ONEROUS

January 27, 2010

Onerous
\’ä-ne-res\ adj: 1: involving, imposing, or constituting a burden : troublesome 2: having legal obligations that outweigh the advantages*

One of the most famous Disney movies is the story of Cinderella. A story about a young girl who is subject to her horrible stepmother’s behavior after her father passes away. Cinderella is treated akin to a slave, having to wash the floors, bring her stepmother tea every morning, be subservient to her unfortunate stepsisters and maintain the household from top to bottom. The most beloved attribute about this character however, is that she manages to do all these chores with a smile on her face; being accompanied by her friends, the mice and other animals. As we all know, Cinderella eventually meets her Prince Charming and lives, yup you guessed it, happily ever after.
Cinderella perhaps is not the best example of an individual who finds herself in an onerous situation, because despite her circumstances, she manages to get everything done with a smile on her face, knowing there is something better that awaits her. Perhaps even though dirty floors need mopping, and garbage needs to be taken out, things could be much more difficult and what would we have to look forward to if we didn’t have such a hard time overcoming the obstacles that are often thrown at us?

* letter “e” is upside down producing sound of “uh”