IS CINDERELLA STILL RELEVANT?

IS CINDERELLA STILL RELEVANT? 

By Karen Rose Smith

Remember the furor over the royal wedding? Kate became a princess and William became Prince Charming. We watched the vows with tears in our eyes and couldn't wait for that first kiss. Cinderella might be an ages-old fairytale but the storyline encourages dreams from the little girls who watch Disney-princess movies to the women who faithfully follow the Bachelor and the Bachelorette. Subliminally, our curiosity in relationships and interest in public romances is all about the happily-ever-after storyline. Can two people fall in love and commit to each other for a lifetime?

My husband and I recently celebrated our fortieth wedding anniversary. I wouldn't be able to write romances from my heart unless I believed in them. When I was a little girl, I remember pretending a lace curtain was a bridal veil. My girlfriends and I reenacted the marriage ceremony.  Recently by BFF's daughter asked if she could play dress-up with her mom's wedding gown. Are the dreams of little girls now any different than ten or twenty or forty years ago? Loving and being loved drive our collective consciousness. Have you ever been in the midst of a crowd at a wedding and watched everyone grow misty-eyed? The emotion that takes over—other than the love we have for the couple saying the vows—is hope. The Cinderella fairytale can give a woman hope that she can find love, look beautiful in a bridal gown and believe in the vows she recites on her wedding day.

Little girls aspire to be princesses. Many women long to believe they will find their one true love who is kind, gentle, charming and the man they can spend the rest of their lives with. Prince Charming doesn't have to be a "prince" on a white steed. He just has to convince the woman he loves that she's his Cinderella.  Are fairy-tale endings possible?  I believe women long to believe they are. That's why the romance genre lives on and why our hearts melt when a couple says, "I do."

Karen Rose Smith is the best-selling, award-winning author of 75 published romances.  Readers can visit her website @ http://www.karenrosesmith.com, follow her on Twitter @ karenrosesmith and on Facebook (Karen Rose Smith author), and access her e-zine In Touch @ karenrosesmith-ezine.blogspot.com for new releases and contests.