Fiction and Fantasy

On Princesses

What is it about princesses that just… enthralls me?

By AdinaVoicu on Pixabay

I remember as a little girl pretending almost every day that I was a princess. I had a beautiful gown and a sparkling tiara and a handsome knight and a kingdom to save. It was what I wanted. It was what my heart yearned for. I can’t tell you how much I wished I were really Anastasia or Cinderella–that I was a hidden princess, just waiting to be found.

That was me as a girl. But even now, that still holds true. I love princess stories because I want so much to be one.

I’m obviously not the only one who loves princesses, or else Disney wouldn’t be popular among anyone over the age of seven. But it is.

There’s something about princesses that captures many peoples’ imaginations. But it’s not so much princesses in the real world–although there is plenty of people who are enraptured by real-life royals, too. It’s more the princesses that live in our imaginations, or in movies, or in stories.

There’s something captivating about the idea of a princess. A pure woman who is beautiful, inside and out. Someone who is vulnerable enough to share her heart, but also strong enough to stand against evil–to know what is right and what is wrong.

Maybe that’s part of the appeal of princesses, what makes their purity so pure and lovely: their moral fortitude.

Don’t get me wrong. I know life isn’t always black-and-white. Life has just as many grays, and we need to have stories to point that out.

But in this day and age where anyone’s allowed to do whatever they feel is right, doesn’t it sometimes feel like we’re all just drowning in a sea of gray? What really is “good” and “right” any more, when we have so many villains that believe what they’re doing is right and true and good? Is good really just a matter of opinion or perspective?

I don’t think many people truly believe that. Because I know the sort of movies most people love to see. They’re stories with heroes that, even if they may sometimes lose their way, they know that there is real good to fight for. There are boundaries that are evil to cross. There are right and wrong choices.

And I think princesses encapsulate that. I mean, can you think of a princess who was torn apart by moral ambiguity? I’m having trouble coming up with one, besides perhaps Rapunzel in Disney’s Tangled, who felt torn between obeying her mother and exploring the life outside her walls (Though I’d argue this is a “false positive,” since Rapunzel is locked in an abusive relationship to her “mother,” but that’s another topic for another time).

No. When you usually think of a princess, you think of someone who is pure not sensually but morally. She knows what’s right. She is firmly entrenched in what is truly good. She stands in stark contrast to the villain because just as the villain represents wrong choices, the princess represents right choices.

And knowing there is real good in this world is like the sun breaking through gray clouds. It gives hope.

Little wonder so many love the idea of a princess.


o(5)

For Him, to Him

Comments

  1. That was a good article, and I liked how you expanded that with the other post about princesses. I do envy your optimism there. I'm sure every girl dreams of being a princess which I can't fault them for. Even though I was nowhere near as jaded as I would be now, I never saw myself as a prince or future king. You know some of the reasons why, but I wonder how people can retain that innocence of doing what's right.

  2. Thanks so much, Curtis! This is a topic very near and dear to my heart. I'm glad that came through.

    I don't know if innocence is necessarily required in order to choose to do what's right. I do think that, to a certain extent, while there is some sense of innocence we can preserve even to adulthood–or find again in adulthood–I'm not sure the choice to pursue the right path is part of that. There's something very deep in having endured all the muck of life and yet still staring that in the face in order to choose what's right. Maybe that IS a form of innocence, in a sense. I'm certainly open to discussion about it! 🙂

    And thanks for taking the time to read a bunch of my older posts! It's nice to know they're getting some love. 😀

  3. You're welcome.

    Interesting points about innocence and goodness. Life certainly becomes more complex once one reaches adulthood. I don't know how people deal with things much worse than I have and can still feel optimistic. Blind optimism certainly doesn't help or worse, denial as optimism as mentioned before.

    No problem. With you and most other bloggers I follow, I make an effort to check out their archived posts and comment on them.

  4. I certainly don't know how people do it without having God as their rock. We're truly blessed that there is a God who loves EVERYONE and wants them all to believe in him to rescue them from the things they've done wrong. I know that I'd struggle with depression or worse if I wasn't a Christian. Knowing that God sees everything I'm going through and cares about me has helped me get through some of the roughest times of my life.

  5. It's certainly a complex issue whether one's a believer or not. Even though I technically was never diagnosed with depression, I've felt confused like "Why are you doing this to me, God?" or "I'm working so hard, but nothing's happening." I even wonder how I could still hold on.

  6. Yeah, it's tough because you're going to wrestle with those questions whether you're a Christian or not. I guess the plus side is that we don't have to feel like "failed" Christians if we struggle with those questions, because even the people in the Bible we hail as heroes of the faith had those same questions and doubts. King David himself was the one who first asked, "God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and Jesus Himself repeated it!

    No matter what we go through though, God is always there. He'll help you hold on. He loves getting asked to perform miracles when we can't handle things anymore.

  7. That's so true. To be honest, I've had several times where I had doubts.

    That's great. I hope I can become better with my hard work and God willing (no pun intended), things will see me through.

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