The Disney Princesses, and Why I Love Them

Yes, I know.  It's a bit strange.  It may even be a bit obsessive.  But I have a connection with the Disney Princesses.  I collect the dolls, I have the story- and coloring books, I have the stickers and posters.  Yes it may be strange, but allow me to explain why.

I realize there are some princesses missing...it is intentional, but those princesses not represented have to buy their way into my heart before they can be included in my collection.

Snow White - Oh, Snow...first of all, we were born the same day, 50 years apart.  (The movie came out on December 22nd, 1937 - you do the math!)  Aside from that, she grew up living away from home, out from under the thumb of a tyrannical stepmother (my parents weren't that bad, but we had our issues...)

Aurora - Aurora, like Snow White, grew up in the country.  Aurora, however, didn't know that she was royalty, and always felt out of place in the country.  I felt the same way growing up, and when I moved away from my parents to go to college, I really started coming out of my shell.  Not to mention she has a color-changing dress :-P

Belle - Belle loves is smarter than almost everyone else in her small country town, and she longs for bigger and brighter things in the future.  I was the same way as a child.  I also dream of living in a house similar to Beast's.

Ariel - First of all, Ariel was known for her singing voice (I was too as a child.)  Her father was quite tyrannical as the ruler of the ocean (My father was much like that, too), and to get away from it, she ran away (which I did as a child once...).  She wanted a different life as "part of your world" (are we seeing a pattern here?...)  All of these things resounded with me.

Jasmine and Pocahontas - These two are strange to group together, but I will tell you why I did - these two ladies found amazing men who were DIFFERENT, and accepted them!  Not only did they accept them, they fought to win their acceptance among others!  (Granted, Jasmine was a little later, but in the end she came around.)






Mulan - First of all, she was amazingly fierce as a warrior.  Second, she had to hide who she really was in order to make a difference.  I understand what it's like to have to put on a mask everyday just to live out your life.

So, if you missed it in the post, none of this has to do with the fact that 1) they all wore fabulously beautiful clothes; 2) they all found men and lived happily ever after (except Pocahontas...but that's a different story); or 3) they all used their beauty to their advantage (which is simply not true - look at Mulan..).  Therefore, I think it's perfectly ok for me to have love for these ladies and what they stood for.  I lived a part of each of their stories within my lifetime, and it means something to me that they shared the same parts of the story.