The lack of action and expression from Cinderella links being a good woman to always being agreeable and submissive. .
When Cinderella does express emotion, it only furthers her portrayal as passive and helpless. Cinderella cries and wishes she could go to the ball once she is alone, but she takes no initiative to attempt to change the fact that she is not going. It is only because of outside intervention from the fairy godmother that the course of Cinderella's evening changes. Cinderella may be free of malice or other bad virtues, but she also lacks agency and any traits that would lead her to become empowered and stand up for herself. .
A difference in the portrayal of Cinderella in the Brothers Grimm version of the fairytale, where she is called Aschenputtel, helps illustrate further how passive Perrault's Cinderella is. Aschenputtel is no courageous female heroine, but she shows some agency. Aschenputtel begs her stepmother to allow her to go to the ball and does not lose her determination to go after her stepmother says no (Brothers Grimm, 57). Aschenputtel proceeds to ask the magical bird from the tree that she planted for new clothes and then sneaks away to the dance. Aschenputtel expresses frustration and takes action, rather than just automatically complying like Cinderella. Though she takes more action than Perrault's Cinderella, in the end, both Cinderella and Aschenputtel are reliant on outside forces to change their destiny. Additionally, at the end of the Perrault's version, Cinderella immediately forgives her sisters for this mistreatment and rewards them with a home in the palace and lords as husbands, whereas Aschenputtel punishes them for their wickedness. This furthers Perrault's portrayal of the good Cinderella taking no action against those who mistreat her. .
The portrayal of Cinderella's stepmother also extends the argument that the fairytale highlights passivity in women as a good trait.
