Cinderella Waltz by Ann Beattie is a fascinating short story that explores a divorce between a couple in which one partner has separated from his homosexual lover and Louise, a nine-year-old girl years old who seems more adult than most children his age. By applying psychoanalytic criticism to this story, Cinderella's Waltz becomes an interesting literary work of investigation, rich with a variety of possible meanings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The situation of the characters in Cinderella Waltz is rather peculiar, mainly due to the relationship between the narrator and her ex-husband Milo ; Bradley, her ex-husband's boyfriend/lover; and Louise, their daughter. Normally, one would find it rather unpleasant if one's partner leaves with another lover, especially if it is a homosexual lover; however, this is not the case for the narrator. Although she was initially discouraged by Milo's choice and understandably behaved irrationally afterward, she never took away Milo's right to be Louise's father. We could deduce that she was doing this because of Louise, but we can also interpret that the narrator's feelings for Milo have not changed and that, despite everything, she is trying to find the good in the man she she loved. It could also be due to her maternal instinct, and that whatever it was, she didn't want Louise to grow up without her father. The narrator seemed so blinded by love for Milo that she pretended to be a "happy suburban housewife." ” and unknowingly allowed the problem within their marriage to drag on, which ultimately led to their divorce. Her decision to ignore the problem did more harm than good, because it was a form of cognitive and emotional mechanism to protect herself from the painful and inevitable truth: that her husband loved a different man. Perhaps it was because of her love for him that she ultimately gave him up to Bradley - she could very well have disagreed with the divorce and kept Milo around, but it's that form of sacrificial love that lets readers know how deep and true it is. The narrator's love for Milo and Louise is that she abandoned him, even though it broke his heart. In this case, we see two types of love from the narrator: maternal love and sacrificial love. Beattie describes Milo as a "perfectionist" and is implied to be obsessed with propriety several times throughout the story. He is constantly concerned with conforming to the social norm, which is quite ironic, as his relationship with Bradley is considered inappropriate by society. It can be inferred that Milo is uncomfortable with an inappropriate lifestyle and does not want to appear "abnormal" due to the nature of his relationship with Bradley, which is the reason for his obsession with propriety in all other aspects of his life. Because Milo is a perfectionist, he refuses to find fault in himself and can appear abrasive. This is evident when Bradley lost his job and Milo accused him of "doing it on purpose." Bradley, however, seems to be the complete opposite of Milo. While Milo acts as if he disregards other people's feelings and blames others for their mistakes rather than trying to understand them, Bradley seems to be a very caring man. Despite the fact that the narrator didn't like her at first, he still did his best to repair what happened between her and Milo's marriage by acting as a second father to Louise - this action suggests that Bradley must have felt guilty about taking his father. Besides, he didn't..