Cinderella is a tragic hero because her ambition leads to a fall, until the prince rescues her.

Cinderella is not your typical tragic hero, because her story has a happy ending.  However, before the happy ending she was definitely in a difficult situation.  Cinderella wanted to be pretty and attend the ball.  Through the use of magic, she went. However, her magic expired and midnight and she was left with nothing, still a poor girl.

All this was so far from being tiresome to her, and, indeed, she quite forgot what her godmother had told her. She thought that it was no later than eleven when she counted the clock striking twelve. She jumped up and fled, as nimble as a deer.  (pitt.edu)

One common trait of a tragic hero is ambition.  Cinderella was definitely ambitious.  Her story could have very easily gone the other way.  She came very close to a fall.  Her ambition was nearly the end of her when she did not leave the ball on time.  She got caught up in the moment.  Everything she had “earned” by magic disappeared, and she became the same poor girl she had been before.

Cinderella was rescued from destruction by the fact that she actually was a good person.  The prince thought so, and he sought her out not because of her beauty (or not only because of her beauty) and made her his wife.

Text used:  http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.html#perrault