Defending Disney Princesses III--Cinderella, the working girl!

Well, it turns out I got a little out of order on this--before Sleeping Beauty there was Cinderella! Here I am back again on this soapbox to defend this hardworking girl and her story to you, modern women.

Cinderella is born to people of some circumstance, as we see from her grand house and the title her stepmother is addressed by at the ball "Lady Tremaine." Whether the Wicked Stepmother held the title Lady Tremaine before or after her marriage to Cinderella's father is inconsequential. In order for her to be announced as "Lady Tremaine" with no first name, she was at least the wife of a baronet, if not a viscountess. As it would be highly out of character for  Lady Tremaine to remarry much below her station, if at all, we may assume Cinderella's father was a noble of some kind. (Granted, Disney has not always been 100 % on their historical accuracy, but the idea is still there)

We see a picture of the deathbed of Cinderella's father, and she looks to be no more than twelve years old at the time. This was before she would have come out in society officially, and it's doubtful she would have had a coming out party, or debut, paid for by Lady Tremaine after the death of her father. This would explain why nobody knows who Cinderella is at the ball.

Okay, you caught Lindsey-the-history-geek. This is not why I started these things, but there you go, I'm going to interpret it through any lens I dang well please, because it's my blog and I'm allowed.

So she's forced to work as a servant and does the best she can to please her stepmother and stepsisters, who treat her like dirt. But, of course, she dreams of a better life, one where she is loved.

This is where I run into a problem with people complaining about Disney Princesses only looking for love/romance/marriage. Yeah, she hoped to find someone who would love her unconditionally. She has endured, at minimum, six years of neglect and abuse at the hands of those who ought to have been her family, and likely as not she was thrust into dealing with this without any time to deal with grieving for her father. I still have my Dad around, thank Heaven, but I just lost my grandfather, his Dad, and that is taking a heavy enough emotional toll! I can scarcely imagine what it would be like to lose my father now, when I am successfully graduating college with a good, supportive set of friends who refuse to allow me to hold it in. GOSH I'm lucky!

But Cinderella wasn't because she had none of this. Her Dad is freshly buried and the only family she has begin to abuse and neglect her, cast her into the place of do-all-be-all servant (most likely so they don't have to pay any servants), and they are the only people she sees for the next 6+ years.

{Okay, this is too funny and I need to lighten the mood a bit}

Yeah, I'd yearn for love and jump at the chance to go to a royal ball myself after a trauma like that. And nobody would say I was vapid for it.

Then her only friends--because let's not forget, no coming out party=no chance to get in with the human social circle, so her only friends are mice and birds--risk life and limb to make her a stunning custom dress with their own dainty fingers.

And then, just when she thinks she has met the demands of her family and will be allowed to go out for the first time in years, her handmade custom gown is torn to shreds by her only human peers, whose abuse she has taken 24/7 in her formative years. And she is denied her only chance at a good, socially enriching event just when she could taste it.

Yeah, I'd cry too.

Some people have a problem with the Fairy Godmother. While I admit that she is not the most realistic character of the piece, at some time we will need help in our lives. And, at times like that, there are people in our lives who are in a perfect position to help us, and happy to do so. Everyone wants to help Cinderella because she is unfailingly kind despite her hardships.


The positive message I see here for young women? Don't close yourself off or refuse to help anyone ever because people took advantage of you. Cinderella, despite her circumstances, is kind to the mice and birds, accepts help from her fairy godmother, and has a heart open to love when she meets the Prince.

Can I just say I love their meeting? She's not really expecting to run into anyone who wants to pay her attention here, let alone the prince--she's probably just taking in the beauty of the palace, happy to be having her own personal night of fun. And then he greets her like an elegant lady who has, like her peers, been introduced into society (reminder, she hasn't). And she handles it politely, graciously--in short, like a pro.



A quick note on love at first sight in the context of Cinderella: for all we know, they were talking during the whole "So This is Love" montage--that's called movie magic and storytelling convention.

Most tellings of the tale agree with this old Disney storybook--they were dancing together all night. You don't spend all night at a party together without talking. That's just common sense!

And think about it--every other girl there is most likely at the ball to impress the Prince and gain a title, and he probably knows that. Cinderella is neither there to impress him nor to snare him--she's just there for a good time and is smiling from ear to ear just to be having a night of fun out of the house--how endearing must that be?

