Few movies have such a special power over me as Ever After. The Cinderella story has been told numerous times, but this version stands out because of its beautiful music, messages, and performances. And I’d like to add yet another reason to adore and stand in awe of Ever After: it’s a chiasmus!

I had a good feeling about this film years ago, and it’s taken me a while to get around to discovering its chiasmus. But this one is worth the wait because, as you will discover, its chiasmus is incredibly complex and beautiful. I’m dumbfounded by all the connections I found as I explored it.

Let’s begin this analysis right. Once upon a time, there was a romantic film called Ever After that managed to tell its story in a perfectly symmetrical way.

The Chiasmus

Prepare to be enchanted by the intricacy of this chiasmus:

A. The Brothers Grimm arrive at a castle in a carriage to meet with the Queen
 B. The Brothers Grimm reverently comment on the painting of Danielle being remarkable, and the Queen starts her story with “Once upon a time”
  C. A child named Gustave is astonished to see 8-year-old Danielle in a dress and calls her a girl. She says, “Girl or not, I can still whip you”
   D. Baroness de Ghent enjoys a grand entrance with her two daughters, and Danielle shows up not as a lady but covered in mud
    E. Danielle receives Utopia from her father Auguste (which reminds her of him from then on), says he’s a husband now, and convinces him to come back soon
     F. The Baroness tells Auguste to leave their home so he can come again soon, but she acts dishonorably by focusing on lessons for her daughters over the tradition to patiently wait for her husband’s wave
      G. Auguste tells Danielle he loves her as he dies. She weeps bitterly over the loss. The narrator says it would be 10 years until another man would enter her life
       H. Prince Henry escapes from his father’s castle after attempting the same thing at least once before
        I. As Prince Henry’s guards look for him, Danielle attacks the Prince with apples, worries that she’ll be killed, and receives gold coins in exchange for her silence
         J. The Baroness and her daughters discuss Prince Henry’s upcoming wedding to the Spanish princess, and Danielle tells her fellow servants that she plans to buy Maurice back
          K. Nothing Danielle does seems to please the Baroness, and the Baroness is angered at the talk of any servants coming back to the farm
           L. After Leonardo da Vinci begs Prince Henry to save his painting, the Prince changes his mind about running away and excitedly rushes toward a thief and ends up all wet in a body of water
            M. Danielle scolds the Baroness from afar for her thoughtlessness, takes a huge risk by pretending to be a courtier, and worries that her shoes are too big for her feet
             N. Prince Henry returns the Mona Lisa painting to Leonardo and stops to talk with him about his arranged marriage to a Spanish princess
              O. The Baroness is surprised when Prince Henry rides up to return one of her horses. She lies about Danielle being mute, and he speaks informally with Marguerite
               P. Danielle arrives at the castle to save Maurice from getting shipped to the Americas as a slave. She is hesitant to give her name to Prince Henry, but he insists, and she gives him the name of Comtesse Nicole de Lancret
                Q. Maurice returns to the farm with Danielle on foot, and the servants all celebrate his homecoming. Maurice and his wife are reunited in a touching scene
                 R. King Francis punishes his son, and Prince Henry says he doesn’t want to be King
                  S. Marguerite tells Danielle that she’s in trouble, and Jacqueline mimics a horse to give her a hint. The Baroness throws Danielle into a chair and calls her a poor country girl after she admits to not recognizing Prince Henry
                   T. Prince Henry asks the Queen if she knows Comtesse Nicole de Lancret, but she doesn’t know who that is. King Francis puts his son in a bind, telling them that he’s going to hold a masked ball where he’ll announce his son’s engagement to someone
                    U. The Baroness schemes with the Royal Page to learn where Prince Henry will be the next day. She makes a vague promise of future romance with him
                     V. A servant can tell that Danielle is falling for Prince Henry after she gave him her mother’s name. They aren’t bothered by bees as they collect honey, and they say that Marguerite isn’t mature enough to be Queen
                      W. Danielle catches the Baroness holding her dress up to Marguerite, and the Baroness covers her faux pas by inviting her to the ball. She pretends to think of Danielle as a daughter, which touches Danielle. Jacqueline is disgusted by the charade, and Danielle is told that Jacqueline is being selfish
                       X. Prince Henry wonders if he’ll ever find true love, and then Leonardo shocks Danielle by walking on water
                        Y. Danielle talks with Prince Henry about servants and admits she finds him arrogant and lacking in pride. They share a laugh
                         Z. The Baroness wants to know who a mysterious Comtesse is so she can bury her
                         AA. Prince Henry plays tennis with a Marquis, knocks into several courtiers, and gets the ball handed to him by Marguerite, which makes him laugh nervously
                          BB. Pierre le Pieu inquires about Danielle’s failing farm, and he refuses to buy anything from her
                           CC. Prince Henry feeds chocolate to Marguerite. He surprises Danielle by walking up to her at the market, and she runs away from him
                            DD. The Baroness shares memories of her mother with Danielle, and they almost connect on a personal level
