Clorinda

This article focuses on one of the first iterations of the Wicked Stepsisters. For the second iterations, see Drizella and Anastasia.

Clorinda
Enchanted Forest Character
Biographical Information
Gender:	Female
Status:	Alive
Home:	Storybrooke Land of Untold Stories (formerly) Her mother's estate (formerly)
Relatives:	See "Family"
Physical Description
Species:	Human
Hair color:	Brown
Eye color:	Blue
Show Information
Portrayed by:	Mekenna Melvin (Season Six)
First appearance:	"The Price of Gold"
Latest appearance:	"The Other Shoe"
Relevant Pages

“

Mother would never let me marry a footman. And so I... put on an act. Like I've done most of my life. I am so sorry, Ella. For everything. But we have both been her prisoner... And tonight, I can finally escape.

”

—Clorinda to Cinderella ^src

Clorinda is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the fourth episode of the first season and is portrayed by guest star Mekenna Melvin in Season Six.

Clorinda is based on one of the wicked stepsisters from the fairytale, "Cinderella".

History

Before First Curse

After their mother marries, Clorinda and Tisbe gain a stepsister named Ella. Lady Tremaine wants her daughters to marry well, but Clorinda spends her life pretending to live up to these expectations, including being cruel to Ella. Without anyone's notice, she falls in love with Prince Thomas' footman, Jacob, and the two plan to run away together and live on a farm. One day, Jacob comes to deliver an invitation to an upcoming royal ball at the King's castle. Clorinda walks up to take the invitation from him, but she acts purposely cruel by calling him "filthy" in order to not draw suspicion. While picking out gowns for her daughters, Lady Tremaine decides none of them are suitable and that she'll have to sell porcelain to buy them new dresses. Ella asks if she may attend the ball, which Clorinda finds amusing and wonders if she'll wear her best rags. Instead, Ella shows them a dress she inherited from her deceased mother. Lady Tremaine gives the dress to Clorinda, who shoves it into the furnace to burn it. Clorinda then coins the nickname "Cinderella" for Ella after poking fun at her for being covered in cinders because of the burnt dress. On the night of the ball, Clorinda, Tisbe, and their mother leave for the palace in their carriage while Cinderella sadly watches them leave. Unbeknownst to them, however, she is visited by Rumplestiltskin, who makes a deal with her to allow her to attend the ball. ("The Price of Gold," "The Other Shoe")

At the ball, after Thomas dances with Cinderella, he excuses himself. He meets with Clorinda and gives her a rose from Jacob. Cinderella sees this and, prompted by Lady Tremaine's callous remarks, mistakenly believes Thomas has been toying with her emotions and departs from the ball, leaving behind one of her glass slippers. That same night, Clorinda learns of Thomas' desire to find the mystery glass slipper girl. She stops Ella from going to the Land of Untold Stories after seeing her stepsister has one of the glass slippers, which proves Ella is the girl that the prince is looking. Clorinda reveals she's been living a lie for her entire life and apologizes to Ella for treating her so horribly. Knowing Lady Tremaine will look for Clorinda after she is gone, Ella gives her the key to the Land of Untold Stories, where she and Jacob can be together without fear of being found. When Lady Tremaine threatens to shatter the glass slipper, which is Ella's only proof of being the girl that Thomas is looking for, Ella forfeits Clorinda's location to her. Meanwhile, Clorinda and Jacob are headed towards the portal when Lady Tremaine knocks Jacob out. Ella rushes to stop her stepmother from further harming Jacob, while Clorinda becomes upset at her for tattling on her. Lady Tremaine is livid that Ella is now engaged to Thomas and goes to the Land of Untold Stories, intending to pause her own story, and she drags Clorinda there with her. ("The Other Shoe")

