The Disney Princesses - Who's Superior in Real Life?
There are 13 Disney princesses....
Or is it 14? 12? Who really knows anymore. With the newer additions of Anna, Elsa, and Moana, it's hard to categorize everyone as princesses or not.
For the sake of avoiding confusion, I'm going to stick with the original 8 princesses we all know and love.
Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan.
Each princess has her own unique look and qualities, but are they really all that different from each other? Sure, we have our favorites, and they all show signs of power in their own movies, like the gentleness Snow White possesses in order to communicate with the woodland creatures, Ariel's enchanting singing voice, and Belle's ability to look past the outside of a person in order to love them. However, the role and powers of a princess in real life are much different. - So I'm posing the question: who is most similar to a princess in real life?
Let's discuss a few of the roles a princess in the middle ages would play in her lifetime:
By definition, a princess is the daughter of a monarch.
A princess would not find love like a normal person would, at a young age, she would be promised to marry a King. In most cases, the princess would be married before she even entered her teen years.
A big role of a princess was to be a future mother to an heir.
Another large role of a princess was to participate and contribute to charities, as a part of her social life.
Princesses actually had very good education, they were literate, and also taught many life skills and how to communicate properly with large groups.
Now, let's compare all 8 princesses' stories to see if it matches these 5 aspects.
Snow White: 1. daughter of a monarch ✔️ 2. not promised to marry a King, but rather longed for it, and admired the Prince from afar until he noticed her. ❌ 3. we don't know whether the Prince and Snow White had any children. ❓ 4. Snow White is not seen participating in anything charitable, as during her daily life she is cleaning up after her stepmother. ❌ 5. Snow White shows signs of knowing how to properly manage a household, as she knows how to efficiently clean up and take care of the Seven Dwarfs almost instantly.✔️
Snow White. Gif from: https://weheartit.com/entry/319622798
Cinderella: 1. daughter of a monarch ✔️ 2. similar to Snow White, longed to marry Prince Charming, but was not promised to marry him by her stepmother. ❌ 3. in the original tale, it's not said whether Cinderella has children or not.❓ 4. like Snow White, Cinderella is seen stuck in her home cleaning up after her stepsisters, and not doing anything charitable outside of that. ❌ 5. since Cinderella acted as a servant to her family, she was educated on major life skills. ✔️
Cinderella. Gif from: giphy.com/explore/cinderella
Aurora: 1. daughter of a monarch ✔️2. not promised to marry a King, and even more pushed away from royalty by Maleficent, until Prince Phillip kisses her. ❌ 3. we're unsure if Aurora has children. ❓ 4. Aurora is not seen doing anything charitable. ❌ 5. we're unsure about Aurora's education, but she's not shown doing anything with special knowledge. ❌
Aurora and Phillip from Sleeping Beauty.
Ariel: 1. daughter of a monarch ✔️ 2. most likely promised to marry a King since her father is King Triton, but find Prince Eric on her trip on land.✔️ 3. in the original sequel, "Return to the Sea", it is shown that Ariel and Eric have a baby named Melody.✔️ 4. Ariel's not seen doing anything particularly charitable.❌ 5. Ariel's knowledgeable about her undersea life, but not very knowledgeable about the land (understandably), but because she's stuck at home constantly, I'll conclude she doesn't have the highest education. ❌
Ariel, from the Little Mermaid. Gif from: https://giphy.com/gifs/disney-ariel-little-mermaid-kMAd5VoR1poek
Belle: 1. not a daughter of a monarch ❌ 2. she is absolutely not promised to marry a King as her family is not of royalty, and even turns down Gaston, whom would be the closest to royalty in her town. She marries into royalty by falling in love with the beast. ❌ 3. in the original tale it isn't said if she has children.❓ 4. Belle is charitable, as she uses her love for reading to teach children how to read in her small town. ✔️ 5. Belle is very educated as well, as she reads books all day, and thinks a little bit quicker than everyone else in her town. ✔️
Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Gif from: https://weheartit.com/entry/216958642
Jasmine: 1. daughter of a monarch ✔️ 2. she is promised to marry a King, but does not fall in love with any, and instead marries an ordinary "street rat", Aladdin. Nevertheless, she is promised into royalty. ✔️ 3. it's not said whether Jasmine had children or not.❓ 4. Jasmine is not shown doing any charitable acts, as she is stuck in her palace all her life, and had not visited the market place prior to meeting Aladdin. ❌ 5. Jasmine's education is unclear, but it is clear that she knows that there's much more for her outside of the palace, which puts her at an advantage. ❓
Jasmine and Raja from Aladdin. Gif from: https://giphy.com/gifs/rajah-gifsreaction-wifflegif-ou28H3B2nTXIQ
Pocahontas: 1. not a daughter of a monarch, but daughter of a chief (I'll count this as a yes) ✔️ 2. promised to marry a native warrior, but she falls in love with Capt. John Smith instead. ✔️ 3. in the original tale of Pocahontas, she does have a son, but in the Disney version, it's unsure.❓ 4. she offers help and kindness to her community, and becomes an ambassador for her tribe in England, therefore, I'd say she does charitable acts for her people.✔️ 5. Pocahontas is known to have a lot of wisdom, as well as have an open mind to others who are different, therefore she would be at an advantage with her intellect.✔️
Pocahontas. Gif from: https://giphy.com/explore/pocahontas
Mulan: 1. not a daughter of a monarch, ❌ 2. not promised to marry into royalty, but she falls in love with Chinese warrior Shang. ❌ 3. Mulan has a child in the Descendants, but not in the original. ❌ 4. Mulan shows the ultimate sacrifice for another person by going to war for her father, as it's such a noble and selfless act, I'd say it counts.✔️ 5. Mulan was very resourceful and stepped up without being asked or helped, she took care of her own injuries, and was a quick thinker.✔️
Mulan. Gif from: https://gfycat.com/hardcourteousharrierhawk
With all of that being said, and tallying up our scores out of 5, we have an answer to the question: "Which original Disney princess is more similar to princesses in real life?"
Pocahontas!
Ariel follows close behind with 3 points, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine and Mulan have 2 points, and Aurora has 1 point.
Although there was a clear winner in comparisons to middle age princesses, I think we can all agree that these princesses all have major qualities that children around the world look up to. Snow White's motherliness, Cinderella's relatableness, Aurora's love story, Ariel's curiosity, Belle's motivation and dreams, Jasmine's ability to stand up for herself, Pocahontas' well roundedness, and of course (the ultimate female role model in my opinion), Mulan's nobleness and independence.
References:
“Medieval Princess.” Medieval Princess, www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-people/medieval-royalty/medieval-princess/.
Newman, S. "Princesses in the Middle Ages" The Finer Times, http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/princesses-in-the-middle-ages.html
Thorpe, JR. “Here's What Kate Middleton's Life Would Be Like If She Lived In The 14th Century.” Bustle, Bustle, 5 June 2019, www.bustle.com/p/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-14th-century-princess-versus-a-modern-one-from-daily-duties-to-meals-to-romance-8430716.
