Ella Enchanted
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| Author | Gail Carson Levine |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | HarperTrophy |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) and Audiobook |
| Pages | 240 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-440705-5 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Ella Enchanted is a Newbery Honor book written by Gail Carson Levine and published in 1997. It is also the title of the American movie based on the novel and released April 9, 2004 directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. The story is a contemporary retelling of Cinderella featuring various mythical creatures (including elves, ogres, dwarves and giants).
Plot outline (book)
At the moment of Eleanor (Ella) of Frell's birth, she was unfortunately bestowed a "gift" by a fairy named Lucinda. Despite the objections from her mother and fairy godmother/family's cook (Mandy), Lucinda cursed Ella with the "gift" of obedience. From that day forward, Ella was to obey any direct order given to her by anybody, no matter what it was (orders ranging from hopping on one foot all day to chopping off her own head). Ella, however, remains lighthearted by making a game out of her curse and finding loopholes around orders. For example, if Mandy orders her to hold a bowl of cake batter, Ella runs around the kitchen, having Mandy chase after her until she gives her another order or request.
At her mother's funeral, Ella meets Prince Charmont a.k.a. Char, in the graveyard next to a large willow tree. The two have a long conversation full of laughs and wit until Ella's father takes her home. At home, Ella meets Dame Olga and her daughters, Hattie and Olive, whom she discovers have bad attitudes and are being sent to finishing school. After the three leave, Ella's father forces her to go to finishing school because he doesn't want his daughter to grow up being a clumsy cook's helper. The night before she is sent away, Mandy gives her a magical fairy book that can show her children's stories, journal entries, maps and, most precious to Ella, letters from friends and family. Mandy also gives Ella her mother's necklace.
The day she is sent to finishing school, she first goes on a small trip with Prince Char, who shows her all of her favorite places and promises to bring her a centaur. Ella gets in a carriage with Hattie and Olive, who automatically begin to take advantage of the curse, making her give up the necklace as well as her money. When they arrive at finishing school, Ella befriends an Ayorthian girl named Areida and the two are very close until Hattie forces Ella to end her friendship with an order. From her magic book, Ella learns of a Giant's wedding which both her father and Lucinda will attend. Eager to be free from the curse, she flees from finishing school in the night and makes her way to the Giant's wedding.
On the way, she meets a group of elves who give her a gift (a beautiful Agulen sculpture of a howling wolf) and a horse. After she leaves the elves, she's kidnapped by ogres who eat her horse and try to eat her. However, after observing the Ogrese language overnight, she hypnotizes them and is soon saved by Char and his knights. They bind the ogres and take them in, and Char lets one of his knights take her to the wedding. Ella meets Lucinda and begs her to remove the curse, while at the same time hoping Lucinda isn't offended and won't turn her into a squirrel. Lucinda refuses and orders her to be happy with her obedience.
This has serious after-effects. She meets her father and they return home. He is now a ruined man for selling an item that did not belong to him. In order to keep his family from being thrown into the streets, he plans to marry Ella off. At first Ella is happy, as Lucinda ordered her to be, and even meets one of her suitors at dinner. However, an order from Mandy telling her to feel however she feels about her curse allows her to change her mind. Her father refuses to marry Ella off, and instead decides to marry Dame Olga. Ella's worst fears unfold as Hattie and Olive are now her sisters.
At the wedding, she meets with Prince Char again, and they share a romantic evening together. They find glass slippers in a garden and Ella wears them as they dance together. It is the last time they see each other for some time, for he has to leave for Ayortha for a year, but they promise to keep in touch through letters. Lucinda arrives at the wedding and bestows a curse on the married couple, granting them eternal love. Any chance of Ella's father leaving Dame Olga has now been ruined. Instantly, Ella is turned into a slave in her own house, working with the servants and abiding by Hattie and Olive's ridiculous orders, while at the same time having fun slipping sleeping herbs into Dame Olga's supper.
After six months of correspondence, Ella receives a letter from Char, where he pours out his heart to her and proposes to her. At first she is happy, but soon realizes that marrying Char would make things much worse. Her stepsisters would take advantage of her completely, especially since she would be queen, and if she was ever captured by an enemy of Frell, she could be forced to kill Char or reveal state secrets. Ella sends a fraud letter to him saying that she has run away with another man and will be "smiling at her jewels and laughing at the world." Her fairy book shows a picture of Char burning her letters as well as a page from his journal stating how he despises her. It breaks Ella's heart, but she is happy that he is safe.
Mandy, fed up with Ella's torment, challenges Lucinda to a small game. She tells her to spend three months as a squirrel and three months cursed to be obedient, just to get a taste of what her "gifted ones" go through for their entire lives. At the end of this time, Lucinda has learned her lesson, and in return decides to help Ella. Char, returned from Ayortha, holds a royal ball that lasts for three nights. Lucinda uses her magic to turn mice and pumpkins into horses and a coach and dresses Ella in a beautiful dress, jewelry and a mask. Ella, now under the alias Lela, can go to the ball and see Char again.
On the third night of the ball, when she's dancing with Char, Hattie snatches off her mask. Ella flees Char, who is in complete and utter shock, and runs to the manor. Ella and Mandy plan to run away and make their living as cooks, but Char and his soldiers come to their house before they can leave. Ella puts on servants' clothes and dirties her face, in hopes that Char will not recognize her. But, of course, he does. Ella tries on the glass slippers from her father's wedding, and they fit her perfectly, of course. Char unintentionally orders Ella to tell him honestly if she loves him or not, which she says she does, and happily he "orders" her to marry him. Ella realizes that she has put him in danger and fights the curse to refuse his order. In the end, her love and her willpower break the curse.
