History Literature / AllTheEverAfters

We all know the story of [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Cinderella]] from the point of view of the titular young woman, but what about from her [[WickedStepmother stepmother’s]] [[PerspectiveFlip point of view]]? In ''All the Ever Afters'', we get to see the origins of Cinderella's stepmother, of how she wasn't all that wicked after all, and how her sisters were deemed ugly by the era's unfair beauty standards.

We all know the story of [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Cinderella]] from the point of view of the titular young woman, but what about from her [[WickedStepmother stepmother’s]] [[PerspectiveFlip point of view]]? This novel, by Danielle Teller, seeks to turn the original fairytale [[FracturedFairyTale on its head]] and shed some light on the stepmother, Agnes. However, rather than being a strict retelling of Cinderella, Teller starts off in Agnes’s childhood, explaining how her story began. This story also eliminates the fantasy elements from the story and takes place in a very realistic version of the Middle Ages.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Much of the cruel things Agnes did in the original story are cast in a much kinder light here. Ella being made to sleep in the attic was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, only because she refused to stop antagonizing her stepsisters and because there's only one of her and two of them, meaning they required more space. Her bed and things are also moved up there, and she stays up there because she cleans it up and decorates the space. She only asked Ella to do the same chores her daughters did. Since there are no fantasy elements in this story, Agnes's trying to shut out the rats and mice is actually a reasonable thing to do in order to keep Ella healthy.

* SpoiledBrat: Ella turns out to be this. This story makes the case that Agnes being cruel to Cinderella in the story and favoring her daughters was much fairer, but it seemed like unfair treatment to someone as spoiled as Ella. For instance, her not getting a gown for Ella but getting new ones for her daughters was actually due to the fact that Ella already had plenty of gowns but her daughters barely had anything.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Much of the cruel things Agnes did in the original story are cast in a much kinder light here. Ella being made to sleep in the attic was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, only because she refused to stop antagonizing her stepsisters and because there's only one of her and two of them, meaning they required more space. Her bed and things are also moved up there, and she stays up there because she cleans it up and decorates the space. She only asked Ella to do the same chores her daughters did. Since there are no fantasy elements in this story, Agnes's trying to shut out the rats and mice is actually a reasonable thing to do.
* AdaptationalVillainy

* FantasticRacism: Cinderella's stepsisters were the result of an interracial relationship, resulting in Charlotte having dark skin and curly hair. Agnes notes that she is pretty, but the racist beauty standards of the era which value light skin and smooth hair treat her as ugly. On top of that, some of her neighbors think that her dark skin is a sign that she's a witch. Agnes has the last laugh by spreading rumors about the mother of the children who bullied her daughters being a witch. Despite her being from a well-to-do and pious family, since she was known around town to be full of herself and everybody loves Agnes's ale, it works like a charm and they're forced to leave Agnes and her family alone.

* SpoiledBrat: Ella turns out to be this. This story makes the case that Agnes being cruel to Cinderella in the story and favoring her daughters was much fairer, but it seemed like unfair treatment to someone as spoiled as Ella. For instance, her not getting a gown for Ella but getting them for her daughter was actually due to the fact that Ella already had plenty of gowns but her daughters barely had anything.

* SpoiledBrat: Ella turns out to be this. This story makes the case that Agnes being cruel to Cinderella in the story and favoring her daughters was much fairer, but it seemed like Unfair treatment to someone as spoiled as Ella. For instance, her not getting a gown for Ella but getting them for her daughter was actually due to the fact that Ella already had plenty of gowns but her daughters barely had anything.

* AdaptationalHeroism

* SpoiledBrat: Ella turns out to be this. This story makes the case that Agnes being cruel to Cinderella in the story and favoring her daughters was much fairer. For instance, her not getting a gown for Ella but getting them for her daughter was actually due to the fact that Ella already had plenty of gowns but her daughters barely had anything.

* FantasticRacism: Cinderella's stepsisters were the result of an interracial relationship, resulting in one of them having dark skin and curly hair. Agnes notes that she is pretty, but the racist beauty standards of the era which value light skin and smooth hair treat her as ugly. On top of that, some of her neighbors think that her dark skin is a sign that she's a witch. Agnes has the last laugh by spreading rumors about the mother of the children who bullied her daughters being a witch. Despite her being from a well-to-do and pious family, since she was known around town to be full of herself and everybody loves Agnes's ale, it works like a charm and they're forced to leave Agnes and her family alone.

We all know the story of [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Cinderella]] from the point of view of the titular young woman, but what about from her [[WickedStepmother stepmother’s]] [[PerspectiveFlip point of view]]? This novel, by Danielle Teller, seeks to turn the original fairytale [[FracturedFairyTale on its head]] and shed some light on the stepmother, Agnes. However, rather than being a strict retelling of Cinderella, Teller starts off in Agnes’s childhood, explaining how her story began.

* DeliberateValuesDisonance: Domestic abuse is not seen as out of the ordinary and widows by law don't have any right to inherit.

* DelibrateValuesDisonance: Domestic abuse is not seen as out of the ordinary and widows by law don't have any right to inherit.

* TheMiddleAges

*

* FracturedFairyTale

We all know the story of Cinderella from the point of view of the titular young woman, but what about from her [[WickedStepmother stepmother’s]] [[PerspectiveFlip point of view]]? This novel, by Danielle Teller, seeks to turn the original fairytale [[FracturedFairyTale on its head]] and shed some light on the stepmother, Agnes. However, rather than being a strict retelling of Cinderella, Teller starts off in Agnes’s childhood, explaining how her story began.