Cinderella and Her True Self: Narrative as a Lost Shoe of Religious Education

The article off ers an insight into an unusual discourse in the Czech environment. It refl ects upon the complementarity of religion and fairy tale. It points to the presence of fairy-tale motives in biblical texts and religious motives in fairy tales. Both are illustrated in the context of Christianity by a commentary on the fairy tale Cinderella by the Brothers Grimm. With regard to religious pedagogical discourse, it then invites a narrative turn in religious education, names specifi c consequences for practice, and points to the possibility of developing a relationship between religious education and fairy tales.

social sciences and theological disciplines and asks about man in the process of learning (taking into account, for example, the potential of the Christian faith tradition, the experience of the history of Christianity, or great stories of the man-God encounter, for example, in biblical texts). 7 Th e issue of the interconnection of biblical texts and traditional fairy tales is not unusual. It is named by researchers such as Dietz-Rüdiger Moser, 8 Katalin Horn, 9 Otto Betz, 10 and Heinrich Dickerhoff . 11 Similarly, the issue of narrative in (religious) education is not new. 12 Th is paper deals with some basic forms of complementarity between religion and fairy tale (1). It gives an example of this complementarity in the context of Christianity using an analysis of Cinderella (2) and summarises the arguments for rediscovering the importance of narrative in religious education (3). Th e interdisciplinarity of the paper seeks to stimulate further discussion about the consequences of narrative in the broadest sense for the specifi c practice of religious education. Th erefore, its intention is also (for the needs of this discussion) to evaluate available foreign and domestic literature analytically, and thus to bring the topic, which could be seen as some kind of 'Cinderella' in terms of the number of professional texts, into the Czech environment. At the same time, however, narration is an integral part of religious education and can hardly be imagined without it.
(John 6:1-15), and Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman (Luke 8:40-56). In the Bible, we encounter the fairy tale as a literary form more oft en than we might expect. Th is does not mean that biblical texts 'are a fairy tale' . While fairy tales, of course, speak about miracles, miracles in Bible texts point to God's power, as Horn writes. 17 Fairy tales are condensed experiences of past generations; biblical stories are challenges of the future with an eschatological dimension. 18 In addition to diff erences, however, fairy tales and biblical texts show a number of similarities. For example, Otto Betz points out that while fairy tales do not give a message about God, they, like biblical texts, convey an understanding of the world with its greatness and 'reliable order' . 19 Th e common theme of both biblical texts and fairy tales is also their dealing with basic topics such as scarcity, injustice, and disruption. 20 In fairy tales and biblical texts, man is fi nally presented as one who needs salvation, redemption. 21 In many fairy tales we encounter explicit religious motives, such as the fairy tale Mary's Child by the Brothers Grimm or a series of stories from the times 'when the Lord Jesus and Peter walked around the world' (Božena Němcová). Th e prominent researcher Bruno Bettelheim says Most fairy tales originated at a time when religion was a very important part of life. Th us, they dealt directly or indirectly with religious themes. Th e stories from A Th ousand and One Nights are full of references to the Islamic religion. Many Western fairy tales have a religious content. Most of them, though, are forgotten today and unknown to a wider circle of people. It is precisely because in many of us religious themes do not evoke meaningful general or personal ideas. 22 From the point of view of religious pedagogy, the comparison of fairy tale and religion is even more important. Both give a name to borderline life situations and the resulting experiences, and thus eff ectively contribute to personal maturation. Bettelheim, as an educator and paediatric therapist, writes that 'today and in the past, the most important task in the process of raising a child is to help him fi nd meaning in life' . 23 He considers the potential of religious tradition to be unforgettable. 24 Or elsewhere: 'If the narrative corresponds to what the child is experiencing inside himself (which cannot be done by a realistic narrative), then it acquires an emotional quality of "truth" in the eyes of the child. ' 25 Viktor Frankl also thematised the importance of fi nding a meaning in life due to the experience of 'existential frustration' 26 in borderline situations. Paul Tillich says that existential anxiety is ontological anxiety. As it cannot be eliminated, it must be included in the courage to live, to be. 27 We could relate to this 'existential frustration' the shortest defi nition of religion by the recently deceased Catholic theologian Johann Baptist Metz, 28 which is: 'Unterbrechung' . 29 Th e spring months of 2020 only underlined the meaning of the word. 30 Th e relevance of the religious pedagogical closeness of the relationship between fairy tales and religion is also justifi ed by the phenomenon of narrative. Th rough this phenomenon, they are transmitted and translated. Narrative and its contribution to the construction of identity is named (with all philosophical-linguistic precision) by Paul Ricoeur. 31 Heinz Streib then tries to imply this concept in religious pedagogical speech about identity and education. He introduces his text using the words: 'Religion hides a treasure trove of symbols and stories. Symbols and stories are an important mediator through which religion is able to contribute to the formation of time. ' 32 Referring to Johann Baptiste Metz, 33 Streib writes about the consequences of situations in which people are addressed by religious images and stories. In this way the Church really becomes a 'remembering and narrating community' 34 in which people become 'story subjects' . 35 It thus foreshadows one of the concrete consequences of the narrative turn for (religious) education. Th e specifi c educational potential of fairy tales and the degree of closeness to religious education will be shown by the example of the analysis of one classical fairy tale.