                             EE. Maurice finds Leonardo’s kite. He gives it to Danielle, which inadvertently brings Prince Henry to her
                              FF. Danielle outruns Prince Henry to her house and asks her fellow servants to help her change quickly. She meets him looking like a courtier
                              FF. Prince Henry invites Danielle to join him at a monastery and tells his servants their help is not required. He is simply Henry today, not a Prince
                             EE. The Royal Page can’t find Prince Henry. He gives the Baroness the Queen’s necklace to help Marguerite get close to her
                            DD. Danielle shares memories of her father with Prince Henry, and they begin to connect on a personal level
                           CC. Marguerite feeds the Queen a lie about finding her necklace. Danielle surprises Prince Henry by suggesting they travel on foot, and he walks with her
                          BB. The Baroness inquires about Danielle’s whereabouts, and several items go missing (secretly being sold to Pierre le Pieu)
                         AA. Prince Henry fights with a Gypsy, then Danielle falls onto their leader and carries the Prince away, which makes the Gypsies laugh in surprise
                         Z. The Baroness wants to know when Danielle comes home so she can punish her
                        Y. Danielle talks with Prince Henry about Gypsies after he admits he doesn’t want to be king. They share a kiss and a laugh
                       X. Prince Henry tells Danielle where to find him the next day, and then he shocks his parents by proposing a university
                      W. Danielle catches the Baroness holding her dress up to Marguerite again, and the Baroness drops all pretenses and says she’s not going to the ball. Marguerite insults Danielle’s mother, which infuriates Danielle. Jacqueline tends to Danielle’s wounds, and she selflessly comforts her stepsister
                     V. The Queen tells the Baroness that Prince Henry has fallen for the Comtesse de Lancret. Marguerite is bothered by this, and she demonstrates her immaturity in front of the Queen and blames it on a bee
                    U. Danielle goes to the place where Prince Henry said he would be that day. He makes a specific promise to declare his engagement to her at the ball
                   T. The Baroness confronts Danielle knowing that she’s Comtesse Nicole de Lancret, but she doesn’t know where her gown is. She locks Danielle in a room, and we find out she has told the Queen that the Comtesse is engaged to someone when she announces the news to her son
                  S. Maurice tells Gustave that Danielle is in trouble, and Jacqueline dresses as a horse for a costume party. Leonardo breaks Danielle out of her prison and says it doesn’t matter that she’s just a servant after she admits to deceiving Prince Henry
                 R. King Francis praises his son, and Prince Henry says he has accepted his obligations as the future King
                Q. Danielle leaves her farm in a carriage, and the servants call her a masterpiece. Jacqueline and the Prince’s guard start to form a relationship
               P. Danielle arrives at the castle to save Prince Henry from getting engaged to a Spanish princess. She earnestly wants to tell him the truth, but he interrupts her, and the Queen realizes she must be the Comtesse de Lancret
              O. The Baroness surprises Danielle and rips one of the wings off her costume. She reveals the truth about Danielle being a servant, and Prince Henry tells Danielle not to speak to him so informally
             N. Danielle leaves behind one of her glass slippers in front of Leonardo and runs away without discussing her estranged relationship with Prince Henry
            M. Leonardo scolds Prince Henry to his face for his thoughtlessness, the Prince says Danielle lied about being a courtier, and Leonardo gives him her glass slipper she left behind
           L. After Leonardo begs Prince Henry to reconsider his feelings, the Prince refuses to yield, and Danielle reaches her home in disgrace and ends up all wet in the rain
          K. The Baroness expresses her total contempt for Danielle, and she is pleased to say that she’s sold Danielle to Pierre le Pieu
         J. The Baroness and her daughters witness Prince Henry’s botched wedding to the Spanish princess, and Maurice tells the Prince that Danielle was sold to Pierre le Pieu
        I. As Prince Henry and his guards look for Danielle, she attacks Pierre le Pieu with swords, threatens to kill him, and receives the key to her shackles in exchange for his life
       H. Danielle escapes from her owner’s castle after attempting the same thing at least once before
      G. Prince Henry tells Danielle he’s sorry and he loves her. She cries tears of joy as he proposes. Ten years after she lost her father, she gains a husband
     F. King Francis commands the Baroness to come to his castle so he can reprimand her, and she acts dishonorably by forgetting the lessons she taught her daughters to be quiet and humble
    E. Danielle tells the Baroness she’ll never think of her again, Prince Henry says that Danielle is his wife now, and Danielle asks King Francis to send the Baroness away forever
   D. The Baroness suffers an inauspicious fate with her eldest daughter, claiming to be of noble blood and getting covered in dye
  C. Gustave is astonished to see Danielle in a fancy dress and being called royalty. She says, “Royalty or not, I can still whip you”
 B. Prince Henry jokingly comments to Leonardo that his painting doesn’t look like Danielle, and he tells Danielle they’re supposed to live “happily ever after”
A. The Brothers Grimm leave the castle in a carriage after meeting with the Queen

