Yes, every little girl wants to be Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, or Ariel. Every Romantic loves the Idea of being swept away by Prince Charming, or riding in a glass carriage pulled by white horses.
While the princesses of the fiction have the promise of ‘happily-even-after’, castles, and room-service, the Evil Queen is dominating the Snow-White story. Why does the Evil Queen dominate the story? Because she has ‘magic at her disposal and she owns the best toys’.
The villainess in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs wanted so badly to be the fairest of them all, so much so that she went as far as to have Snow White killed and have her heart placed in a box. After the Evil Queen discovers that the Huntsman, she hired to kill Snow White is unsuccessful, she uses magic to concoct a poison to deal with the situation herself. She changed her shape, she’d maim, she’d kill. She understood desire, and embraced it, too. The Evil Queen's determination becomes her obsession, and it gives off the implicit message that, no matter what you want or desire, if you work hard and get creative, you will find whatever means to achieve your goal.
While Snow White received top billing in the Disney 1930s version of the animated feature, the movie was really all about the Evil Queen.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Cinderella and all the other heroines starring in fairy tales. I am happy they are living happily-ever-after in storybook land.
These heroines were goodness and songs—these heroines did not own toys. Cinderella wore hand-me-down dresses, borrowed horses and carriage; Snow White was a house-keeper and short-order cook for seven strangers.
However, the Evil Queen had magic at her fingertips. Most importantly, she owned a Magic Mirror.
Magic Mirror.
I was fascinated by the Magic Mirror (I ignored the fact someone was trapped in the mirror).
I always wanted a magic mirror.
While I do not recommend featuring an Evil Queen as the heroine of a romantic novel. I like to give my heroines a touch of her determination, the strength to overcome obstacles, and self-reliance.
Still, there is my ‘unfulfilled desire’ to own a Magic Mirror.
I was watching television last night and a commercial flickered across the screen. I won’t name the manufacturer of the product, but you guess it –this is the stuff of fairy tales--a Magic Mirror!
This mirror mounts in the bathroom and is voice activated (connected to your Wi-Fi network). LED lights, music. A digital assistant looks up salon hours, edits your shopping list and even controls other bathroom amenities, like turning on the shower.
Wow!
A Magic Mirror is finally within my reach!
Who is your favorite fairy tale heroine? Do you have a favorite toy or gadget you'd love to call her very own?
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A magic mirror would be cool!! Fairy tale princesses are great but I'm not sure I'd want to go through what any of them have to get their prince. Maybe Sleeping Beauty since she slept through all the drama!
ReplyDeleteOooh, a magic mirror could come in quite handy! *cue evil laughter. I've loved Maleficent since Angelina Jolie's portrayal. I've always thought it might be a fun challenge to write from the villain's perspective... someday...after the five hundred other projects, lol! Great post, got me thinking!
ReplyDeleteElsa beat me to it - yes, Maleficent was great!
DeleteI love great villains! They can make or break a story!
I liked the movie Maleficent (that one with Angelina Jolie) because it shows that evil people weren't always purely evil. Nobody is 100% evil or good.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little, I used to love The Little Mermaid, probably because of the Disney film. I loved Flounder the fish. But now I think it's not that great. The prince is dumb too. Aladdin is a lot better.
Well, we sort of have Magic Mirrors today - we have cellphones!
Ah, weren't there a few nasty girls in high school it would have been handy to have a magic mirror and turn into a toad? Good idea if anyone writes YA or coming of age stories.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is why the character portrayed by Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla) in Once Upon A Time (fantasy drama TV series) was a favourite! Her and Rumpelstiltskin aka Mr. Gold were the "bad guys" and yet, they were so beloved! They were the stars who made Snow & Charming so blah in comparison.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I just noticed that practically all of the princess stories had a female villain (including the cursing witch from Beauty & the Beast). Aladdin had Jafar and the Lion King’s Simba had Scar. Someone can prove me wrong on this, just thought it was interesting.
I’m not sure I have a favourite fairy tale heroine…I like so many! And in researching, I came across a Japanese Fairy Tale called Vampire Cat, which made me think of the villain/gender roles. How women are portrayed as seducers (beautiful) or revenge seekers (witch hags).
As a child, I played my VHS copy of Cinderella until it was worn out. I listened to the soundtrack for Beauty & the Beast. I loved Aladdin’s soundtrack on cassette tape. And I had posters of the little mermaid. I still love mermaids to this day!
As for gadgets, I’d love a magical hairbrush that would make my hair picture perfect ready, or if I brushed my hair, it would create rainbow pastel highlights.
That's a different perspective, Connie. Nice insight. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI loved Rumplestiltskin on Once Upon A Time Creepy and a true villain. Then we as we watched we met the person behind Rumplestiltskin and the woman he loved but could never have. Yeah, great character on the show.
ReplyDelete