Th e Breakthrough of Cinderella's True Self
One form of themed 'existential frustration' presented by Frankl is adolescence. Paul Tillich adds that the appropriate way to deal with frustration is not to eliminate it but 'to include it in the courage to be' . Th is is the concrete potential of the tale Cinderella for the adolescence of young people. It further contributes to the understanding of the importance of Christianity for human life.

Th e Phenomenon of 'Cinderella' in the Bible and Christianity
Th e oldest preserved record of the motif of the chosen individual, which is also prominent in the fairy tale Cinderella, is found in 1 Samuel 16:4-13. Th e story speaks about the prophet Samuel who off ers a sacrifi ce to God in Bethlehem and invites Jesse and his sons to come with him. 36 Samuel has to anoint one of the sons according to God's mandates. Eliab, a tall good-looking man, appears before Samuel fi rst, so Samuel himself thinks that this is him. But then he is warned not to look at the appearance. Abinadab comes nearer then, and aft er him all the seven sons of Jesse. Th en Samuel asks Jesse if they really are all his sons, and he is given the answer that there is another who is grazing sheep. So, Samuel calls him, and when he sees the youngest red-haired boy, he knows that he is the one to be anointed the king of Israel. 'But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart"' (1 Samuel 16:7). 37 In the New Testament, man is raised from the dust. Man is given the dignity of Mary as God has looked on 'the humble estate of his servant' , and she becomes the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:46-55). We literally read in Mary's Song: ' And Mary said, "My soul magnifi es the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. "' Th e religiousness of these motives lies in the fact that the one who raises, fi nds aff ection, entrusts to the royal throne, and represents the driving force of this event is God. He intervenes from the outside, but through people. 38 Th e motif of choosing captured in the fairy tale Cinderella is also repeatedly mentioned, for example, by Martin Luther in his interpretation of Mary's Song from 1521. In the history of Christianity, however, this motif has been shift ed due to the work of preachers (for example, Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, 1445-1510). It helps to better understand the religious dimension of the desire for recognition in the midst of humiliation, for self-affi rmation in the midst of an unwilling world, for reward due to hardships. Th ese are all motifs connecting both the tale Cinderella and the abovementioned sermons. Th ere is also an important diff erence: the sermons move the reason for hope to the 'other' metaphysical world while the fairy tale places the message of the 'other' metaphysical level of reality into the experience of earthly love. 39

