History Literature / EllaEnchanted

* DeniedFoodAsPunishment: After Ella talks back to her teacher Sewing Mistress, the lady punishes Ella by making her skip both dinner that night and breakfast the next morning. (It was going to be just dinner, but Ella couldn't stop herself making a defiant remark in response to the punishment, so the teacher extends it in retaliation.)

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Every one of Lucinda's blessings, which makes her a laughingstock when the other fairies point out the logical flaws.

* NoAccountingForTaste: [[spoiler:Olive marries an older man, a widower, who just wants a wife. In return, he agrees to give her money, serve white cake at every meal, and talk to her whenever she wants him to talk]].

* NoAccountingForTaste: [[spoiler:Olive marries an older man, a widower, who just wants a wife. Since she wasn't eager to wed, he agrees to pay her money every day and serve white cake at every meal, and talk to her whenever she wants him to talk]].

* LiteralGenie: Ella's friends are careful to phrase all of their requests to her in the conditional mood ("could you...?"), which gives her the leeway of refusing. On the other hand, Ella also would follow an improperly phrased order with vexing precision to annoy anyone who tried to take advantage of her curse.

* DeniedFoodAsPunishment: After Ella talks back to her teacher Sewing Mistress, the lady punishes Ella by making her skip both dinner that night and breakfast the next morning.

* DeathByNewberryMedal: Ella's mother dies at the beginning of the book, due to her falling ill and not eating the unicorn hairs in Mandy's soup. Mandy says that by the time she realized that the Lady Frell hadn't eaten the hairs, it was too late. This book was also nominated for a Newberry medal.

** Ella's mother not eating all the ingredients of the magic soup that Mandy prepared for her while sick, picking out the unicorn hairs. Though Mandy ought to have noticed and told her, to be fair.

** Hattie's vindictive jealousy of Ella and any girl who appears to do better than her ends up [[spoiler:causing her downfall: she unmasks Ella at the masquerade ball, tries to pass off Ella later on as a scullery maid, and openly orders GoToYourRoom and reveals her knowledge of the {{Geas}} to Char.]]

* LiteralGenie: Ella's friends are careful to phrase all of their requests to her in the conditional mood ("could you...?"), which gives her the leeway of refusing. On the other hand, Ella also would follow an improperly phrased order with vexing precision to annoying anyone who tried to take advantage of her curse.
* LoopholeAbuse: As she got older, Ella learned certain ways to work around her curse.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Ella's stepfamily outs themselves as a bunch of {{Jerkass}}ed to Char in the climax when [[spoiler:Hattie unmasks Ella at the ball when before Ella would have been content to just have had those three nights, tries to pass off Ella as a scullery maid, order Ella to deny the wedding proposal, and send her to her room. Olive demands that Ella marry Char and give Olive money, and Dame Olga belatedly sees the GoldDigger opportunity and can't hide her greedy intentions.]] As a result, ''none'' of them [[spoiler:are welcome in the royal court or at the wedding, especially since Ella is no longer under a {{Geas}} and tells Char off-screen what her father and stepfamily did.]]

* TongueTied: Ella's mother ordered her not to tell anyone about her curse after a former childhood friend found out and used it as a power play.

** Which is lampshaded when [[spoiler:Ella uses her magical book to read a diary entry he writes. When he writes about the mysterious maiden he's fallen for at the balls, he accidentally writes her name as Ella's. He then crosses it out and writes "Why did I write that name?"]]

* WickedStepmother: Kicks in with Dame Olga almost immediately after the marriage.

* LiteralGenie: Ella's friends are careful to phrase all of their requests to her in the conditional mood ("could you...?"), which gives her the leeway of refusing. On the other hand, Ella also would follow an improperly phrased order with vexing precision to annoying anyone who tried to take advantage of her curse.

At birth, Ella, the protagonist, is given the "gift" of obedience by Lucinda, a fairy. Thus is Ella BlessedWithSuck. She is forced to obey every direct order given to her, no matter what. Eventually Ella learns to fight the curse, delaying her obedience, but she becomes sick when she tries. She also fights the curse by [[LiteralGenie not doing exactly what is wanted when the wording of an order is not clear enough]].