Two kind, selfless people like that? Of course they fell in love.

And then, when the clock strikes midnight? She has to go, but she's not bitter or upset--although, it is pretty tragic to meet a guy, know you'll probably never see him again, and leave with no hope of getting his, well, calling card in that day, number in ours.

I have been in this sort of situation before, and it sucks. Freaking bad cell reception near the Draper Temple made an AWESOME guy lose my number because his phone didn't save it (Tim, if you're somehow reading this, it's me, Lindsey--um, hi. You look good in a grey suit, really good, and we should go out sometime).

But she's not bitter, and when he comes to her house she manages to bust out of her room. And then asks the Duke (so, likely her future uncle-in-law) politely but urgently if she, to all appearances the scullery maid, can try on the glass slipper.

That's right. She. Makes. The Move. She runs down the stairs and asks to try on the shoe, and is prepared with the other one to prove herself. Cinderella has lived with her step-family's crap for so long that she anticipates it. She's a go-getter who is not about to let a chance at love and happiness slip away.

Cinderella is about keeping your chin up and being ready to go after good things when they come your way, if you look at it. If she had sat passively back, Cinderella would never have got her happily-ever-after. But we're all so very glad she did.

Defending Disney Princesses:Episode 2; Sleeping Beauty--Politics, Intrigue, Heartbreak

Welcome to the second installment! I am, for those of you who missed the last one, defending the relevance of Disney Princesses to modern women and girls, and saying that they are not just ninnies and waifs who have no thoughts or personality apart for waiting to be saved by their Prince. They do not just sit around and do nothing until he comes.

Many think Sleeping Beauty would be hard to defend thusly. Granted, she is in a coma for the last half of the movie. But she is well-characterized before, and one can guess from the context at the politics of her world, that She is highly defendable.

The movie begins, of course, when she is born and the whole kingdom turns out to celebrate. There is no lack of celebration because she was not born a boy--the people are so happy at the birth of an heir, a child for their monarchs. One gets the idea that King Stefan and his wife--we never do learn the Queen's name, do we?--rule jointly, like Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. But it is assumed that Aurora will take the throne, that when she marries Prince Phillip and both of their parents are dead, they will jointly rule the newly-joined kingdoms.

Anyway, she goes through and is blessed by two out of the three good fairies, Flora and Fauna, and just as the third, Merriweather, is about to give her gift, the party is crashed. We meet Maleficent, "The Mistresss of All Evil!" (as she styles herself. Incedentally, in case you were not aware, the fortune-teller head on the Haunted Mansion Ride and Maleficent are the same person--both are voiced by the impeccable Eleanor Audley)

Maleficent is so ticked that she didn't get an invite--yeah, let's think, would a law-abiding king and queen conceivably invite the mistress of all evil to the baby shower?--that she basically curses the uninvolved baby to die by spindle-prick.

Aurora is taken into hiding by the three fairies to live in a cottage in the woods, where they raise her to be a good worker and a kind person. While the fairies get her out of the house to plan her 16th birthday surprise, Aurora discusses her dreams of moving out and falling in love with a Prince.

Now, this is where Aurora (now called "Rose" by the fairies) is often shunted into the category of fainting, fawning, irrelevant Disney Princess. But the naysayers are wrong here too.

I watched "Sleeping Beauty" less than a month before coming to college--you know those nights where you just can't sleep because "Once Upon A Dream" is stuck in your head? It was one of those. She talks about how Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather never let her out to associate with people other than themselves. She reminded me of myself, a girl who wanted to move out of the house and meet new people.

While out in the woods, Aurora develops her talent--her lovely voice. There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with a woman being a lovely, talented singer who sings for fun and the enjoyment of others. How many girls do you know who randomly sing when they don't necessarily have to? Exactly.

Well, then she meets Phillip and they fall quite in love after singing and dancing to "Once Upon A Dream"--beautiful piece of music! And, let's be honest girls: is it not attractive and a fantasy of ours to randomly sing/dance with a guy?

She goes back to the cottage and finds her surprise--who wouldn't love a three-layer cake and custom couture? On the other hand, she finds out her entire life up to that point is a lie, that she has to pack up and be the Princess again, and that she will never see Phillip again. And she has about five minutes to take this in.