Courage to Dream
' A rich man had a wife. One day she realised that her fi nal hour was approaching and she called her only daughter to her bedside…' Th is is how the story of Cinderella begins as told by the Brothers Grimm. 40 Th e Brothers Grimm are harsher in their narrative 41 but everyone knows who Cinderella is. Everyone has experienced what it is like 'to feel like Cinderella' . Th e German psychoanalyst Eugen Drewermann portrays the character of the fairy tale Cinderella as follows: 'Cinderella is a story about the victory of beauty over shame and true being over false pretence. Cinderella, it is an unfulfi lled dream of a hidden kingdom in every human being. Th e fairy tale Cinderella is told everywhere where people continue to believe in the greater dignity of their being. ' 42 Cinderella is a character trait or human destiny that we can meet even today. To understand the tale of Cinderella means to understand oneself in a similar situation, to encourage oneself to re-37 In the Old Testament, on other pages, we can fi nd a kind of continuation of the story of David in other contexts. David becomes a typical embodiment of the whole nation. Israel, a neglected nation of nomads, is exalted to the dignity and glory of the royal people by David on whose side God stands. 38  main in one's most secret dreams and desires, and to trust in the value of one's existence. It means to believe in your 'fairy-tale' dreams despite the painful 'reality' .

Cinderella Is Not the 'American Dream'
Cinderella's feelings take the form of an underestimation of her talents and abilities in an environment which she does not want or accept. If we looked for the opposite, it would be the ' American dream' which states that one can be anything if one wants to and believes in oneself. 43 One can become a millionaire even if starting out as a shoe shiner, a simple boy can become a president, a young man barely skating on a country pond can become a professional ice hockey star. He just has to want it, and purposefully work on his career. Th e ' American Dream' is compatible with big shoulders and strong elbows. It promises that if one goes aft er one's own dreams, one will make them come true. 'Cinderella' , on the other hand, has the character of inconspicuousness, neglect, underestimation. In order to grow up, she is waiting to be addressed and fought for by someone. In popular terms: sit down, girl, in the corner, if you are kind, they will fi nd you (Czech proverb). Th e fairy tale Cinderella does not tell about the rise to power, wealth, and fame -that is, self-realisation achieved by self-confi dent action and performance. Cinderella depicts a breakthrough of the true self with all the beauty and greatness that comes only aft er a self-affi rming discovery made by another person, that is, as a result of a unique relationship. Its theme is choosing, rather than narcissistic self-assertion. Cinderella doesn't need to do much but it certainly doesn't mean that she can fold her hands in the lap. Th e courage to be oneself is not a matter of course. Th ere are several kinds of fear presented by Fritz Riemann: the fear of surrendering oneself, the fear of self-realisation, the fear of transience, and the fear of irreversibility. Th ese four forms of fear put man in the role of 'Cinderella' and prevent him from growing into the integrity of his existence. 44 Riemann also writes about what helps people not to avoid contact with others due to their schizoid fear for themselves, not to remain depressive in a relationship of addiction, not to compulsively cling to common things due to the fear of change and transience, not to hysterically succumb to arbitrariness. One should also avoid fear of necessity. 45 Th e fairy tale suggests a solution and hides at least three keys to action:  Although Cinderella by the Brothers Grimm is passive at fi rst glance, her passivity is only apparent. Cinderella mobilises her inner strength all the time thanks to the favour of everyday little things. She doesn't ask for a gift but accepts any small thing someone comes across. She also fi nds small and inconspicuous friends in the pigeons. At the same time, she continues to long for the same conditions as her 'sisters' have. She longs to go to the ball, to be beautiful, to meet the prince…  Th en the favour of good forces enters Cinderella's life. A woman from another world, a fairy or, in some versions, a dead mother who likes her, advises and encourages her. Th is is a description of a situation of repeated reassurance by another person. Such a situation can be created using suitable conditions. When we think of the 'fairy-tale aspect' of this revelation which, in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition, takes the form 43  of God's 'choosing' , we fi nd a cure that unites many small supporting elements and forms them into courage. Cinderella begins to act on her own, not as she is expected or forced to by circumstances.  Th e transformation does not come immediately -Cinderella's true self initially breaks through only within a limited time. Th e spell is valid until midnight only, then one needs to sit in the ashes again. Aft er some time, when the prince puts on her slipper (which is so unique that it only fi ts her), Cinderella defi nitively changes. By declaring her property, she turns magical moments into real life.
Th e example of the religious pedagogical refl ection upon this classic fairy tale shows a parallel to the biblical motive of choosing and also describes a specifi c path of spiritual growth. It is the right to effi cient use of internal resources, the need to meet with personal support from others, and the need of time for the process.

