Does steadfast moral purity, especially female chastity, guarantee a happy and elevated outcome?
This idea explores narratives where a protagonist's unwavering moral integrity, often specifically chastity in women, is ultimately recognized and rewarded with social elevation, marriage, or other forms of happiness. It originates as a didactic tool to promote moral conduct and evolves into more complex explorations of the costs and ambiguities of such 'rewards,' or is subverted by showing virtue unrewarded or even punished.
How the idea moved: 9 landmark works
This ancient Egyptian tale, recorded by Greek historians, is widely recognized as a precursor to the Cinderella story, demonstrating the enduring theme of a humble, virtuous woman being elevated to a high social status through fate and royal recognition. (passes on to Cendrillon)
Pick this one apart →The narrative of Psyche's journey, filled with impossible tasks and divine persecution, yet culminating in her reward of immortality and marriage to a god due to her unwavering spirit, is a clear mythological precursor to the 'virtue rewarded' trope. (passes on to Cendrillon)
Pick this one apart →This Chinese folktale, recorded centuries before Perrault's version, contains almost all the key elements of the Cinderella story, including the wicked stepfamily, magical helper, lost slipper, and marriage to a ruler, proving the narrative's ancient roots. (passes on to Cendrillon)
Pick this one apart →Perrault's "Cendrillon" clearly depicts a virtuous, chaste female protagonist who, through her moral purity and suffering, is ultimately rewarded with a royal marriage, directly prefiguring the core mechanism of "Pamela." (passes on to Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded)
Pick this one apart →Published in the same collection as Cendrillon, this tale directly applies the 'virtue rewarded' concept to a princess who, despite a curse, is destined for a happy, elevated outcome due to her royal birth and inherent purity, awaiting a virtuous rescuer. (inherits from Cendrillon)
Pick this one apart →Pamela's resistance to Mr. B's advances, maintaining her virtue, directly leads to his proposal of marriage and her elevation in status.
Pick this one apart →This classic fairy tale directly builds upon the 'virtue rewarded' trope by having Belle's unwavering goodness and moral purity not only save her but also redeem the Beast, culminating in her marriage to a prince and a life of happiness. (inherits from Cendrillon)
Pick this one apart →Burnett's work, like MacDonald's, champions the inherent virtue and imaginative strength of a young female protagonist who, despite facing hardship and malevolent figures, embodies a 'princess' spirit, ultimately leading to her reward. (passes on to A Little Princess)
Pick this one apart →Burnett's work, like MacDonald's, champions the inherent virtue and imaginative strength of a young female protagonist who, despite facing hardship and malevolent figures, embodies a 'princess' spirit, ultimately leading to her reward. (inherits from The Princess and the Goblin)
Pick this one apart →