In the end, Olive marries a count only for food and money, Dame Olga is left still in eternal love, and Hattie never marries; Ella and Char live happily ever after.
Characters (story relationships)
Ella of Frell: Ella is a spunky character with a rebellious yet down-to-earth personality. She endures torment and abuse within her household, and only finds consolation in her encounters with Prince Char. During the novel, she ages from 14-16. She felt an undeniable closeness to her mother, and feels utterly bereft when she dies. Her closest mother-figure then becomes Mandy. Ella demonstrates an amazing capacity of mental strength, supported by a playful personality.
Mandy: Mandy is the household cook. Her recipes are adored by all, and it's her talent for cooking that places her in a high position among the others. She looks after Ella, teaching, blessing and caring for her as one of her own. She's also Ella's fairy godmother, but warns Ella about sharing this information with others.
Eleanor / Lady: Lady Eleanor is Ella's mother, and dies early in the story. From the information gained, we can conclude she had a playful spirit. She and her daughter Ella shared a close relationship. They slid down the stair banisters together, yelling and screaming during the rides. They were also notorious for climbing to the top of trees and knocking apples down at those who passed beneath them. Despite her playful and trouble-making spirit, Lady Eleanor taught virtuous values to Ella - such as the wrongs of using her fists for fighting. Her death was triggered when, already ill, she did not consume the unicorn tails in Mandy's "Curing Soup."
Sir Peter: Sir Peter is Ella's father. He's greedy and selfish, and Bertha, a maid, describes his character as "ashes mixed with coins and a brain." He tries to use his clever ways to gain riches. He gained his wealth through trickery and deceit and lost it the same way. Sir Peter takes pride in Ella for being a brave, sassy child. He notes their resembalance, and laughs at her attitude. Yet he deals little with his child and is more concerned for his business than her well-being. They have a distant relationship, as Ella acknowledges his corrupt, greedy nature and finds it unpleasant - especially during his attempts to marry her off.
Prince Charmont: Prince Charmont is whom Ella falls in love with. He confesses his love to her in letters, and admires her personality. He laughs easily, but holds grudges. Being a prince, he's "eager to learn things right." They meet at Ella's mother's funeral, in which Prince Charmont talks of how Lady Eleanor had a playful, funny spirit. In time, Prince Charmont finds comfort in Ella's presence - she talks to him as a regular person, rather than royalty. He has two brothers, and a sister named Cecila for whom he cares a great deal.
Dame Olga: Dame Olga becomes Ella's step-mother in the story. To begin with, she is tender and comforting towards Ella, as they meet in the aftermath of the funeral. She encourages Ella to call her 'Mum Olga' as it sounds 'cozy'. Despite her comforting appearance, she is vain and conceited, wearing a wig of curls. Throughout her letters to her daughters, at finishing school, she talks mostly of her social events and her attire while attending. She marries Sir Peter for his money, and once she learns he's poor, she makes Ella suffer through housework.
Hattie: Hattie becomes Ella's step-sister in the story. Simple-minded, yet relatively quick-witted and clever, she quickly learns of Ella's curse and uses it to her advantage. She enjoys manipulating Ella and using her to complete the worst of tasks: cleaning Hattie's feet, brushing her hair, and the like. She and Ella torture each other throughout the story. Her greatest ambition is to be queen and marry Prince Char. Hattie inherited Dame Olga's desire for riches and pleasure in displaying them in their finest splendor. Also like her mother, Hattie wears a wig of full, beautiful curls to hide her natural hair, which is a lot more like Olive's.
Olive: Olive is the simpleton of the family. When her mother, Dame Olga, marries Sir Peter, she gains a step-sister in Ella. She is blunt and frank to a fault, largely oblivious to the guile of her sister. She lacks literacy and her hobbies include gaining KJs (the currency of Frell). She has a large appetite, and enjoys Ella's company. Ella doesn't mind having her around, but finds ways to avoid Olive, as she grows annoyed with her selfishness and ignorance after a while. Olive marries later on, but isn't eager to do so and demands that her husband give her money and serve a white cake at every meal.
Areida: Areida is Ella's only friend at finishing school. Her family operates an inn, but remains poor; her poverty and her foreign accent make her unpopular with her classmates. Yet from the beginning, Areida is described as kind-hearted. She has an elegant voice and shows compassion for the girls that have ridiculed her, even nursing one such pupil back to health after she falls ill with food poisoning. Areida and Ella quickly become friends, and at times the friendship is each girl's sole source of comfort. Areida teaches Ella her language, Ayorthan, and as with nearly all languages, Ella is quick to gain proficience.
Lucinda: Lucinda is responsible for the events of the novel; she is the fairy that "blessed" Ella with the "gift" of obedience at her birth. At first, she stubbornly considers her deed to be rightful. Unlike other fairies, who keep their identities hidden from ordinary non-magic folk, Lucinda performs "big" magic carelessly. Anyone who threatens or pleads with her, unsatisfied with her interference, she transforms into a squirrel. Her other "gifts" include eternally binding two giant newly-weds and causing Dame Olga and Sir Peter to love one another eternally. She likes people to know that she's a fairy, as when she appears the scent of lilacs greet the room. Later in the novel, she finally experiences first-hand the suffering that she has caused with her gifts, and her perspective transforms completely. Although she refrains from using "big" magic to break Ella's curse, she helps her in smaller ways.