Cinderella is Dead

In the novel, daggers and swords function as symbols of power and independence. One of King Manford’s restrictions for women is that they’re not allowed to use weapons, which is one way of keeping them subservient and vulnerable. However, women who resist him are often skilled with such weapons. Constance repeatedly intimidates or attacks men with her dagger, many of whom are so confused that she knows how to use it that they freeze up. Constance’s skill with a dagger allows her to navigate the world more freely and avoid submitting to the king or other men. However, she does not always actually have to use it; sometimes, it’s enough to demonstrate that she can.

The dagger is symbolic even within the world of the novel itself. Cinderella planned to kill Prince Charming with her own dagger (supplied by Charming’s mother, Amina) but was unable to because Amina tricked her with love potion. However, Amina saved the dagger and gave it to Sophia 200 years later. The fact that Sophia kills King Manford with the same dagger shows how, although he evaded death for a while, people continued to want to kill him for his tyranny, and someone was eventually going to succeed. Like Constance and her dagger, Sophia doesn’t even have to plunge the dagger into Manford to free herself and kill him: She just has to hold it, and he is engulfed by light and flame (once Amina is dead). In contrast, her first attempt to kill him with a normal dagger proves ineffective because Amina was still alive at the time, preserving Manford through their magical bond. Power is shown to be complex through daggers: Direct displays of aggression are not always as effective as more careful footwork.

Daggers and swords also symbolize women’s power even when women are not literally using swords; sometimes, they are compared to swords directly. Sophia reflects that “Constance wields her power like a sword, a power that [she] didn’t even know [they] could have” (180). Amina reveals that she decided to help Sophia and Constance because Sophia is “a damn sharp sword” (233). In these cases, swords symbolize passion and dedication as well as physical strength.