Ep. 92: Bound by Donna Jo Napoli Artwork

Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

Join fairy tale enthusiasts Drew and Cassie as they discuss the world of film and literary adaptations! Each month they will choose a specific fairy tale, and each week they will discuss a different book, movie, or musical adaptation of that fairy tale, exploring the way authors and artists retell, change, twist, conserve, and diversify the same stories over and over.

All Episodes

Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

Ep. 92: Bound by Donna Jo Napoli

September 21, 2022

"'My feet are not bound.' 'I noticed,' said the prince."

For our fourth retelling in our second Cinderella Month, Drew and Cassie are taking a look at Bound by Donna Jo Napoli. This 2004 book specifically retells the ancient Chinese legend of Ye Xian, reimagining the main character as Xing Xing, a young woman whose circumstances have left her orphaned and living with her cruel and jealous stepmother and half-sister, Wei Ping. We discuss the appropriateness of Napoli as a white author telling this story, the lack of development for the prince, the complicated family relationships, the way Napoli uses foot binding to connect to the Cinderella story, the inclusion of the toe removal from the Grimm version of the story, Stepmother as a clever villain, and more!

Join our community! View all of the benefits of joining our Patreon including the Official Of Slippers and Spindles Book Club, exclusive polls, monthly bookmarks, Zoom hangouts, and more! https://patreon.com/ofslippersandspindles

Visit our our new merch store, Facebook group, Instagram, and more! https://linktr.ee/ofslippersandspindles

We love to hear from you! You can reach us at ofslippersandspindles@gmail.com

Music: Through The Woods by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com