Ella Enchanted
Historical Context
While Ella Enchanted was published in 1997, it does take place during medieval times. There is no specific date given in the novel, but elements of the time period are presented in the story. The story takes place in Kyrria, in which has castles and is ruled by King Jerrold. Kyrria’s government can be based on a hereditary monarchy due to King Jerrold’s son, Prince Charmont, who will one day rule the land. While Ella lives in a small town in Kyrria called Frell, she rarely gets a chance to see her father. Sir Peter works as a trader or merchant in order to have his family be part of a titled class. When compared to medieval history, it is true that fathers were absent from their family because they were “at war, on crusade, in service to the king – for extensive periods of time, leaving the running of the household in the capable hands of their wives” (Moss, 2015, 38). In the story, Ella is taken care of by her mother and Dame Olga when her father leaves.
While Ella Enchanted takes place in a fictional setting, there are still elements that relate to what life was like for women during medieval times. Ella’s mother, Lady Eleanor, was often left at home to take care of her child and the household, while Sir Peter was away. During medieval times, women were often married young, to which left them with being responsible for activities in the household (Bovey, n.d.). While it is revealed that Mandy is Ella’s fairy godmother, she is actually more of a servant. Wives would often have servants take care of the children, cooking, and cleaning; however, this was more apparent in aristocratic households (Bovey, n.d.). Dame Olga is a widowed mother, who becomes a stepmother to Ella after marrying Sir Peter. Relating to medieval times, women would be placed in arranged marriages at a young age, and at times there were those who would become widowed. They would find themselves more independent, but they would have to chose their new husbands based on if they can provide for them financially (Bovey, n.d.). It can be apparent that Levine is able to take historic information from the medieval time and place it into a fictional story.
Social Context
Gail Carson Levine wanted to take the Cinderella story to the next level, and this is why she chose to write Ella Enchanted. From her experience in reading the classic fairytale, Levine wanted the female character to have the ability to say “No” to the evil stepmother and stepsister. As Connelly (2004) found out from Levine that “there is only one task Cinderella has to accomplish on her own behalf-getting home before midnight-and she blows it” (9). Therefore, Levine wanted young readers to follow along with a character’s adventures that were not normally found in fairy tales, and create a character that finds her true self. Ella is able to change herself from being obedient to independent after realizing that the curse stands in her way of getting what she wants. “I made Ella a heroine—brave, smart, sure of herself, certain of her opinions, and astonishingly good at languages. She’s so handicapped by Lucinda’s gift that she needs many strengths to offset it” (Connelly, 2004, 11). By the end of the book, Ella realizes that in order to be happy she must save herself from the one she loves, Prince Char. After completing the selfless act, the curse is broken and Ella goes on to marry the Prince.