Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who lived far far away. Something terrible happened. The handsome prince came to her rescue. They fell in love and got married. They lived happily ever after. The end.
Throw in a beautiful princess, some evil people and a handsome prince and voila, you have the plot for an award winning fairytale.
Does the princess have to be portrayed as a helpless damsel in distress who needs rescuing? Is the prince always a dashing young man willing to go to any length and endure any danger to save the beautiful princess? Most importantly, why do they always end up getting married and living happily ever after? How do these stories that we grew up with affect our perception of romantic love?
I won’t even address the stereotypical gender roles that are portrayed in these fairytales with clearly defined tasks for girls and boys as that is a different story altogether. Many of us are affected to some degree or another by the FairyTale Syndrome. From childhood we are faced with romantic messages from these fairy tales with perfect happy endings. Disney is especially wonderful at doing this. The most recent film “Entangled” is living proof that you don’t mess with a winning formula (think Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White). All these stories convince us that our prince is out there and he will come to our rescue, we fall in love and live happily ever after. Predictable as they may be, they are gripping and continue to captivate audiences.
Fantasy and fairytales are beautiful. These stories transport us to faraway places with extraordinary people and for a little while you escape reality. They also have their practical uses, such as addressing the issues of right and wrong, good and evil and that actions have consequences. All positive stuff.
However, have fairytales made us beileve that our partners have to be Prince Charming? When reality doesn’t match the fairytale are we disappointed? Is the only guarantee to live happily ever to find and marry Mr Perfect? I am sure that most women out there have kissed their fair number of frogs, so inevitably we start to ask ourselves, “Where is my prince”? Well, Mr Perfect Prince Charming is busy playing cards with Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny.
Frog or Prince, the main thing is to be with someone who loves and respects you for who you are. Most importantly, remember that you are your own Princess and that you can find happiness in any shape or form. You make your happiness and it does not depend on Prince Charming. You are the owner and keeper of your Kingdom and make your own rules.
On the theme of romance and fantasy, cheers to good old chubby Cupid this Valentine season, hoping that he helps fill your life with love. May his arrow be aimed in any direction you choose!
Do you think fairy tales affect our views on Life and Love?
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Written by Ana Antunes da Silva.
Image provided by Flickr user Loren Javier.