Cinderella complex

The Cinderella complex was first described by Colette Dowling,[1] who wrote a book on women's fear of independence – an unconscious desire to be taken care of by someone else.

Its title refers to an ideal of femininity as portrayed in that story, where a woman is expected to be beautiful, polite, supportive of others but fundamentally incapable of either taking care of herself or changing her situation through her own efforts.

[5] Carol Gilligan's championship of a web of connections as a feminist goal,[4] rather than the solitary male hero, is also invoked to defend the Cinderella complex's tendency to define the self in terms of a mate/settled relationship.

[6] In 1955, the term Cinderella complex was already used by British writer Agatha Christie in her detective story Hickory Dickory Dock.

episode 4 "Revenge and Remorse", Joyce Brothers gets advice from the shoeshine man Johnny about how to treat the Cinderella complex: "Tell them to get in touch with their unconscious feelings and to share in the growth process with their partner."