(Religious) Education -Narrative Education
Following the example of the analysis of the educational potential of the classic fairy tale within its closeness to religious education, in this part I will try to expand the question of the relationship between fairy tale and religion in a more general direction towards the topic of narrative in (religious) educational processes. 46 Reading fairy tales or, even better, listening to the narrative in general is a phenomenon that invites readers or listeners to confrontation -in the protected environment of the story -with borderline situations. Th anks to fairy tales, they learn through these -oft en unhappy -experiences to talk about them while using story images or comparing situations or the nature of the acting characters. Th rough a narrative dialogue with the story, we can learn both to act more responsibly and to appreciate the time spent with the story as unique, rare, and, in a sense, 'sacred' . 47 Th e images of the story, the comparison to situations, or the character of the characters also inadvertently provide a vocabulary for religious speech and thus help to pronounce the unspeakable. 48 If we want to capture the potential of storytelling for religious education, generally deepened, for example, also in narrative theology, 49 it is necessary to focus on the question of identity and the question of the religious pedagogical conception of education, especially with regard to the discourse of the mentioned type of theology. 50 According to Heinz Streib, even this whole eff ort can be narrowed down to a critical assessment of the tension between the child's knowledge and psychosocial development. Th is can take the form of knowledge or, conversely, psychosocial one-sidedness which in turn projects into a person's identity and into the focus of religious education as such. Religious pedagogy -precisely due to its interdisciplinary nature 52 -makes it possible to capitalise on the potential of a joint search of, for example, biblical theology and psychology. Th is is evident from the example of the thematic fairy tale Cinderella but also from a number of other examples. 53 Th e unifying element is the search for the imaginary 'red thread of life' which is accompanied by questions such as: What is it? What characterizes it? Who is involved? What creates it? Th en there is the question which is decisive from the religious-pedagogical point of view and carries a more complex question of God in itself: Who writes the story of my life? 54 Heinz Streib thus brought the concept of 'narrative identity' formulated by Ricoeur into the practice of religious education and, in this context, began to speak of 'narrative education' .
Its outlines would then be as follows: 55

• Narrative taking into account working with symbols
Experiencing symbols and stories is crucial for the formation of (religious) identity. 56 When we tell the story of our lives, we also interpret it. Continuity and integration are crucial factors in such narration. Biblical texts also tell stories about the search for identity, about confl icts of life roles, etc. For example, the story of how Jesus calmed the storm (Mark 4:35-41) may point to a life stage in which one struggles with storms of relationship change, job insecurity, or even the fear of death 57 -it may point to processes which are understandable for listeners in analogy with their own life story. In this way, we gain words, images, and motivation to express and narrate our personal, inner story. 58 For the practice of religious education itself, there is a requirement to work with (biblical) stories but also with the need to off er the opportunity to 'read the text of your own life story' , that is, the right to work with a biography. 59 Th e benefi t of such a narration is the knowledge that even 'my life story' is multi-layered, inexhaustible, and open to the future.

• Narrative taking into account play and the development of creativity
According to the paradigm of narrative hermeneutics, there is not just one story but several of them. Th e interpretation of one's own life is imperfect, sketchy, and so is the interpretation of the lives of others. An unambiguous, complete, and generally valid autobiography is, in this sense, impossible. Th erefore, we must be able to learn how to deal with imperfections, incompleteness, and how to withstand openness. 60 Th e identity created by telling a personal life story resonates in the context of other diff erent life stories. In this way it highlights unity and 10 2020 represents an invitation towards a creative approach. For one's own practice of religious education, this may mean the right to develop creative competence. One should creatively develop openness to diff erent interpretations and seek current patterns for understanding one's own life, the lives of others, and the world as such. Th is applies not only to fairy tales but also to biblical texts in which Baldermann emphasises the potential to become a framework story. 61 Such a story places a certain problem of a selected biblical text in a situation in which it may appear as a symbolic story. Th us, it can become a 'contextual story' 62 which leads a person to his diff erentiated perception. Th e consequence of the realisation of a narrative that takes into account play and the development of creativity is the joy of a creative approach to life and its stories. Th ey may include the story of religion.

