Prince Charming...my foot.
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful Princess. She is in grave danger. To cut the story short the Prince rescues her and they live happily ever after. Sounds familiar? It should...this is every fairy tale summarized.
I won't have a Prince Charming, and in all probability nor will you. Because I am not a damsel in distress, I do not live in a tower and I do not need to be rescued from anyone. If your step-mother lies to you, and you throw me out of your castle, I will not pine for you. I will move on and make my own castle. Yes, I can do that. When the clock strikes midnight, I will still be at the ball, in my rags. And if you can't see beyond the rags, you won't get my glass slipper.
I don't sit at the window waiting for my prince, nor do I sit around waiting for the ball. I can ride a horse, fight a war and rule a country. And I can do it wearing my tiara, my glass slippers and my gown.
My point being, why is the princess always the victim? Why does she always need to be rescued by a man and why is the villain always another woman?
And when the villain enters, you will be surprised to see it is not the evil step-mother or the wicked witch. It is the men. Those men who want to pull me down only to push themselves up, those men who rape women, who abuse them, disrespect them.
And who is to rescue these women? When the rider comes on white horse, the "knight in shinning armor" will be a girl itself.
I won't have a Prince Charming, and in all probability nor will you. Because I am not a damsel in distress, I do not live in a tower and I do not need to be rescued from anyone. If your step-mother lies to you, and you throw me out of your castle, I will not pine for you. I will move on and make my own castle. Yes, I can do that. When the clock strikes midnight, I will still be at the ball, in my rags. And if you can't see beyond the rags, you won't get my glass slipper.
I don't sit at the window waiting for my prince, nor do I sit around waiting for the ball. I can ride a horse, fight a war and rule a country. And I can do it wearing my tiara, my glass slippers and my gown.
My point being, why is the princess always the victim? Why does she always need to be rescued by a man and why is the villain always another woman?
And when the villain enters, you will be surprised to see it is not the evil step-mother or the wicked witch. It is the men. Those men who want to pull me down only to push themselves up, those men who rape women, who abuse them, disrespect them.
And who is to rescue these women? When the rider comes on white horse, the "knight in shinning armor" will be a girl itself.
Comments
The Princess is not the only needy one in the story; often it is the prince to. He roams the country helping people and looking for completion in some mysterious way. He finds completion, approbation, and solace in the love of a woman; perfect!
The stories are too simplistic, but they do have parallels in real life.
You forget Tanvi, sometimes it is the lady who is the 'Prince' - look at Beauty and The Beast, where a strong and loving woman comes to the salvation of a man trapped by a terrible curse.
These stories play themselves out in some measure every day in the world around us, and it is just plain wrong to cynically dismiss romantic love as nonsense.
Yes, there are evil men, but the VAST majority of men work very very hard to be good partners, lovers, providers, and carers.
There is magic in everyday romance, and love does exist, - only eyes fogged by anger or a heart hardened by cynicism would deny this most wonderful fuel of human sustenance.
Thanks for writing in