadassAndChildDuo of the series, kidnaps her, the father decides to [[spoiler:try to out and out ''murder her'' for the insurance money]].

* This is Hana Morenos's situation at the start of ''Anime/MichikoAndHatchin'', a.k.a. ''Finding Paradiso''. She lives with a foster family who are nothing but assholes to her, and not only has to endure bullying from both her foster brother and her foster sister, but is also made to do all the chores by the parents, including one [[KickTheDog asshole moment]] where the foster mother dumps Hana's omelette on the floor with the rest of the food and orders her to cook another one AND clean up the mess the mother just made! The family are so cruel that when Michiko, who becomes one half of the BadassAndChildDuo of the series, kidnaps her, the father decides to [[spoiler:try to out and out ''murder her'' for the insurance money.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2004 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ceb455300a620d2e5c48c960d38165fe.jpg]]]]

Compare SculleryMaid, GuessWhoImMarrying.

Contrast "Literature/TheFrogPrince" and related stories where the heroine must learn to live with an animal.

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[[folder:Anime/Manga]]

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Konsatu's story is how things would be if Cinderella and her step-family were kunoichi and Cinderella [[spoiler: was actually [[GenderReveal a man]].]]

* In Webcomic/{{Strays}}, [[http://www.straysonline.com/comic/140.htm Meela's fate, briefly]].

->''"[[LampshadeHanging Work hard enough, and you can go to the ball]]...room. Which is even dirtier."''

* ''Film/TheParentTrap'' (original and remake) has elements of this, mostly regarding the WickedStepmother.

* ''Film/TheParentTrap'' (original and remake)
* The movie ''Film/EverAfter'' starring Drew Barrymore.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'', before he gets sent off to Hogwarts, and even later on his Uncle Dursley never does stop treating him like crap.

* The Bride in [[Literature/TheBible ''The Song of Songs'']] justifies her dark complexion with this:

* Fanny Price of Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' was, ironically, sent to live with her rich uncle and aunts because they could logically offer her a better life than her parents could. Her aunt, [[NamesTheSame Mrs. Norris]] turned out to be a WickedStepmother in all but name, and even though her Uncle showed her kindness, Fanny was never allowed to forget that she was a charity case.

** Hetty of the Hetty Feather series is forced into domestic servitude during the book ''Sapphire Battersea''.

** In ''Nowhere To Run'', Emily Mayer's WickedStepmother treats her like a live-in nanny for her baby sister.

* In ''Literature/EightCousins'', Phebe starts out as an orphan from the workhouse who first becomes Rose's personal maid, before being launched into a successful singing career.

* In the fifth installment of the ''Videogame/DarkParables'' series, the character Katherine has this as her backstory. A small side story within the game explains that after their parents' deaths, she and her stepsister Cyrilla were left in the care of an EvilUncle who forced them to basically work as unpaid domestic servants. This is particularly fitting since Katherine is the title character of the game - ''The Final Cinderella''.

* Billy Batson (and his sister, Mary) who would grow up to become [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], belonged to a wealthy family but lost his fortune after his parents died and he was sent to an orphanage by his evil Uncle [[MeaningfulName Ebenezer]], who actually made a DealWithTheDevil to keep his fortune. Despite this, Billy still saves his soul from {{Satan}}.

* ''Literature/JamesAndTheGiantPeach'': After an escaped rhino [[YouFailBiologyForever eats James parents]], James goes to live with his two cruel aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, who play this trope to its hilt.

* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul [=:re=]'', BattleButler SobriquetSexSwitch Kanae von Rosewald (Karren) went from the youngest child of an extremely wealthy German family... to a servant in the household of her own uncle. Unlike most examples of the trope, she's treated well by everyone there... but there's still something troubling about making your orphaned ten year old niece a servant to her only surviving relatives.