UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

5-1-2014

Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis of Gender

Expectations in Disney's Tangled and Disney/Pixar's Brave
Caitlin J. Saladino
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Repository Citation
Saladino, Caitlin J., "Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis of Gender Expectations in Disney's
Tangled and Disney/Pixar's Brave" (2014). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and
Capstones. 2137.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/5836156

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 LONG MAY SHE REIGN:

A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER EXPECTATIONS IN DISNEY’S

TANGLED AND DISNEY/PIXAR’S BRAVE

by

Caitlin J. Saladino

Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies

University of Nevada, Las Vegas
2012

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the

Master of Arts - Communication Studies

Department of Communication Studies

College of Urban Affairs
The Graduate College

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

May 2014
Copyright by Caitlin J. Saladino, 2014

All Rights Reserved

THE GRADUATE COLLEGE

We recommend the thesis prepared under our supervision by

Caitlin J. Saladino

entitled

Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis of Gender Expectations in

Disney’s Tangled and Disney/Pixar’s Brave

is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts - Communication Studies

Department of Communication Studies

Sara VanderHaagen, Ph.D., Committee Chair

Thomas Burkholder, Ph.D., Committee Member

Erika Engstrom, Ph.D., Committee Member

David Dickens, Ph.D., Graduate College Representative

Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D., Interim Dean of the Graduate College

May 2014

ii
 ABSTRACT

Long May She Reign:

A Rhetorical Analysis of Gender Expectations in Disney’s Tangled and
Disney/Pixar’s Brave

by

Caitlin J. Saladino

Dr. Sara VanderHaagen, Examination Committee Chair

Professor of Communication Studies
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

This project addresses messages about gender expectations in Disney princess

narratives. The two films included in my project are Tangled (2010) and Brave (2012),

which feature the most recently inducted princesses to the marketed Disney Princess line

(Rapunzel and Merida, respectively). Using genre as an organizing principle, I argue that

Rapunzel and Merida are different from the past Disney princesses (Snow White,

Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, etc.) because their narratives reflect new ideas about gender

expectations in modern society. The central tension appearing in both films is the

opposition between the image of woman as traditional, domestic, and dependent and

woman as progressive, industrious, and independent. The ways in which Rapunzel and

Merida address this tension reflects changing roles of women in society more generally.

In Tangled, Rapunzel experiences consciousness-raising in her quest for self-discovery,

and the film's audience is also invited to experience consciousness-raising about gender

expectations. In Brave, Merida's quest for self-efficacy (control of her own destiny)

displays new ideas about gender expectations as well. In society there is an unrealistic

expectation which influences young women to believe they can have a rewarding life as a

home maker and achieve a fulfilling professional career, if only they are willing to work

iii
hard enough. In other words, society is in control of the destiny of women based on

expectations. Merida suggests an alternative narrative to the expectations of her society

by fighting for self-efficacy. Through Merida’s narrative, Brave expresses new ideas

about social expectations of women in reality. The messages about gender appear most

explicitly in the princess’s words and the song lyrics. These messages are considered

moral messages because they suggest ways about how the world ought to be, and

therefore may resonate with young children who view Rapunzel and Merida as role

models. This thesis is a valuable addition to current communication studies literature

because while princesses have been analyzed rhetorically in the past, a scholarly

investigation of Disney’s newest princesses has yet to be published.

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Writing this thesis has helped to shape my future in a variety of ways. As I begin

my doctoral program in Higher Education in Fall of 2014, I now have the tools necessary

to accomplish a dissertation. The skills I have learned as a graduate student in the

Department of Communication Studies at UNLV will allow me to excel in all my future

collegiate and professional endeavors. This Master’s degree has given me an opportunity

to work with incredible people and I will always have fond memories of my time in this

program. I want to begin by thanking Dr. Sara VanderHaagen for taking me on as a thesis

advisee for this project. I knew very early on that I wanted to study Disney not only to

keep myself committed to the project, but to ensure that the final product was something I

felt contributed to the world outside our field. Dr. VanderHaagen was encouraging and

supportive of this popular culture project from the start. It was very easy as a student in

her classes to recognize that she was the best advisor for me. Through the drafting

process of this thesis, her feedback was absolutely invaluable to reaching a final product

that I am, indeed, proud of. Thank you, Dr. VanderHaagen, for the countless hours you

spent helping me, and for believing in the value of this project. I look up to you as an

example of the type of scholar and mentor I hope to be one day.

I also wish to thank the members of my committee who were so instrumental in

the success of this thesis. Thank you first to Dr. Erika Engstrom, who provided me with

key pieces of scholarship that helped to frame the direction of this entire project. The

suggestion you made to break apart the analysis of Tangled and Brave into two, separate

chapters helped get me through the challenges of drafting this thesis. Second, I would like

to thank Dr. David Dickens for his insight and his enthusiasm for this project from the

v
start. In our initial meeting, you made me feel like one of your own students and your

friendly suggestions during the prospectus defense were so appreciated. Finally, the

critical concepts used to structure this project would not have been possible without Dr.

