Fairy Tale and Film

A Cinderella Story
, with Kat eventually realising her dream of going to 
Sarah Lawrence College (previously attended by her late mother), her 
father finally consenting to her leaving home.
The Proposal
(Anne Fletcher, 2009) provides a similar update of the 
humbled harridan scenario, affirming that underneath a tough female 
exterior there’s a softer side waiting to be prised out. Bitchy boss 

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38 
Fairy Tale and Film
Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) coerces her put-upon assistant, Andrew 
(Ryan Reynolds), into marriage in order to avoid extradition to Canada 
and the prospect of losing her job as senior editor of a publishing com-
pany. Convinced by the promise of a promotion, he immediately takes 
advantage of his new-found power over her to hammer out the terms 
of his new contract – asking her to propose to him in public on bended 
knee. They plan a weekend together with his family to convince an 
immigration official of their relationship’s veracity and Andrew uses the 
opportunity to get his revenge for three years of faithful service running 
errands for her. The point is made by leaving Margaret struggling with 
her baggage (telling his mother ‘she insists on doing everything herself, 
she’s a feminist’), yet the pair soon make the transition from squab-
bling adversaries, feigning a romance, to the real thing. It helps that 
Margaret is considerably softened over the weekend, revealing that she 
was orphaned at 16, growing close to his family and finally calling the 
marriage off when her conscience prevails. Of course, this is rom-com 
territory and an appropriately dashing ending reunites them. He inter-
cepts her at her office as she packs to leave, tells her to stop talking in 
front of his awestruck intimidated colleagues and proposes for real. She 
admits her fears, allowing her professional mask to slip in front of the 
staring crowd, but their kiss earns cheers of approval and a ‘yeah, show 
her who’s boss, Andrew!’ from a male peer. The film could have done 
without making this point quite so crudely, yet while it may ridicule its 
heroine in a number of ways it also sets itself apart from others of its ilk 
because it remains very much on Margaret’s side. Andrew may secretly 
liken his boss to a ‘witch’ and ‘mistress of Satan’ yet also defends her as 
‘one of the most respected editors in the country’, and Granma Annie 
(Betty White) provides an interesting affirmation in comparing her to 
a female relative, stating, ‘She was a lot like you. Tough. Wouldn’t take 
no for an answer. She was good for him.’ By the end of the film they 
genuinely seem to be good for each other, with Andrew’s commitment 
evident, and Margaret helping him to value his family. This is not 
a clash or battle as such, there is no real enmity on either side, and 
with their shared profession and passion for books there is a sense of 
a much sweeter union being forged in unusual circumstances. While 
King Thrushbeard was intent on removing his wife’s dignity, including 
an independent livelihood, ensuring her absolute reliance on him in 
order to show her who’s boss, 
The Proposal
informs us how a twenty-
first-century romance can rework certain narrative elements without 
subjecting its heroine to the same humiliation. In a pivotal moment 
during their weekend together, Margaret confesses to Andrew that she 

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Finding Love and Fulfilling Dreams 
39
secretly cried after a rival editor called her a ‘poisonous bitch’. She 
evinces the same vulnerability in the office she once presided over, yet 
in a crucial difference to the likes of