Finding the exact point in history to when this story first appeared

Finding the exact point in history to when this story first appeared was very problematic, as many countries have different versions of this fairy-tale and they are all from very different points in history. Anderson's version was realised in 1838, but this point in history didn't have many historic moments that could be linked to the story. So after doing more research into different eras the 18th century was the time period that had the most similarities to the story. When researching further into this point in history, late 18th century France kept appearing and many points in the story can be linked to this time.

So the performance will be set in 1770's France, over one hundred years before the book was released. The 18th century was a very memorable and defining point in France's history. During this time King Louis XVI was on the throne with Marie Antoinette by his side. The Battle of Bastille happened and the French revolution was forming.

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The fashion during this point in history is also very recognisable so the audience should be able to tell when the film is set. Whilst Marie Antoinette was on the throne, France was on the verge of bankruptcy "French support for the colonists in the American War of Independence had brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, accusations of frivolity, extravagance and scandalous behaviour against the queen, Marie Antoinette, further discredited the monarchy" (BBC History 2014) .Whilst the people of France were starving on the streets, Antoinette was throwing extravagant parties and was wearing lavish clothes that would have cost the crown a small fortune.

This type of selfish behaviour is very similar to the evil Queen in the book. Louis XVI is very similar to the Old King as he lets the queen get away with spending all this money.

One of the main themes in the story is longing. Throughout the reign of Louis XVI the people of France started to long for equality. They wanted the same rights as those that were high born. They also didn't find it fair that whilst the royals were being gluttonous and hosting ostentatious parties their people were dying in the streets from hunger. After two decades of failed harvests, disease amongst the life stock and droughts the price of food skyrocketed, this started the unrest in the peasants and working class people of France. This is when the idea of a revolution was becoming more realistic. The citizens of France overthrew and redesigned the country's political outlook, overturning the centuries-old institutions such as the monarchy. The way the French royal family ruled is very similar to The Evil Queen and the Old King. The Evil Queen wears outrageous clothes and is very jealous and is stubborn in her ways, an example of this is when the Queen realise how beautiful Elisa is and so she "rubbed walnut oil into Elisa's skin so that it turned blackish-brown, rubbed stinky ointment into her beautiful face and tangled her lovely hair." (Anderson 1838) The Queen did this to get rid of Elisa as she knew the King would be frightened of her and banish her from the kingdom. New discoveries have found that Antoinette only use to wear her infamous fashion to French Court so that people wouldn't accuse her of being unpatriotic by not wearing French Silk. 'Marie and her ladies would go there to step away from their lavish lifestyles and enjoy a simpler existence, undisturbed by the scrutiny and expectations of the court. Naturally, this extended to their clothing. They left their stiff silks behind in favour of light muslins and brightly patterned cotton chintz and indigenes'. (London,2018). The way she dresses to court is how the Evil Queen would dress but in private that is how Elisa would dress. If people in the French court didn't conform to how the King and Queen wanted them to they would have been punished, just like Elisa was by the Evil Queen. On july 14th 1789 riotors stormed into the Bastille fortress attemping to steal gun powder and weapons to power their efforts to overthrow the monarcy. This was such a memorable moment in Frances history that it has now been commemorated as a french national holiday. This part in history is very similar to when the eleven princes flew into the new Kings ground in order to save their sister. They risked their lives and chances of being returning back to human for to do the right thing. The princes and the peasent would have known the risks but in order for them to have a better life. Sometimes there are good reasons to do bad things and breaking into both places is a prime example of this.

Suffreagette

Elisa is a strong and determined character who proves that woman can be more than a damsel in distress waiting for a knight in shining armour to save her. This story would have helped to inspire the young girls at the time of the books release, (1838) to have a mind of their own and to be their own hero's. This story and the few others that had a woman as the main character helped to form the suffragette movement in 1903, 65 years later. Although not many have heard of this book by Anderson, I believe that the wild swans helped inspire other authors to have their main characters be women. There are not many women in the wild swan's story but the ones that are in there are written in a way to make them feel like they are being supressed. The reason for this thinking is because Elisa can't speak for most of the book. 'On 10 January 1906, the popular newspaper the Daily Mail coined a new word to describe this type of campaigner. They called them 'suffragettes', a diminutive term that was meant to be patronising and even faintly insulting; but the women themselves seized upon it and claimed it for their own'. (Webb,2014) Many women of the 19th century would have been able to relate to this as a woman's opinion on things was not valued. The reason the suffragette movement was so important to women is because the movement helped them to campaign for not only the right to vote but he right to divorce their husbands, have the right to an education which could help them to attain a good job. The vote was also crucial for women so they would get to have a say on the laws that were affecting their lives. Many men believed that if a woman got involved in politics it would change her caring nature and not make her a good mother. It was not until the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 that women over 21 were able to vote and women finally achieved the same voting rights as men. This act increased the number of women eligible to vote to 15 million.

Witch

Near the end of the story Elisa is accused of being a witch as she hasn't been conforming to the way she is supposed to act. The accuser the archbishop (a male) doesn't trust her and wants her to be rid of, so at the first sign that she is not acting how she is supposed to he accuses her of being a witch which if she would have been tried would have led her to an excruciatingly painful death of being burned at the stake.

Accusing women of being witches was very popular during the 16th and 17th century these are often known as the 'burning times'. People of this time believed in the supernatural and if anything misfortunate was to happen it was thought to be the work of the devil. Many thousands of innocent women were tortured, burned or drowned for being accused of being a witch. The women accused were often poor peasant unable to prove their innocents. They were often accused if a death in the village occurred or if crops failed. By 1736, the Witchcraft Acts in England and Scotland had both been repealed. (Chaundy,2009) The film is being set in the 18th century when witch hunts are not an often occurrence but still happened. I believe the reason a stake was chosen as the method to punish Elisa is because many holy figures specified that malevolent witchcraft could only be punished by

18th Cen House

For my costume research I have been looking at many historical houses from that period and researching the people that owned them to see how they could influence my characters in the development process. St. Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg Russia had a big influence on the Young King Characters costume. The exterior of the palace was the inspiration behind his colour scheme and the interior inspired the textiles details on the costume. A visit to an 18th century stately home called Castle Howard helped me to gain an understanding of how a family of that status would have lived. Appearances were very important during this point in history. Dressing in lavish fabrics from distant lands and traveling to new places was a very popular way of showing off your wealth. Throughout Castle Howard the house is adorned with objects from the family's travels. Many of the interior decoration have also been inspired from the different countries the family travelled to. The family also hired artist from different countries to decorate the house so when visitors came they could display how well travelled they were and how wealthy they must be. Throughout my costume foreign patterns will be included to show the wealth of the character.