Everyone remembers the famous fairy tale by Charles Perrault, which has become a symbol for many generations, and not so much for children as for adults. The 1947 film with Yanina Zheimo is undoubtedly the best adaptation; such a kind and beautiful Cinderella is still to be found. Lyudmila Senchina and Vadim Kazachenko sang touchingly about Cinderella. Based on the fairy tale, numerous remakes and “fantasies on the theme” were created in the style of “The Milkmaid from Khatsapetovka”, “Pretty Woman”, “The Story of Cinderella”, etc. So, all the works feature mainly clichés: a simple poor girl meets a certain darling of Fate and, overcoming obstacles, they are happy together. Those who are not fans of “miracles” furiously criticize “Cinderellas” for their infantilism, reproaching them for having a victim complex who tolerates their abusers until the “Rescuer” appears. “The Cinderella Syndrome” is viewed through this prism. They are partly right, but I would like a more in-depth analysis that goes back to the roots, so to speak. So what is the fairy tale about? Is it just about unequal marriage, sacrifice and illusions about the ideal man? Of course not. “Cinderella” is a story about how a person just comes to what he left, only with a new vision, as in “The Alchemist” by P. Coelho. And SIMILAR people found each other. That is why they had a real feeling .And about how a person can psychologically adjust himself and survive a crisis. And about the fact that adequate self-esteem, laid down from childhood, is a support in any troubles in life. And about the fact that people are divided into those who understand the essence of things and those who who sees only the form. First things first. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the fairy tale itself, as well as the main film versions - “Cinderella” in 1947 and “Three Nuts for Cinderella”. Firstly, in Perrault’s original fairy tale, Cinderella is the daughter of either a king , or a noble nobleman (depending on the translation). That is, Cinderella is of noble origin, therefore all the traits inherent in a noble upbringing are present in her, including self-esteem on the one hand and humility on the other. And at the ball she dances beautifully. Her parents LOVED her! so why should she have low self-esteem? Cinderella comes to terms with her situation because she has no choice. In contrast to a genuine “victim,” who not only endures when it is possible not to endure, but also gets high from her sacrifice. Cinderella simply adapts and finds positive aspects in the situation in order to survive it. The ability to accept a situation that has developed and does not yet have the resources to get out of it is a very useful skill. Secondly, Cinderella has pride. She does not throw herself on the prince’s neck, although he is looking for her everywhere. She also initially refuses to put the shoe on her sister (this episode is played out in the film with Zheimo). Then she agrees, because she understands that even if her sister were fully in her costume (“Three Nuts”), she would not become Cinderella and the prince would not love her. In other words, it is obvious that Cinderella and the Prince are simply made for each other. Because they are initially equal (and they had a similar upbringing). Cinderella returns to where she should be in “justice”, i.e. she is the princess and always has been. The same phenomenon is played out in the film “The Little Princess”. The same mechanism is described in the fairy tale “King Thrushbeard”, only there Thrushbeard in one person is both Life with its lessons and a man as such. The noble character is “whacked” by life, but he will inevitably return to himself because this is the law of Life. But for some reason this fact is omitted. Accordingly, there is a feeling that Cinderella sacrifices herself to earn love, but she is simply experiencing a situation from which she cannot get out. The black stripe changes to white, as happens in life in general. She finds HER because she is like that, because like attracts like. Just like at one stage or another in life, we meet people who are somewhat similar to ourselves, who allow us to better understand ourselves and develop. And of course it’s not a matter of status, it’s just symbolic in the fairy tale that the designations are given as Cinderella-Princess and Prince for clarity. Cinderella’s stepmother is a completely different archetype. In her manners, she is close to the Old Woman from “The Golden Fish” and also.