The basics of "Cinderella" are in Ella Enchanted: There is a MissingMom, then later a WickedStepmother. There is a DisappearedDad, as Ella's father is often away on business. (The closer the book gets to the climax, the more Cinderella plot elements are included.)

* BalefulPolymorph: One of Lucinda's other 'gifts' involved turning the recipient into a squirrel; she believes she's doing them a favour until she spends six months as a squirrel herself.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Charmont is very protective of his little sister, [[spoiler:to the point that he sent his former tutor to ruin because he made her cry]].

* BigEater: Dame Olga and her daughters.

** Ella. Almost literal example!

* FairyGodmother: Deconstructed with Lucinda, who goes around giving BlessedWithSuck "help" to people who don't want it, and Mandy, Ella's actual godmother, who it turns out is also a fairy but is much more inconspicuous (and thoughtful) about the help she gives.
* ForgedLetter: Ella realizes that if she were to marry Char, her curse would make his life difficult and even dangerous, so she writes a letter in her own handwriting, claiming she's run away with a rich lord, then writes an accompanying letter in her stepsister's handwriting, terrible spelling and all, to back it up. He burns her letters as a result, but later on [[spoiler:on learning that she loves him]] thinks the letter from her is fake, instead.

** Olive's most prominent character trait is a desire for more money. She constantly demands that Ella hand over whatever little she has and, when it looks like Ella is marrying Char, she orders her to "give me all of your money!" Char is also shocked that she seriously thinks it would be acceptable for him to order all of his subjects to give him all of his money, just so he'd be richer. Given how Olive is very simple-minded and surrounded by her very greedy, vain sister and mother, it's no wonder she ended up that way.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: In the hopes of getting Lucinda to lift the curse on Ella, [[spoiler:Mandy tricks Lucinda into changing into a squirrel, and then becoming obedient. Lucinda learns quite quickly that her "blessings" are literally BlessedWithSuck. She agrees to give up "big magic" though she helps Ella with a carriage to the ball and jewelry.]]

* {{Irony}}: Being blessed with "obedience" led to Ella being more stubborn.

* MissingMom: Ella's mom dies of illness early in the book.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Mandy tricks Lucinda into trying out the magical gifts she's bestowed on newlyweds and babies. After three months of being a squirrel, and three months of being an obedient child, Lucinda goes through a horrible breakdown and learns of how many lives she's ruined.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Ella's stepfamily outs themselves as a {{Jerkass}} group to Char in the climax when [[spoiler:Hattie unmasks Ella at the ball when before Ella would have been content to just have had those three nights, tries to pass off Ella as a scullery maid, order Ella to deny the wedding proposal, and send her to her room. Olive demands that Ella marry Char and give Olive money, and Dame Olga belatedly sees the GoldDigger opportunity and can't hide her greedy intentions.]] As a result, ''none'' of them [[spoiler:are welcome in the royal court or at the wedding, especially since Ella is no longer under a {{Geas}} and tells Char off-screen what her father and stepfamily did.]]

* ObliviouslyEvil: Downplayed with Lucinda -- she isn't a mean person, but her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies renders her completely oblivious to the idea that her blessings might have long-term difficulties and is too stubborn to listen to others' advice. [[spoiler:After being turned into a squirrel and an obedient child for a while, she grows out of it. ''Fairest'' reveals that she did even worse in Ayortha by giving Queen Ivi a magic mirror, a mirror that nearly leads to civil war.]]

* OurElvesAreDifferent: Our elves strongly resemble plants and place extreme value on beautifully crafted objects. They don't actually place much of a trade value on things, either; [[spoiler: while Ella's father takes quite a while trying to find a way to trade for some of the Elvish masterworks because of their trade value, they give one freely to Ella because she's entranced by the simple beauty of the piece rather than its monetary value.]]
* OurOgresAreHungrier: An AlwaysChaoticEvil race of GeniusBruiser cannibals and sorcerers with hypnotic voices and the ability to divine weaknesses simply by looking at people. Ella manages to turn their gifts on them by learning Ogrese on the spot and stalling them until Char and his army rescues her.

