Have courage and be kind

Something a little bit different today. Although this blog is about writing, it is also more generally about storytelling.
(Besides, this is my blog so I can talk about whatever the heck I want.)

So today I am going to talk about a story. A very old story. The story of Cinderella.

Or rather, Kenneth Brannagh's live action version. Having read mixed reviews, I went to see the movie with my mum last night with no other expectation than it would look pretty. (And it did - oh that blue twirling dress!)

What I wasn't expecting was such a strong moral message. 
On her death bed, Ella's mother asks her daughter to promise to have courage and be kind, two rules by which Ella strives to live, even when life deals her a pretty bad hand.
Have courage and be kind. I was surprised - and impressed. Kindness and courage are rarely associated.

Now I'm going to go a little bit personal on you.
When I was growing up, I was a bit of a goody-two-shoes, and my older sisters, dutifully doing their jobs as older sisters, teased me for it. They called me Cinderella (mostly when they got into trouble because I was crying or I'd told on them). It became an insult. Being a Cinderella was being whiny goody goody who couldn't stand up for herself.

And that's often how people view kindness. Now I'm not claiming to be as good as Cinderella, and when mice eat from my kitchen they leave droppings everywhere. But being generally nice, and usually shy, I can still appear to be a bit of a pushover. A Cinderella.

There is, in some people, a simplisitic view of what being kind or being brave is.

Some people think that being 'nice' is being a smiling warm person and having good manners, saying nice things and flattering, and avoiding conflict.
But being kind is something else entirely. 

Being kind is caring, especially about those who are more unfortunate than you are or those society deems unworthy - like Cinderella, sharing the little she has with the mice.
It's thinking of others, and sometimes putting their needs before your own - like Cinderella giving milk to the poor old lady, having lost everything herself . It's about giving, of yourself, your time, and whatever you have. It's about forgiving, like Cinderella forgives her stepmother (I won't carry on giving examples from the movie, but you get the gist). It's giving people a chance, and giving them a second chance. A chance to be kind, too.

In the same way, brashness and confidence are often mistaken for bravery. Some people think the brave ones are those who speak louder than everyone else. They think of courage and see men with swords, charging into battles.

But in the wise words of the Starks:

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'

Bravery is about not giving up and keeping going, even when things are tough and don't look like they're going to get any better. It's doing what you're afraid to do and daring to show the world who you truly are. It's standing up for what is right and saying no to wicked deals, even if it will cost you everything. All those fascets of bravery, Cinderella demonstrates in the movie. I wrote a post a while ago about strong female characters. To me, Kenneth Brannagh's Cinderella is strong. She's strong from within.

Now this isn't a lesson life teaches us often. I know that to appear sassy wins more hearts in the real life than being a Cinderella, and I know having a big mouth gets people's votes. I also know that 'nice guys finish last' and people don't get ahead in life but putting others first. There aren't any fairy godmothers in the real world to give good people a happy ending.
But what a sad lesson that is. And what a sad world it would be if these were the rules we lived by.

So you might scoff at Cinderella, at the twirling dresses, at love at first sight and graceful dances. You may think Cinderella's wet eyes and candid manner are twee and you may think the storyline too simplistic (I loved it all). Or you might think there was no need for a live action version of an animated classic, or even for anything straying so far from the original fairy tale.

But I, for one, am grateful that there are still people out there telling stories that teach us the importance of having courage and being kind.

'I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long.'

(Bonus points if you can tell me what book this is from. Hint: the quote doesn't refer to kindness and bravery, but to laughs.)