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Luc

"I Wish!!"

I don't understand Cinderella's last "I Wish". Is it just a witty ending, because that was her first line, and that's what drove the story, or is it supoosed to be a "here we go again"-type thing?

I have more questions to come, I just can't think of them at the moment, so stay tuned....
ConverseSneaker

well, I thought it was the here we go again thing, but according to wikipedia:
Quote:
In the end, they resolve to make a new life, void of violence and selfishness, but remain haunted by the memories of their loved ones. It seems that everyone has learned that wishes can be dangerous. However, after the very last note, Cinderella steps forward from the ensemble and sings "I Wish!", indicating that humanity may be unable to exist apart from its dreams and wishes.


ok............... Confused
Luc

ConverseSneaker wrote:
Quote:
In the end, they resolve to make a new life, void of violence and selfishness, but remain haunted by the memories of their loved ones. It seems that everyone has learned that wishes can be dangerous. However, after the very last note, Cinderella steps forward from the ensemble and sings "I Wish!", indicating that humanity may be unable to exist apart from its dreams and wishes.


WHAT?!?! I might just be having an off-day, but I have no idea what that means!!
norayouadora

Basically, I agree with the whole "here-we-go-again" thing that you two are talking about, except I think it goes a bit deeper, as Wikipedia is hinting. Cinderella says "I wish" at the end to show that despite everything that has happened throughout the show, she is still unsatisfied with her life. The show chronicles the events in the lives of the characters as they attempt to achieve whatever it is that they think will ultimately make them happy. It begins with each of them specifying their wish--Cinderella wants to go to the ball and dance with the prince, the Baker and the Baker's wife want a child, Jack wants to save his cow, etc. As the show continues we see the hardships of everyone and we root for them because we want them to receive their happy endings. Because they are so sure about what will buy their happiness, the audience accepts that eventually they will get what they desire and they will, indeed, live happily ever after.

However, ItW simply isn't that kind of show. It's dark and it shows the reality of fairy-tale endings. Most fairy tales are too one-dimensional: the protagonist makes a wish, they get it, and they're happy with it. But ItW is truer to the real nature of people--once you get that thing that you think will make you happy, you realize that it doesn't quite do the job. Rather than give up, you keep going and wishing for more and more. Cinderella simply shows what any human would do in her situation. She's finally achieved what she's always wanted, and she finds that she still wants more. It's not a sad ending, it's just truthful. No one is ever truly satisfied with themselves; there's always that one thing that you wish you could change. I think it's appropriate for ItW to end this way.

Sorry for the long analysis; I'm bored. Very Happy
Dancer#5

ConverseSneaker wrote:
well, I thought it was the here we go again thing, but according to wikipedia:
Quote:
In the end, they resolve to make a new life, void of violence and selfishness, but remain haunted by the memories of their loved ones. It seems that everyone has learned that wishes can be dangerous. However, after the very last note, Cinderella steps forward from the ensemble and sings "I Wish!", indicating that humanity may be unable to exist apart from its dreams and wishes.


ok............... Confused


This is why we should not listen to wikipedia. They simply refuse to believe that the number of african elephants have tripled in the last 6 months. This is why i do all my knowledge-searching at www.wikiality.com
ConverseSneaker

Nora, you made a lot more sense than what mine did. I actually didn't get it either Musikal_geek. Applause
Luc

I think I get it now. The moral of the story is that nobody is ever one hundred per cent satisfied. Is that right?
vicki_girl

Looking at the lyrics, I think it's actually a message of hope. That even though your wishes and dreams may not turn out the way you expect, you have to keep wishing/dreaming. It's what keeps us sane.

I have copied some of the last lines below, to try to explian what I mean:

So into the woods you go again,
You have to every now and then.
Into the woods, no telling when,
Be ready for the journey.


Into the woods--you have to grope,
But that's the way you learn to cope.
Into the woods to find there's hope
Of getting through the journey.
norayouadora

I agree with the above. I don't think it's supposed to be a sad ending, like some lesson in the futility of wishes. It's just kind of poking fun at human nature. Too often do people wrongly assess what they think will make their lives complete (as do the characters in ItW), but they never give up on themselves or stop pursuing happiness. Smile
broadwaybaby124

I agree with Vicki girl.
Pounce

Wishing is what we do to grow in some way. The show begins with "Once upon a time" but then it is "I wish". Wishing is what gets us out of our comfort zone and enter the unknown or in this case "the woods". If we stop wishing then we stop growing. So the show (almost) begins with "I wish" and ends with "I wish". Wishing can lead us to our desires but there may be a cost to pay along the way with some being left behind "in the woods". So the last "I wish" hinting at "here we go again" might not be the best description but I think it's basically right.
Red Head Curls

I agree completely.
This was a touch of the absurdism of human nature, too- to continue to repeat cycles that are potentially unhealthy out of an unspoken sense of unsatisfaction.

It's kinda like- imagine being bored so you decide to play with a lion. You get yourself into so much trouble and narrowly escape with your life. Once it's all over and things seem to end "happily ever after", you decide you're bored again, and you start to think about going to see what's going on with that lion all over again. We just can't learn from our mistakes. What a shame to have had such an experience and to learn nothing from it! That's why we really must be careful of the things we say- children will listen and learn.... and out of curiosity, no matter what you say, they'll probably go seeking their own lions anyway.

And now I REALLY need to go to sleep!
Night, all.
ALoneWanderer

musikal_geek wrote:
ConverseSneaker wrote:
Quote:
In the end, they resolve to make a new life, void of violence and selfishness, but remain haunted by the memories of their loved ones. It seems that everyone has learned that wishes can be dangerous. However, after the very last note, Cinderella steps forward from the ensemble and sings "I Wish!", indicating that humanity may be unable to exist apart from its dreams and wishes.


WHAT?!?! I might just be having an off-day, but I have no idea what that means!!

musikal_geek wrote:
I think I get it now. The moral of the story is that nobody is ever one hundred per cent satisfied. Is that right?


Well, I think thats oversimplifying it quite a bit. I would actually say that in the end the actual moral is dismissed by the last "I wish". I think sondheim's pieces are generally to complex to be boiled down to one single moral without losing far to much substance. The journey of the play carries with it the reoccuring message that dreams and wishes are powerful things that will last a long time (a reoccuring theme in Sondheim's work). Sondheim actually seems to be avoiding people walking away from ItW simply thinking "ok so basically I shouldn't wish for things dismissively", he's saying we can't escape our tendencies. He is pointint out the flaw, but also dismissing the simple solution.
Eponine_Fantine

I always thought of it as both a witty ending and the here-we-go-again thing...when I did this show, I guess that's what the director thought too, cause he had all the rest of the cast turn look at her in a kind of "not again" way...we did it the same way when I was in the Jr. version...I never thought about it as being anything deeper than that, but wow...it's really cool to look at it that way...
what_the_heck013

I haven't bothered to read what anyone esle said as I really have to pee.

Basically, the entire show, Cindy is indecisive (and she really is the most human character). And she's showing that she is just an indecisive human being... also because it's funny.
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