Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Ugly Stepsister.
The story of Cinderella is one of opportunity, luck, and fantasy, at least for the eponymous princess. Everything works out for her good, from the glass slipper that fits only her foot to the woodland animals who guide her path. But woe befalls anyone who dares to stand between Cinderella and her destiny, like her ugly stepsisters. In the Brothers Grimm’s original version of the tale, they cut off their own toes to fit her slipper and woo the charming prince, only to get their eyes plucked out for their presumption. And they fare even worse in Emilie Blichfeldt’s genre-bending take on the fairy tale, though The Ugly Stepsister goes to great lengths to show us that these women are all victims of the patriarchy.