Yes, women should be happy to have power as she did, but all that in five minutes must have been a wee bit of a shock for her.

She goes back and is put under Maleficent's spell for most of the rest of the movie. Phillip and the fairies have to carry the movie until Phillip kisses her, but the movie is just as much about the fairies as her.

Now, Sleeping Beauty's biggest critique perhaps is the fact that she literally has to be saved by a man, in a manner similar to Snow White--"True Love's Kiss."

I may have said this before, but at some time in every Woman's life, no matter how strong she may be, she will, at some point, need a man's help with SOMETHING. And there is nothing with a strong woman falling in love with a man, and there is nothing wrong with a man letting his girl--whether she be his girlfriend, fiancée, or wife--be loving and also strongly independent.

Anyway, freed from Maleficent's spell by Phillip's kiss, Aurora attends Phillip to her welcome ball, and nobody is any the wiser. At least for now; Aurora will probably tell her parents eventually!

Defending Disney Princesses--Snow White

"Emma, I feel a rant coming on."

We were sitting in class watching a group presentation on whether or not the media perpetuates stereotypes. The affirmative side had showed a slide on stereotypes of women--including the Disney Princesses. Something inside me snapped. I was sick of this whole theory that Disney Princesses turn girls into languishing zombies who think they are unfulfilled without their Prince. Yes, girls want to get married but I think it is perfectly natural to want to fall in love and do that. So I am going to go and debunk the myths by examining each Princess in turn and see why they are relatable--not just a languishing girl who needs a man to complete her. I will examine what makes each on unique, and summarize why they are not bad influences on young girls who are their primary audiences.

The first classic Disney Princess was Snow White, one of the Princesses most maligned with this accusation of ninnyness. First, let us consider her time period and situation--medieval-looking setting, Elizabethan costumes, so a time when women were largely helpless purely because of unfortunate laws and traditions. Both of her parents are dead, her stepmom is jealous and cruel enough to force a Princess of the Blood to work as a palace servant. To rise to such a position, we can naturally assume that after the first Queen, Snow White's mother, died, she somehow won the affections of the bereaved King. We must therefore assume that she either began life truly beautiful and kind or faked the kindness to win over the King. So, after her father is now dead, Snow White has to face the fact that she is a complete orphan, her stepmother is really either two-faced or just so messed up inside that jealousy has driven her to abase her stepdaughter, Snow White. Through all of this dysfunction in her family and the cruelty of her stepmother, Snow White remains hopeful and cheerful about her situation. That takes good attitude, that takes determination, to remain so positive throughout that kind of emotional upheaval.

Now, half the reason Snow White gets the flak she does is because of "Some Day My Prince Will Come." But let us consider the facts: based on the time period her story is based in, as well as her social status, she probably would have had a marriage arranged before her Father's death which has now been put on the back burner, her Stepmother having most likely claimed Regency until Snow White "comes of age" as deemed by her Guardian, Regent, and Stepmother. Also, for women of that age, marriage was often the only way to attain autonomy. Sometimes, even today, marriage is the best way out of a bad family situation--because once you get married, you don't have to live with anyone besides your husband. So, in all reality, her most realistic hope is for her "Prince" to come and save her, after a way of speaking.

When she gets away from the huntsman who has been paid to assassinate her, she finds the seven dwarves and lives with them. She is kind and cheerful, she cooks for them and cleans their home, she gives them reason the celebrate and enjoy their evenings after long hours in the mines. By simply being there, contributing her cheerful attitude and the skills she has acquired, she improves the lives of seven otherwise lonely men.

Now eventually, of course, she is fooled into biting the apple and has to be kissed back to life by her Prince--who finally shows up! Look, the fact of life is that sometimes women are going to make mistakes, sometimes we are put into bad situations because we don't have all the facts, and, at some time or another, we will have to accept help from a man. She doesn't know who is offering the apple, gets a fatal case of food poisoning, and is saved by the wandering Prince. This is a guy who is willing to kiss a dead girl and ends up saving her life!

So end my thoughts on Snow White. This was so long I think I'll make it into a series. Next time--Sleeping Beauty: Politics, Intrigue, Heartbreak!