Welcome back to our series of the amazing lessons that we learn from the Disney Princesses. This week is part 3, so look back on the past weeks to read about Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Part 1), Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana (Part 2).
RAPUNZEL – There is More Than What Meets the Eye
Before Elsa, Rapunzel was everyone’s favorite princess. She teaches girls to dream, to be kind, and is a very relatable princess. She is conflicted, adorable, and a bit naїve, just like we all are. However, an amazing lesson that she teaches each of us is that there is always more than meets the eye. Let’s start with Rapunzel herself. She is locked away in a tower, and while she seems to be just a girl with really long hair, it actually glows when she sings. On top of that, she is the lost princess. She teams up with Flynn Ryder, who to everyone else is a suave, but dangerous criminal, but to her, she sees Eugene Fitzherbert, the orphan with a kind heart. In Maximus, she sees the sweet, underappreciated horse, in each of the Ruffians and Thugs, she sees dreamers and “lovely folks.” Unfortunately, we learn that the opposite happens too. We sometimes see people who seem to be loving, and caring, but turn into selfish, abusive individuals, like Mother Gothel.
MERIDA – First Seek Understanding
The lesson we learn from Merida is actually more of a cautionary tale. She and her mother don’t exactly see eye-to-eye about what it means to be a princess. Instead of taking the matter up with her mum, she took matters into her own hands. She talked to the woodcarver/witch about changing her fate, and obtained a potion that will make her mother see her side. Unfortunately, the witch’s magic is never really direct, so she gave Merida a potion to turn her mother into a bear. However, the two of them suddenly had to work together to “mend the bond that has been torn” to turn her Queen Elinor back into a human. Elinor learned that hunting, fishing, and other survival skills (such as what berries NOT to eat) are essential to know, even if you are a princess or a queen. Merida learns that being regal and royal, just like her mother taught her to be, can actually help command a room and protect her kingdom. In the end, they finally are able to see eye to eye, but this fate could have been avoided if they tried to understand each other from the beginning.
SOFIA – Discover Your Potential
Princess Sofia wasn’t always a princess. She was just a normal girl in the kingdom of Enchancia until her mother married King Roland II. The series features the young princess trying to learn how to be royal. Sofia has a lot to offer the kingdom of Enchancia, as she was once a commoner, so she understands the life and plight of her people. As she learns to be a princess and learns the true power of her amulet, she learns the true power of herself. We can learn from Sofia that all of the things that are hard for her, or for us, help us become stronger, more whole, and closer to our potential.
ANNA – The power of true love
Anna has a heart made of gold. She loves quickly and completely without fear of past or current rejection. Her whole life, she was kept locked away from her sister, and despite that, she loved her with all of her heart. Like the trolls said, only an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart, and only Anna was capable of that true love. She sacrificed herself to save Elsa, someone who had ignored her most of her life, and maybe didn’t deserve her sacrifice. Anna loved her sister because she was her sister, not because she had earned her love. She also gives the same unconditional and immediate love to Hans, Kristoff, Olaf, Oaken, and Sven.