After Third Curse

Along with other Untold Stories residents, Clorinda and Lady Tremaine are forced onto a dirigible by Mr. Hyde and taken to Storybrooke. She and her mother are later approached by Henry, who writes down their names on a compiled list of new arrivals. With help from the Evil Queen, they learn Ella, now known as Ashley, is in town. Clorinda, wanting revenge against her, hides out on a pumpkin farm and lures her in. Only after helping her mother corner Ashley, however, she learns from her stepsister that the farm belongs to Jacob and that she wanted to help bring the two lovers together again. Lady Tremaine hauls Jacob in with intentions of killing him, but Clorinda jumps to protect him and pleads with Ashley to fix things like she promised. Ashley speaks up in defense of her stepsister, telling Lady Tremaine that she can't take out her anger on others and that her daughter has suffered enough, but Lady Tremaine is unmoved. Lady Tremaine stabs Ashley in retaliation, but with help from Emma's magic, she is restored to health. Clorinda and Ashley make up in the aftermath, and they and their beaus spend time together on the farm. ("The Other Shoe")

Family

Mother †

Father †

Lady Tremaine

Unknown

Cinderella Ashley Boyd

Prince Thomas Sean Herman

Clorinda

Tisbe

Alexandra

---

Notes:

• Solid lines denote blood relationships
• Dashed lines denote marriage relationships that result in offspring
• Lady Tremaine has been married twice
• Clorinda has one stepsister via her mother's second marriage
• Alexandra was conceived in the Enchanted Forest, but born in Storybrooke

Trivia

• Character Notes
• Cultural References
• Set Notes

Etymology

• Clorinda's name is taken from an operatic adaption of "Cinderella" called La Cenerentola, composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto written by Jacopo Ferretti.
  • When the first Cinderella's stepsisters were re-introduced in Season Six, the writers considered naming one of them "Drizella", but they ultimately chose to call them Clorinda and Tisbe. According to Jane Espenson, the reason is that there were already two characters whose name ended with "-ella": Cinderella herself and Cruella. ("The Other Shoe")
• Jane Espenson stated on Twitter that a last name was never established for Clorinda and her sister.

Character Notes

• Clorinda, along with Tisbe and Lady Tremaine, has the longest gap between her first and second appearances with one hundred and nine episodes episodes between "The Price of Gold" and "The Other Shoe".
  • The others are Prince Thomas/Sean Herman being second, Stealthy being third, Gaston being fourth, and the Blind Witch being fifth.

Disney

• Despite not being a clear reference or allusion to them, Clorinda shares some similarities with Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine from the Disney film Cinderella and its direct-to-video sequel Cinderella II: Dreams Come True:
  • Like Drizella, she wears a greenish dress before the ball and also pulls her hair back with a yellow bow. ("The Other Shoe")
  • She and Anastasia have a similar storyline. They both fall in love with a low-class man, but their mother disapproves their relationships. Eventually, they are both helped by Cinderella, before resisting to their mother and being reunited with their lovers. ("The Other Shoe")

Costume Notes

• When Clorinda arrives in Storybrooke, her corset is the same garment worn by Emma in the Enchanted Forest in Snow Drifts. ("The Other Shoe")

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season One
"Pilot":	"The Thing You Love Most":	"Snow Falls":	"The Price of Gold":	"That Still Small Voice":	"The Shepherd":	"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter":	"Desperate Souls":	"True North":	"7:15 A.M.":	"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Skin Deep":	"What Happened to Frederick":	"Dreamy":	"Red-Handed":	"Heart of Darkness":	"Hat Trick":	"The Stable Boy":	"The Return":	"The Stranger":	"An Apple Red as Blood":	"A Land Without Magic":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Six
"The Savior":	"A Bitter Draught":	"The Other Shoe":	"Strange Case":	"Street Rats":	"Dark Waters":	"Heartless":	"I'll Be Your Mirror":	"Changelings":	"Wish You Were Here":	"Tougher Than the Rest":
Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Murder Most Foul":	"Ill-Boding Patterns":	"Page 23":	"A Wondrous Place":	"Mother's Little Helper":	"Awake":	"Where Bluebirds Fly":	"The Black Fairy":	"The Song in Your Heart":	"The Final Battle Part 1":	"The Final Battle Part 2":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent