Margaret Atwood and Anne Sexton lived lives that were at odds with one another, and it is easily seen when examining their poetry. True Stories is a piece stating that a fairy tale or false story is worth more than any truth could be, there is more truth to any falsehood than there could be in any reality. "The true story is vicious / and multiple and untrue / after all." Atwood has a fondness for fairy tales, speculative fiction, and even science fiction, thus she never writes the real truth since writing tall tales can be just as influential over a society as any non-fictional story.
Anne Sexton has a different take on poetry from Atwood in that she suffered from bipolar disorder, mania, and depression. Eventually she took her own life via carbon monoxide poisoning. Sexton wrote in a sarcastic/ mocking voice throughout her poetry, and this can be seen prominently in Cinderella. This retelling of the classic Grimm Brothers' fairy tale stays true to the story, but strips it bare and allows the reader to look at the story the jaunted eye that Sexton must have used. In contrast to Atwood, Sexton did not enjoy the false lives led by those in the world of fairy tales. "She slept on the sooty hearth each night / and walked around looking like Al Jolson." This line shows no sympathy for the protagonist of the story. Her sarcastic comments come across during the scene where Cinderella is sitting in front of her tree and wishing to go to the ball when suddenly a bird drops down a dress and gold slippers, "Rather a large package for a bird."
"Cinderella and the prince / lived they say, happily ever after, / like two dolls in a museum case / never bothered by diapers or dust, / never arguing over the timing of an egg, / never telling the same story twice, / never getting a middle-aged spread, / their darling smiles pasted on for eternity." This final stanza allows the reader to really feel the sarcasm dripping off of her words, and is implying that fairy tales are nothing more than childish rubbish.
