Inamorata2

The typical Cinderella tale is based upon the foundation of a beautiful woman
helplessly displaced from her rightful class, thrust into servitude and unjustly
 oppressed in her household by those who should support her. Jean Thompson’s
 reimagining of the fable, titled Inamorata in her collection
 “The Witch And Other Tales Retold”, not only concerns itself less with the
 plight of her titular Cinderella and fated Prince, hereafter referred to as Laura
  and Royboy respectively, it does not subject her to these elements whatsoever.
  In their place are far more relatable problems such as disability, lacking self-confidence
  feelings of inadequacy and that lie at the heart of human experience.
  Thompson’s Inamorata explores the impact of disability on Laura/Royboy, contemporary
  class relations between them, and the female gender relations in Laura’s
  home in an attempt to squash the nefarious stepsister archetype to the
  betterment of its source material.


Thompson's decision to write the story from Royboy's perspective fits nicely into
the timeline of the classic fable but does more than to serve as a mix-up of the protagonist.
With Royboy's point of view, Thompson creates an understanding within the reader
about the nature of disability. Both Laura and Royboy suffer from disability from circumstances beyond their control:
Royboy from a car accident at a young age and Laura, though unknown until the end, from deafness.
Historically, this is a far deviation from beautiful Cinderella and the idyllic Prince
the reader may be familiar with. Royboy's accident has left him with a brain injury
that affects him with periods of lost time akin to short term memory loss.
The impact of this disability on his life presents itself as a duality of fortune.
On one hand, he is to recieve a modest inheritance from the resulting lawsuit

Themes:

1.  Rags to Riches
2.  Quest/The pursuit of happiness
3.  Overcoming an adversary (stigma, disability)

4.  Kindness is important
5.  Close Friends
6.  Love at first sight/Fate/Destiny

7.  Class relations: No poverty vs rich
8.  No evil stepsisters – Women/Women
9.  Both our prince and Cinderella are somewhat common looking



*** stigma of disability/ Disability as a Plot Device ***
 societal relations
 difficulty opening up to others
 deafness, brain injury connects our prince and cinderella
-- both Roy and Laura feel ostracized, shut-ins
-- their connection furthers their love, they feel understood
-- disability


Royboy:
"put back together like a meat robot"


Sisters:
"'Should he be walking around loose? Allowed to reproduce?'"


*** Class relations ***
 AFAIK Both Cinderella and the Prince belong to the same class
  How this changes the dynamic
  -- No longer a Prince of high status
  -- Neither characters are class displaced
  -- Royboy's inheritance does not change him
  -- Because this is modern, they are of the same class, Laura can slap all she wants
  --
Roy:
"Felt unnaturally clean"
"Because your normal clothes make you look like a farmer"

“Royboy saluted. He watched Laura’s hand waver, then slowly, slowly come up to return his greeting. ”

Laura:
"She looked like a little brown bird would look if you turned it into a girl."

*** Gender relations/Killing Step Sisters ***
- Classic prince has women flinging themselves at him
- Going as far as to lie, cut off toes to fit his visage of a woman
 RB looking to appeal to Women instead of vice versa

Lance:
“Two incomplete halves made whole. Finding each other against all odds.
Is it destiny? Enchantment? Scientists fail to find explanations. Poets keep trying.
Our boy here, he might suffer from a small, hardly noticeable intellectual deficiency.
But his heart is an off-the-charts genius. Did we mention he has a little money?”

Excerpt From: Jean Thompson. “The Witch.” Apple Books.

 RB's court supports him as you would expect men to
  RB instead wants his dream girl to come to him rather than pursue
  RB engages in the quest with little effort on Laura's behalf
-- Cinderella Sisters and Stepmother replaced by defensive, loyal friends
-- Overall changes the tone of the Story
-- Laura is not suffering in the usual Cinderella sense,
      not struggling to get out from under her friends
-- On the contrary, they are encouraging, her support group


"'What's he trying to do to her, pretend it was all some big joke? It's not like she gets out much.'
'Through no fault of her own,' another girl said, loyally. 'Men just don't make the effort with her.'"