In the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of Ella Enchanted, Ella is rescued (sort of) by a surprising group of people and is finally able to secure passage to the giants’ wedding. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Ella Enchanted.
Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen
- Yeah, I don’t know what’s going to happen in this book, and it is SO EXCITING. It’s just one twist after another.
- Okay, so I totally forgot that Char and the other knights were out hunting ogres. HEY, I TOOK A WEEK OFF FROM THIS BOOK. IT HAPPENS. Even more confusing to me, though, was the fact that Char and the other knights were unaffected by the persuasive words of the ogres. How was that possible??? Ella herself was confused by this, so I feel a lot better about not understanding what was going on.
- What’s so fun about this, though, is how the knights quickly acknowledge that despite that they were the ones to tie up the ogres, it was Ella who tamed them. She isn’t disposable anymore. In fact, Char asked her to help out if she could. I noticed that he didn’t order her to do so. That’s so awesome! And I think Levine wrote it that way on purpose. Based on the conversation Ella has with Sir Stephen in the following chapter, I think it’s part of Char’s characterization that he doesn’t demand things of those around him.
- Beeswax! Oh gods, it’s so simple, and I never once thought that simply blocking sound would make it possible for humans to resist the ogre’s persuasive magic. INCREDIBLE.
- The real treat in chapter fifteen, though, was reading Char and Ella’s hilarious and touching conversation about finishing school. Their banter is entertaining, first of all, but it’s what this all represented that struck me as significant. Ella just ran away from a place where young women are molded into this society’s version of respectable ladies. A lot of that involves a certain style of behavior that Ella felt was, frankly put, a whole lot of bullshit. And Levine doesn’t shy away from portraying this type of forced femininity as being damaging and stifling to young women. I never got the sense that sewing or penmanship was inherently bad; it’s the way in which the mistresses of the finishing school forced it upon these girls that made Ella so upset. Obviously, this was all compounded by Ella’s curse, which is intentional, too. Levine constantly makes us think about what it means for Ella to have to be ordered around and how that reflects on our own world, too.
- And yes, it’s funny to see Ella make fun of all the manners she was supposed to learn. I won’t deny that! But Ella tells Char that learning what was proper just helped her decide whether or not to be proper in any given situation, and I love that SO MUCH. It’s not about being improper all of the time; it’s about being able to discern whether it’s the right time or not.
- Prince Char is such an adorable dreamboat in chapter fifteen, y’all. He clearly likes Ella and it just hit me.
- I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING
- PRINCE CHAR = PRINCE CHARMING
- ELLA = CINDERELLA
- OH.
- OH DUH
- THE THREE STEPSISTERS
- WHY DID IT TAKE ME HALF THIS BOOK TO REALIZE THIS IS A LOOSE RETELLING OF CINDERELLA.
- Sometimes, I can’t see the forest for the trees, I swear.
- Anyway, SIR STEPHEN. As I said in the intro, I didn’t expect this book to take the turns it does, and Ella getting an escort to the land of the giants is SO AWESOME. It was nice to get to know another character, particularly one as intriguing as Sir Stephen, who was remarkably chatty and honest.
- Through him, we also get a glimpse of Prince Char’s life; Stephen admits that the Prince is almost too good, that he often does whatever it takes to do the right thing. It’s not meant as an insult, though, and it’s clear that Sir Stephen rather enjoys the Prince. It’s just that Prince Char takes himself so seriously, and it’s only when he’s around Ella that he’s able to laugh and act joyously.
- HOW ADORABLE.
- Oh gods, HATTIE’S LETTER. Hattie’s willingness to outright lie about herself and Ella never ceases to astound me because it’s so blatant. Of course she’s going to say that Ella is “devious and deceitful” because she’s projecting herself all over Ella. And the whole bit about not hoping anything befell Ella is just so terribly transparent in its purpose that I just had to laugh.
- Olive, on the other hand, is just… confused. It was obvious to me reading her letter that she didn’t quite understand the dynamics of what was happening, but then there was that heartbreaking admission that she wished that Ella had taken her with her. Yes, Olive’s awareness of things is fractured, but it’s not completely absent. She knows that this proper world is not meant for her, and so she reveals this with that sentence.
- WOW, HOLY SHIT, THE GENIE PARALLELS ARE ABOUT A BILLION PERCENT NOT OKAY. Incredible writing, but SO SAD.
- GIANT. IT’S A GIANT. THEY HAVE THE BEST LANGUAGE.
- KOOPOODUK. WHAT A GREAT NAME.
- “Giants love strangers.” HOW EXCITING.
- It’s not lost on me that Koopooduk says, “Everyone is polite, except giants.” It’s so relevant after Ella’s experience at the finishing school.
- THE WEDDING IS HERE. What is Ella’s dad going to do when he sees his daughter is there? Will Lucinda be there? THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUN.
Please note that the original text/videos contain use of the word “idiot.”
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
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