The first volume of fairy tales that the Brothers Grimm penned together was completely ill-suited for children. Apart from containing overt sexual elements (along with themes of abuse and incest), some stories, like “Hans Dumm,” framed an act of sexual assault as a ghastly wish-fulfillment trope. Thankfully, “Hans Dumm” was removed in its entirety in later editions, which were also heavily sanitized until they morphed into the child-friendly versions we’re currently familiar with. However, these stories still carry vestiges of these age-inappropriate themes, embedded into the heart of characters who turn to some form of violence to express human folly.

“Cinderella” is no different, as it essentially equates beauty with goodness of heart, while contextualizing the absence of (traditional) beauty in the stepsisters by casting them in a morally reprehensible mold. The original Grimm folio of “Cinderella” takes this sentiment further by making the evil stepsisters cut off their...