* SuperOCD: A curse that causes you to obey commands you don't want to do, causing discomfort and distress if you try and refuse? Sounds pretty familiar...
* SupremeChef: Mandy is one, and all of her meals are delicious. Her Tonic is the only thing that Ella dislikes, and that's because of the slippery texture rather than the taste. It's the only food that Hattie ''doesn't'' steal from Ella because of that.

** Hattie attempting to pass off Ella [[spoiler:as a scullery maid to Char after unmasking her at the ball.]] Both she and Char know what Ella look like, and [[spoiler:Char is not only disgusted on hearing that Ella's been treated as a scullery maid, but also he witnesses Hattie's verbal abuse.]]

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When Charmont confesses [[spoiler:to Ella in a letter that he loves her, for several hours she fantasizes having her freedom away from Dame Olga and Hattie and being with the man she loves.]] When the buzz wears off, however, she thinks through [[spoiler:the consequences of still being cursed, including what it might do to the kingdom, and writes a letter pretending that she has eloped.]] That's right, Ella would rather [[spoiler:sacrifice a chance at freedom than endanger Char and the kingdom.]] This is also how she [[spoiler:breaks the curse, when Char accidentally orders her to accept his proposal, and after struggling for several minutes she manages to reject it instead.]]

* InternalReveal: On the third night of the ball, [[spoiler:Hattie removes Ella's mask while she's agreeing to be JustFriends with Char. This causes Ella to run and attempt to flee the town with Mandy, but she doesn't even get to leave the house before Char catches up to her.]]

* ObliviouslyEvil: Downplayed with Lucinda -- she isn't a mean person, but her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies renders her completely oblivious to the idea that her blessings might have long-term difficulties and is too stubborn to listen to others' advice. [[spoiler:After being turned into a squirrel and an obedient child for a while, she grows out of it.]]

* OurOgresAreHungrier: An AlwaysChaoticEvil race of GeniusBruiser cannibals and sorcerers with hypnotic voices and the ability to divine weaknesses simply by looking at people.

** Hattie's vindictive jealousy of Ella and any girl who appears to do better than her ends up [[spoiler:causing her downfall: she unmasks Ella at the masquerade ball, tries to pass of Ella later on as a scullery maid, and openly orders GoToYourRoom and reveals her knowledge of the {{Geas}} to Char.]]

* BlackBestFriend: Areida.

* KnightTemplar: Downplayed with Lucinda -- she isn't a mean person, but her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies renders her completely oblivious to the idea that her blessings might have long-term difficulties and is too stubborn to listen to others' advice. [[spoiler:After being turned into a squirrel and an obedient child for a while, she grows out of it.]]

* KnightTemplar: Downplayed with Lucinda -- she isn't a mean person, but her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies renders completely oblivious to the idea that her blessings might have long-term difficulties and is too stubborn to listen to others' advice. [[spoiler:After being turned into a squirrel and an obedient child for a while, she grows out of it.]]

* KnightTemplar: Downplayed with Lucinda-she isn't a mean person, but she is completely oblivious to the idea that her blessings might have long-term difficulties and is too stubborn to listen to others' advice. [[spoiler:After being turned into a squirrel and an obedient child for a while, she grows out of it.]]

* BlackSpeech: The Prince's reaction to Ella's simple farewell in ogre language is, "It sounds evil." Ella replies that it is.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When Charmont confesses [[spoiler:to Ella in a letter that he loves her, for several hours she fantasizes having her freedom away from Dame Olga and Hattie and being with the man she loves.]] When the buzz wears off, however, she thinks through [[spoiler:the consequences of still being cursed, including what it might do to the kingdom, and writes a letter pretending that she has eloped.]] That's right, Ella would rather [[spoiler:sacrifice a chance at freedom than endanger Char and the kingdom.]] This is also how she [[spoiler:breaks the curse, when Char accidentally orders her to accept his proposal, and after struggling for several minutes she manages to break it.]]

* HatesSmallTalk: Not exactly ''hate'', but all the Ayorthaians that Charmont stayed with for a year were like this. Not through snobbiness, either; it's just they're more contemplative, more appreciative of silence, and far too polite. Much to Charmont's displeasure.
** It's also implied that this behavior specifically applies to the Court, where Char was, but doesn't extend to the common Ayorthaians.

