Jane and the Beast
There is
nothing like a good book to whisk you away to places ranging from little towns
full of little people to castles featuring daring swordfights. Books expose you to a world outside your
own. Within those pages, you let go of
your troubles and connect with people you’ll never see in person. It is your irreplaceable solace. Books empower you with the knowledge and
encourage you to go out in the world. It
is this daring attitude that Belle fans possess. They aren’t afraid to correct people when
they are wrong. They refuse to settle
for what other people expect of them but want to explore the unknown.
Belle’s
love for books made her almost a universal favorite among my friends. Did I mention they were English majors or
writing minors? Esther shared with me
that, “Growing
up people called me weird for reading so much, just like they did to her
[Belle].” Jane
shares Esther’s sentiment as well, saying about Belle, “She is a lot like
myself,” meaning she probably gets lost in her reading like Belle does. Due to her passion for books and fondness for
this particular princess’s fairytale, Jane likes writing plays similar to Beauty and the Beast, where a character falls
in love with the most unexpected person.
Jazz’s Carpet Ride
Ladies who identify with
Jasmine are most attracted to her sense of adventure, and Jazz is no exception. It’s one thing when you want to drive down an
untraveled street that you pass every day.
It’s different when you want to ride down the Congo, see the Sydney
Opera House in person, or would give almost anything to study in Europe for a
semester. These adventurers have a deep
love and respect for their parents, but sometimes in following their hearts,
they have to make decisions that would that their parents might disapprove of. In the end, they let no obstacles stand in
their way of going on that adventure, knowing these risks are worth taking. They
look forward to seeing their whole new world and take comfort in the fact that
any problems work themselves out in the end.
Traveling is not the only form of adventure. Teaching the value of writing to a flock of
elementary school students five days a week, Jazz’s career goal, is more than
enough excitement to keep Jazz on her toes.
You could say that Jazz was
destined to love Princess Jasmine. Aladdin came out in 1992 when her
parents were dating, and it was the first video cassette they bought. When circumstances forced Jazz’s mother to
rethink what to name her daughter, she named her “Jasmine,” after the princess. Jazz is an avid fan of all things Jasmine
because she is less “damsely in distress,” to quote Jazz. To prove her love for the princess, she told
me that when she went to Disneyland, she insisted on seeing Jasmine first, but
only Aladdin and Genie were there. Jazz
dragged her dad back later to make sure she got a chance to see Jasmine. Furthermore, she says, “Whenever my family
sang to karaoke, I always had to sing ‘Magic Carpet Ride,’ and my brother
always had to be my partner. I always
outshined him.”
Brooke- Warrior Princess
Pocahontas is one of the
lesser known princesses but surprisingly resonates with numerous women, as she
came up frequently in my interviews. Brooke,
asserting that Pocahontas is her favorite princess, admires the courage it took
for Pocahontas to reach out to John Smith despite her tribe’s resentment
towards white men and eventually be willing to sacrifice her life for him. Since they are both of Native American
descent, Rebecca and Nani can relate to Pocahontas’ sense of identity. She reflects her culture in showing a
reverence for nature and tries to pass along that respect to John Smith. The aspects of her character that stand out
to fans the most are that Pocahontas knows who she is and could appreciate what
her ancestors had done to give her the life she had. With identity, women have the confidence to
make decisions for themselves. They
defend those who need an advocate and stand up for what they believe in. Like Pocahontas, fans take the time to
appreciate the colors of the wind, and even though uncertainty can be
unnerving, they are willing to see what is around the bend if that is what
their hearts are telling them to do.
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