• Narrative taking into account the courage to fragmentation
Education is and will remain an open process, and the same is true of religious education. It is not aimed at achieving a specifi c state. It is rather a movement and a vision. Th e concept of (religious) identity evokes the idea of the attainability of a certain harmony, completeness, permanence. Unfortunately, this is accompanied by the temptation to lead education and evaluate its quality through achieving such goals. 63 However, religious education should retain the form of critical regulation and 'uncertain vibration' , 64 rather than blind normativity. Religious education must be warned of the temptation of ideologisation, and it must acknowledge the unattainability of perfect being, the reality of division, inner rupture, and incompleteness (fragmentation), and to work with these facts thoughtfully. 65 For one's own practice of religious education, this means the right to accept the fact that the new also includes the extinction and loss of the former. Figuratively speaking, today we are the ruins of our future. We are buildings which might not be fi nished by anyone. Such education will support an environment of open creativity and will resemble a laboratory looking for new ways. 66 Th e narration carried out in this way will contribute to the ability to think, ask questions, think critically, and thus be immunised against the infection of fundamentalism, among other things.

• Narrative taking into account the potential of diversity
Th e uniqueness of the story and the courage to tell it, especially when it comes to the story of one's own life, are circumstances that necessarily bring the right to refl ect upon the pedagogical approach at the level of teacher-student or student-student. Pupils thus become partners and subjects, not objects of pedagogical work. Everyone, including the teacher, bears their share of responsibility for the atmosphere. In these conditions, they encounter in the diversity of their stories, including the stories of specifi c religions. Th is situation includes the requirement for the quality of interaction between people with diff erent perspectives, diff erent socialisation, diff erent interests, and diff erent abilities to refl ect upon these processes. 67 For the practice of religious education, this means the right to educate towards openness. In this way, 'foreign' stories become essential elements of common learning precisely because of their 'foreignness' . 68 Th e narrative which takes into account the potential of diversity opens up space for appreciating the diversity of relationships, and thus the possibility of understanding the Christian conception of God in an original way.

