Research the development of France's Third Republic and examine how the society depicted in this story reflects the aspirations and apprehensions of the French nation in the 1880s.

Explore the literary circles of which Maupassant was a part and explain how their theories about the role of literature in society affected the development of French, European, and Western fiction.

Read several versions of the Cinderella fable and compare them with this story.

Compare this and other translations of the story with the French original and account for differences between the English versions.