Cinder Blog Tour Stop: The Timeless Allure of Cinderella’s Ball

Thank you for coming to the thirteenth stop!  Have you seen the other twelve stops?  Are you ready to learn more about Cinder and the reason for having a Ball?  I'm so excited to present Marissa Meyer and her book, Cinder.  This is a fantastic read and I urge everyone to run out and buy one or borrow from the library! 


Or you can win a copy from the publisher!  Just comment and you're entered to win a bound copy of Cinder and a Cinder Mirror! (My 8 yo. snagged mine!) US only.  I will pick a winner on Friday, January 20.
Please fill out the form at the end of the post!  Thank you.

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There’s just something about getting dressed up and going to a party.

Donning our finest clothes, swanning into a room full of high-society, and enjoying a celebration. Rubbing elbows with those higher-classes we dream of one day joining. Tasting tray-passed delicacies we’ve only ever read about in foodie magazines.

Balls. Dances. Galas. They’re as timeless as star-crossed lovers and happily ever afters.

I submit for the jury’s review the following examples:

- Romeo and Juliet meeting at a huge family bash.

- Elizabeth and Darcy crossing paths at a local dance.

- The traditional Yuleball in Harry Potter’s Goblet of Fire.

- Every high-school prom story ever told.

- The clock striking midnight on dozens of Cinderella tales.

And that’s only the start of countless masquerades that fill up our stories, old and new.

So why has this trope persisted for so long? Why do we still fantasize about ball gowns and champagne fountains, when we can recognize how impractical and nonessential these things are? 

I think the reasons are the same now as they’ve been for centuries, and the word fantasize might be the key word in that question. People like to have something bright and whimsical to fill up with daydreams and expectations. Today we might look at Hollywood stars on the red carpet and think What if?, just as Cinderella thought what if as the prince’s ball approached.

And on those rare occasions when such a fancy event becomes a reality—say, our first black-tie wedding or even something as commonplace as a high-school dance—it allow us to envision a transformation that isn’t possible during our normal day-to-day doldrums. When life offers us something to look forward to, we grasp onto it. Hold it dear. Gossip and plan and agonize over which shoes to wear—at least, those of us without a helpful fairy godmother.

For one night, we are the princess, the celebrity, the hero of our own romance.

And it doesn’t appear that these traditions will leave us any time soon. If today’s science-fiction is anything to go by, even future high-tech societies will continue to enjoy these deep-seeded fantasies.

I submit more examples:

- The triumphant celebration at the end of Star Wars Episode IV.*

- The ill-fated “Shindig” in Firefly.

- The over-the-top Capital parties in The Hunger Games.

Though my debut novel, Cinder, is set hundreds of years in the future, I never once questioned the plausibility of the annual festival and royal ball (a celebration of ongoing world peace). I never wondered if it was realistic that Earth’s future teenagers would dream of dancing with a prince. I never doubted that our future generations would still appreciate the art of fashion and luxury, though tastes and trends no doubt will change.

The beauty of Cinderella’s ball, as iconic and symbolic as it has become, is that it offers a glimpse into a lifestyle that many of us can only fantasize about. It offers us something rare and beautiful to store safely in our dreams.

I don’t envision that bit of human nature going away… whether the tale is set once upon a time, or in a galaxy far, far away.

  

(* Okay, the Star Wars ceremony isn’t really a “ball,” but it is a big celebration, and Leia does look gorgeous in that dress, so I’m counting it.)

Please visit the other stops on the tour!

Monday 1/2 http://www.intergalactic-academy.net/

Tuesday 1/3 http://basicallyamazing.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 1/4 http://www.thebookrat.com/

Thursday 1/5 http://www.readingvacation.net/

Friday 1/6 http://www.workingforthemandroid.com/

Saturday 1/7 http://apocalypsies.blogspot.com/

Monday 1/9 http://www.mybookishways.com/

Tuesday 1/10 http://bookalicio.us

Wednesday 1/11 http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com/

Thursday 1/12 http://bookmigik.blogspot.com/

Friday 1/13 www.mangamaniaccafe.com

Saturday 1/14 http://abackwardsstory.blogspot.com/

Monday 1/16 http://www.laurasreviewbookshelf.com/

Tuesday 1/17 http://thebookwurrm.wordpress.com/

Wednesday 1/18 http://www.thebookcellarx.com/
Thursday 1/19 http://www.almostgrownup.net
Friday 1/20 http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/
Saturday 1/21 http://www.novelnovice.com