Narrativity in the Practice of Religious Education in the Czech Republic
Narrative in general 69 and fairy tales in religious education in particular are, in a sense, 'Cinderella' in the Czech environment. We can, however, still fi nd fairy tales in the methodological materials for preschool education and teaching of religion in primary schools. In the programmes of initiation catechesis, the topic of fairy tales is not included at all and narrativity is off ered mainly within the work with biblical stories, or in connection with the biographies of saints. Didactic ways of working where we can meet narrative in religious education are, for example, bibliodrama and work with biblical characters, 70 the pedagogy of Franz Kett, 71 and the catechesis of the Good Shepherd. 72 Only Franz Kett's pedagogy off ers direct work with a fairy tale. Th e ability to tell a story and work with it is part of the basic professional equipment of a teacher, especially at lower levels of education. Narrative in general education can be found, for example, in storytelling, creative drama, working with 'stories from a briefcase' , or within the development of pre-reading and reading literacy. 73 If we, for the purposes of this text, deal with the issue of the relationship between narrativity (in the form of work with fairy tales) and religious education only, I see two ways. One is named by Ludmila Muchová. In her proposal for a framework programme of religious education for available hourly allowance, she also presents the area of 'opening and developing basic existential experience and their deepening into elementary religious experience' as a contribution to the formation and development of key competencies. Th is is then specifi ed in more detail in the thematic unit 'openness to basic life experience' . 74 Fairy tales can be a proven tool here. Th e second way is the area of 'understanding the religious form of biblical language' 75 which, in a broader sense, presupposes understanding of the archetypal images in classic fairy tales in general. Th e proposal of the framework programme of religious education as a cross-sectional theme in the abovementioned script opens the way to work with storytelling even more specifi cally. 76 In the fi eld of knowledge, skills, and abilities, it formulates the right to understand the truth about the world through various literary and thought forms. 77 As part of examples of methodological elaboration, we will also fi nd the story O tajuplném koši (About the Mysterious Basket) and its connection to the biblical story about a blind beggar called Bartimaeus 78 or the fairy tale the Star Money which is a combination of fairy tale and legendary form. In this tale, the children 'experience the simply expressed ethos of Jesus: those who give out of the goodness of their hearts will receive a hundred times more' . 79 According to Muchová, another fairy tale suitable for inclusion in religious education can also be the classic fairy tale the Th ree Feathers by the Brothers Grimm. Its aim is to know how to reveal paradoxical statements and meet the clash of 'superfi cial and inner experience of the world and appreciate the inner approach to the world' . 80 Th e optional subject of religion in primary schools (which is specifi ed in this way) is a part of the document Osnovy k výuce náboženské výchovy římskokatolické církve v 1.-9. ročníku základní školy (Curriculum for Teaching Religious Education of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1 st -9 th classes). 81 Th e most recent ČBK (Episcopal Conference of Czech Republic) document on the topic of religious education Dokument o směřování katecheze a náboženského vzdělávání v České republice (Document on the Direction of Catechesis and Religious Education in the Czech Republic), 82 which has a material-kerygmatic focus. 83 In the methodological materials prepared in connection with the curriculum for teaching religion by Eva Muroňová et al. and published under the heading of the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava for some classes of primary and secondary school, we encounter work with stories and fairy tales and their narration in many places. 84 Of the classic fairy tales, these are mainly Th e Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, or the Star Money of the Brothers Grimm. Another material for teaching religion, in which we can also fi nd stimuli for working with a fi gurative story, is the magazine Duha 85 or methodological materials containing didactic procedures of Franz Kett's pedagogy. 86 Although it may seem that many examples refl ect the richly refl ected upon practice in the application of narrative (fairy tales) in religious education, this is not the case. It is obvious that this, in a sense, is kind of 'Cinderella' . It is a concept of religious education based on anthropological and existential starting points which is a marginal issue in the Czech discussion of religious education and catechesis.

Conclusion
Fairy tales, narrativity, and religious education are seemingly unrelated facts which I have tried to bring into the mutual and, for the quality of education, stimulating relationship, and thus enrich the discourse of (religious) education in our environment. Finally, I will mention two important challenges. As religious pedagogy is a 'borderline' fi eld, I address the fi rst challenge within theological discourse, and the second one within pedagogical discourse. Th e fi rst challenge is directed to the communion of the Church which, by letting fairy tales and other fi gurative stories into its educational content and reviving a sense of telling not only biblical stories but also stories that contribute to the understanding of biblical stories, can once again become, in the words of Johann Baptist Metz, a place of 'remembrance' and thus regain its credible face. 87 It means the courage to abandon a certain 'colonial' mentality, coupled with an ambition to control, and discover the value of many small stories of specifi c people. 88 Th e second challenge, on the other hand, is aimed at general educators so that they will not be afraid to appreciate Christianity with its rich reservoir of narratives. Th ey can enrich general educational content and help personality development. Even here the ideas are valid of the researcher of John Amos Comenius, Jan Hábl, who says, 'a person exposed to the power of a story is a being who experiences a holistic experience in which he thinks, feels, believes, experiences, identifi es himself with someone or something, receives information, evaluates, etc' . 89 At the end of his study, Hábl proposes the rehabilitation of narrative discourse in pedagogy, and introduces the concept of didactic narrativisation. He sees this as a two-level methodological principle which reads: whatever can be communicated narratively, let it be translated into this form. Let all material that is narrativisable be narrativised.