Ugly sisters

The ugly sisters are characters in the fairy tale and pantomime, Cinderella. They are the daughters of Cinderella's cruel stepmother, who treat her poorly. The "ugly sisters" have been in variations of the story from as early as researchers have been able to determine.

In the ancient Chinese story of Ye Xian, the "ugly sister" character is the titular character's half-sister and is named Jun-li. In contrast to the beautiful and talented Ye Xian, Jun-li is unattractive and too lazy to learn any particular skills. Jun-li and her mother, Jin, maltreat Ye Xian, forcing her to clean the cave in which they reside. Jun-li and her mother also put an end to Ye Xian's newfound happiness after they discover that Ye Xian's late mother has reincarnated in the form of a ten foot long golden carp, which grants her wishes. Jun-li and her mother slay and eat the fish, not knowing that Ye Xian has salvaged the creature's bones and buried them beneath her bed, and once again her wishes are granted. After Ye Xian loses a golden slipper at the local festival, the warlord who discovers it visits the family cave, declaring he will marry the woman whose foot fits the slipper. Jun-li and her mother fail to get their feet into the slipper, but Ye Xian succeeds and dons the finery she wore at the festival. Outraged at their cruelty toward her, the warlord exiles Jun-li and her mother to the wilderness, where they are killed by a rain of flying stones.

In Charles Perrault's original fairytale, the sisters were Cinderella's stepsisters, and are described as "proud and haughty" rather than ugly, though Cinderella is described as being "far lovelier than her sisters, though they were always dressed fashionably." The unnamed younger stepsister is described as being not as rude or spiteful as the elder, who is named Charlotte (Javotte in French). In Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's version entitled Aschenputtel the unnamed stepsisters are described as having, "beautiful faces and fair skin, but hearts that were foul and black", and are portrayed in a much more malicious light than Perrault's version. In Perrault's version of the tale, the stepsisters are forgiven for their cruelty and Cinderella invites them to the palace to live with her, and she marries each of them to a wealthy lord. In the Grimms' considerably much darker version of the tale, the stepsisters attempt to trick the Prince by cutting off their heels and toes in order to make the golden slipper fit their foot, but the Prince spots the blood on their stockings and realises they are imposters. Once Aschenputtel is recognised by the prince, the stepsister invite themselves to Aschenputtel's wedding, where Aschenputtel summons the pigeons and doves to attack the stepsisters' faces, mutilating their beauty and tearing their eyes out, sentencing them to a lifetime of blindness as punishment for their diabolical behaviour. In the opera La Cenerentola (1817) by Gioachino Rossini and Jacopo Ferretti, the sisters are named Clorinda and Tisbe.

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