A New Way of Looking at This Film Forever After

Isn’t it wonderful to see all of these connections in Ever After? It feels like a fairytale, but it’s real. It wasn’t easy to decide which details to focus on in each of the points in the chiasmus. There were too many, which is why I made them a lot longer than I usually do.

I’ll do my best to share my favorites now. I love that Danielle repeats her playful threat to Gustave at exactly the same point: C. At G, Danielle’s saddest moment when she loses her father is swallowed up by her happiest moment when Prince Henry proposes to her. What marvelous catharsis! There are so many conversations that mirror each other, like E, K, L, R, T, Y, and Z. Jacqueline foreshadows her horse costume at S. The Prince calls his swordfight at AA a game, connecting it to his tennis match. V and W are my personal favorites. Isn’t it incredible that the two references to bees happen in perfect harmony on opposite sides of the chiasmus at V? Un-bee-lievable! And W has both times that Danielle’s dress is brought out and admired by her stepmother and Marguerite.

And then there’s the turning point at FF. This is the first time that two things happen. Danielle begs her fellow servants for help to do something she can’t do by herself, and Prince Henry learns from Danielle’s example and gives his servants the day off. On one hand, Danielle is learning the value of having servants help her with her work. On the other hand, the Prince is learning the value of doing things that he’s perfectly capable of doing by himself. Danielle and the Prince are coming together in a new way.

The great thing about the turning point is that it contains multiple layers. Danielle has to rise to meet the Prince by pretending to be a courtier. Meanwhile, the Prince lowers himself and simply calls himself Henry for that day. Much like the fish-and-bird metaphor Danielle later uses to describe herself and the Prince, she ascends and he descends to meet each other in the middle. And this happens right at the middle of the chiasmus!

Up until this point in the film, Danielle wouldn’t admit to herself that she’s falling in love with the Prince. But this turns into the happiest day of her life because it helps her realize her true feelings. And the Prince is no longer just intrigued by Danielle; he’s entirely won over by her. She even saves his life through her quick thinking and wit.

Ever After is exalted even more in my eyes with this new method of seeing it. Hopefully you have had a similar epiphany. It will be a much richer viewing experience forever after.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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