Thoughts on princesses, traped in tall towers, awaiting rescue...

And what shall we make of this, fairy tale? Which has influenced so much of the world at large, that it can in fact be said to the be a metaphor for the governing role of gender roles on a global scale. It is the handbook of Patriarchy, contained within a single image. A princess, locked in a tower, guarded by a dragon, awaiting rescue from a knight.

And who is this knight? Presumably a good Roman Catholic, since this is English. Who is the princess? She is a princess, so she is of high importance, a prize besought by many. There are many suitors, many knights who come to slay the dragon that imprisons her. There's no mention of the princess' consent. You see it doesn't matter, the whole point is that she is a princess and she is deserved by the best. And who is the best? The best is the knight who overcomes this, dragon, this great obstacle, or whatever it is. And once he's overcome this dragon, he's risen to the occasion and proved himself to be, the best, he deserves the princess. And that's the whole, of gender roles right there, in male dominated society. Once he's rescued her, he obviously deserves her, doesn't matter what she thinks. You don't read; and they dated, they met for coffee, he liked her, but...as a friend. No, no, he's defeated the dragon, he wants to get the prize now.

And now what to think of the tower? What does the tower, where the princess dwells, what does it represent. Solitude? Well, not in the 21st century, now there's FaceBook and she can have all the fake friends she wants; she is  a celebrity... But solitude, of some kind, certainly. Or could it represent sexual frigidity? What would that make the dragon. The dragon guards, the tower that holds the princess, why? What is the dragon's interest in the princess? Is it an extension of the princess or a separate entity of itself? Is it to show that being single, for a woman, is a curse to be remedied by marriage? Are we to assume that she would rather be married?

At any rate, some assumptions seem clear. The princess, is, a highly besought prize, deserved only by the one who can defeat the dragon.

So what is it exactly that the princess needs saving from. Something keeps her locked up, lonely, sexually frustrated. Or do we go too far in assuming that the tower represents frigidity? Do we go too far in assuming she minds being alone, single? It is implied, that she must be married, she is a princess, and presumably is expected to bear and heir for the good of her people. Princess...does seem to imply children in the future, as well as a king.

So the princess, who is expected to marry to produce children for, presumably the good of her kingdom, awaits rescue from a dragon, by a knight. A knight who, once the dragon is defeated, deserves her. And who is it that is expect her to produce children? Presumably the same ones who made her princess...perhaps the many suitors?


Hmm... now what if the genders were flipped. Ah now this is easy to break down.

A man, trapped in a tall tower, guarded by a dragon, awaits rescue from a woman.

The tower is his self delusion, his imagined world. It is a filter which protects him from reality. The dragon, is his ego, his filter. It protects the tower, his self delusion, from reality. Of the women there are many suitors they come to defeat the dragon, his ego and rescue the man from his ego and his self delusion in order to bring him back into reality.



It's an interesting fairy tale. Not that I buy any of these gender roles mind you. Ardent feminist, I can assure you of that. ;)

PS
Please forgive this impulsive rant.