The Passive Princesses
Disney's earliest princesses were the characters of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora. The three of them are marked by their passivity to the circumstances they encounter. They all have in common innocence, naivety, a strong affinity with cute creatures, and the tendency to pine for a prince to spirit them away from their troubles.
SNOW WHITE (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)
Snow White is introduced as an innocent young girl kept in rags by the wicked queen, who is also her stepmother. Her notable actions are falling in love with a prince after he briefly serenades her, running screaming into a forest after the huntsman warns her of the danger, and acting as a mother to the seven dwarfs. She spends the last part of the film in a coma as a result of the poisoned apple, and it is only because the prince happens upon her dead form and kisses her that she comes back to life.
Snow White also is given a very girlish form and voice. Interestingly, the Disney wiki lists her age as 14, making her the youngest of all the Disney princesses. This makes her romance with the prince more questionable, although it also serves to explain why she acts so innocent and naive.
Snow White also is given a very girlish form and voice. Interestingly, the Disney wiki lists her age as 14, making her the youngest of all the Disney princesses. This makes her romance with the prince more questionable, although it also serves to explain why she acts so innocent and naive.
CINDERELLA (Cinderella, 1950)
Cinderella is another girl victimized by her wicked stepmother. As the film shows, she is in the undignified position of servant and scullery maid to her stepmother and two ugly stepsisters. However, her hard life and constant drudgery have done nothing to dampen her looks or her cheerful spirit. She has befriended all the animals in the house aside from the evil cat (named Lucifer, one of the least subtle names in Disney movies) and regularly sings of her longing to go to the ball and meet that prince who will rescue her from her hard life.
Cinderella patiently puts up with the abuse from her family and never is seen to fight back in any way. Even when they assault her and rip apart the first dress she made for the ball, she does nothing but cry and wring her hands. It takes the magical intervention of a fairy godmother and some very fortuitous timing for her to meet the prince who decides to marry her (based on a dance and her beauty).
Cinderella patiently puts up with the abuse from her family and never is seen to fight back in any way. Even when they assault her and rip apart the first dress she made for the ball, she does nothing but cry and wring her hands. It takes the magical intervention of a fairy godmother and some very fortuitous timing for her to meet the prince who decides to marry her (based on a dance and her beauty).
AURORA (Sleeping Beauty, 1959)
Aurora is the Sleeping Beauty of the title, and she comes across as one of the most passive of the princesses. She has surprisingly little screentime in her movie considering she is the title character, and a significant chunk of the film has her in a cursed coma. Interestingly, she has no lines both shortly before and entirely after she falls victim to the sleeping curse.
While she is on-screen, Aurora is the standard beautiful 16-year-old girl who sings with her animal friends and dances barefoot through the forest. She also bursts into tears upon learning from her fairy caretakers that she will not be able to see the boy she knew for ten minutes because she is actually a princess and already betrothed. Incidentally, the boy she met turns out to be the man she's betrothed to, so that is a very useful coincidence.
While she is on-screen, Aurora is the standard beautiful 16-year-old girl who sings with her animal friends and dances barefoot through the forest. She also bursts into tears upon learning from her fairy caretakers that she will not be able to see the boy she knew for ten minutes because she is actually a princess and already betrothed. Incidentally, the boy she met turns out to be the man she's betrothed to, so that is a very useful coincidence.
Reminder
It needs to be noted that these three films were very much a product of their time. All were adapted from very old fairy tales and were created in the years before the feminist movement of the 1960s. While they contain passive females that fulfill a number of old stereotypes, these movies and characters were highly successful when they were released. Also, they continue to make Disney a great deal of money in merchandise. While the girls themselves are rather flat and helpless, they still remain popular today because of the groundbreaking nature of their movies.
It needs to be noted that these three films were very much a product of their time. All were adapted from very old fairy tales and were created in the years before the feminist movement of the 1960s. While they contain passive females that fulfill a number of old stereotypes, these movies and characters were highly successful when they were released. Also, they continue to make Disney a great deal of money in merchandise. While the girls themselves are rather flat and helpless, they still remain popular today because of the groundbreaking nature of their movies.