* InternalReveal: On the third night of the ball, [[spoiler:Hattie removes Ella's mask while she's agreeing to be JustFriends with Char. This causes Ella to run and attempt to flee the town with Mandy, but she doesn't even get to leave the house.]]

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When Charmont confesses [[spoiler:to Ella in a letter that she loves her, for several hours she fantasizes having her freedom away from Dame Olga and Hattie and being with the man she loves.]] When the buzz wears off, however, she thinks through [[spoiler:the consequences of still being cursed, including what it might do to the kingdom, and writes a letter pretending that she has eloped.]] That's right, Ella would rather [[spoiler:sacrifice a chance at freedom than endanger Char and the kingdom.]] This is also how she [[spoiler:breaks the curse, when Char accidentally orders her to accept his proposal, and after struggling for several minutes she manages to break it.]]

* TwoPersonLoveTriangle: [[spoiler:When Charmont falls for Ella's masked alter ego at the balls.]]

* BroughtDownToNormal: Briefly done to [[spoiler:Lucinda herself so she realizes the complete ''horror'' of what she's done to everyone. Unfortunately, she can't break Ella's curse, or anyone's for that matter, because it's a matter of willpower]].

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: [[spoiler:Ella tries this with Charmont, knowing that if they do get married she'll only put both him and the kingdom in danger because of her curse.]]

* CharmPerson: Ogres are able to convince people by the power of their voice that they are friends... right up until they eat them. And Ella somehow manages to copy this power from observation and use it on the ogres.

** On the journey to the boarding school, Hattie abuses Ella's obedience by forcing her to give all of her food away. Given that the "punishment" is for Hattie being jealous of Ella, it makes Hattie even more of a {{jerkass}}

* ForgedLetter: Ella realizes that if she were to marry Char, her curse would make his life difficult and even dangerous, so she writes a letter in her own handwriting, claiming she's run away with a rich lord, then writes an accompanying letter in her stepsister's handwriting, terrible spelling and all, to back it up. It doesn't work. He just thinks the letter from her is fake, instead.

* {{Greed}}: The defining character flaw of Sir Peter, Ella's father.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: In the hopes of getting Lucinda to lift the curse, [[spoiler:Mandy tricks Lucinda into changing into a squirrel, and then becoming obedient. Lucinda learns quite quickly that her "blessings" are literally BlessedWithSuck. She agrees to give up "big magic" though she helps Ella with a carriage to the ball and jewelry.]]

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Olive. She bullies Ella and orders her around, but doesn't seem to have any real malice toward her the way Hattie and Dame Olga do. It is strongly indicated that she has some type of mental or social disability, and she seems to spend a lot of time getting looked down on or dismissed. The fact that she orders Ella to talk to her for hours on end implies that she is probably very lonely.

* MoneyFetish: Ella's father.

* ThisIsMyNameOnForeign
* TongueTied: Ella is ordered not to tell anyone about her curse after a former childhood friend found out and used it as a power play.
* TooDumbToLive: Ella's mother not eating all the ingredients of the magic soup that Mandy prepared for her while sick, picking out the unicorn hairs. Though Mandy ought to have noticed and told her, to be fair.

* KarmaHoudini:
** Arguably, [[spoiler:Ella's stepfamily. While Hattie never marries the prince (or at all), neither she nor her the rest of her family are punished for abusing Ella.]] Though [[spoiler:Dame Olga is still married to Ella's greedy, unscrupulous father, and is magically forced to love him. One also could argue that [[TheDogBitesBack Ella being able to fight back]] (among other things, she reclaimed the necklace that Hattie took from her) is a blow to their pride, as is the knowledge that Ella ''could'' have them all arrested, should she want to.]]
** Lucinda to a minor extent, though [[spoiler:she changes her ways after learning just how terribly her "blessings" affect the people she chooses.]] There is the fact that there are dozens of children and married couples that she has cursed who aren't going to be cured anytime soon, however, and [[spoiler:who may lack Ella's stubbornness, like her father.]]