Tom Burkholder. My understanding of rhetoric comes from the valuable advice I

received from Dr. Burkholder at various points of the project. Thank you for reminding

me that rhetorical criticism must be polymorphous, taking many forms to provide a truly

evaluative analysis. This reminder allowed me to be a better and more thorough critic.

This thesis would also not have been possible without the encouragement of my

COM 101 family, the people who shared in this journey of graduate school with me from

start to finish. I am most grateful to have worked with Professor William Belk, my

instructional mentor and basic course director. I would not be the teacher I am today

without your guidance. During the two years I spent in this program, you always took the

time to ask how I was doing and truly cared about me. I am forever grateful for all you

have done for me. Thank you to the members of office 4121 for making every day in the

office enjoyable. The post-it wall will always represent the memories we shared together.

Sara Kaplan, thank you for being the most supportive and friendly second-year mentor I

could have asked for. Colby Miyose, your friendship and laughter has made my own time

as a second-year so enjoyable, and am looking forward to hearing about your future

successes. To my friend and officemate, Michael Eisenstadt: thank you for your

confidence in me, for the exorbitant number of nicknames, and for your help with nearly

every final project I worked on during my master’s career. You excel above your peers as

a dedicated student, exceptional scholar, and an even better friend. Finally, thank you to

my very good friend, Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Trickey. Thank you for teaching me to

vi
focus on the things that truly matter. You reminded me every day that one's personal

definition of success cannot be prescribed by others. I have been successful because of

the lessons you taught me, and for that I cannot thank you enough.

vii
 DEDICATION

Disney films have been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. At two

years old, I watched Beauty and the Beast on a constant loop, singing and dancing with

my stuffed toy Beast to the tune of “Tale as Old as Time.” At four years old, I pretended

I was Simba, climbing the couch and roaring at the top of my imaginary ‘Pride Rock.’ At

seven years old, I dressed up in a mermaid tail, colored my hair red and sang “Part of

Your World” at my elementary school talent show. I could have never anticipated that in

my childhood memories, I would find a topic worth researching for a Master’s thesis.

This project is dedicated to the people in my life that understand what Disney really

means to me... The people who understand why I love visiting Disneyland, who

understand why my favorite way to spend a Saturday night is watching a marathon of

Disney movies, and who understand why I dream of sharing my love of Disney with my

children one day.

To my dad and mom, Steve and Mary: thank you for always being there for me

and reminding me that I can do, and be anything I want. Your encouragement has helped

me to overcome the challenges I faced as a graduate student, and I cannot thank you

enough. You reminded me to be strong like Merida, to chase the wind and touch the sky.

To my sister and brother, Carleen and Michael: thank you for allowing me to read

drafts of this thesis to you for over a year. As siblings, the enthusiasm we share for

Disney made writing and sharing this thesis with you enjoyable. You reminded me to be

like Anna, to remember that family is the closest bond of all.

To my future prince, Sean: thank you for being understanding of the time that I

needed to dedicate to completing this thesis. You have supported me in finishing this

viii
project, which has allowed me to start building a solid foundation for our future. I am so

fortunate to have you in my life, and I can’t wait to see the future that lies ahead for us.

Your unconditional love helped remind me to be resilient like Rapunzel. With the

completion of this part of our life, I am reminded every day that everything is different,

now that I see you...

ix
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v

DEDICATION................................................................................................................ viii

CHAPTER ONE: An Introduction to Disney Studies ................................................... 1

Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1
Research Purpose .................................................................................................. 2
Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 3
Disney Studies........................................................................................................ 5
Critical Investigations of Disney Princesses ....................................................... 8
Princesses Operate in Patriarchal Societies ............................................... 10
Princesses Should Be Beautiful ................................................................... 11
Princesses Must “Dream” of Social Advancement .................................... 13
Introducing a New Perspective .................................................................................. 14
The Goal of Disney Princess Criticism.............................................................. 14
A Child’s Ability to Reason Beyond Critique .................................................. 16
Alternative Moral Messages............................................................................... 18
Princesses are Capable of Self-Motivated Advancement ............................ 18
Princesses Should Respect Nature and Animals ......................................... 20
Princesses Should Stand Up for Others ...................................................... 21
Method ....................................................................................................................... 23
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 23
Overview of Method ........................................................................................... 23
Overview of Subsequent Chapters............................................................................. 26
Overview of Chapter Two .................................................................................. 26
Overview of Chapters Three and Four ............................................................. 28
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 31

CHAPTER TWO: Disney Princesses - A Rhetorical History ..................................... 39

Introduction................................................................................................................ 39
Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 40
Walt’s World of Disney ...................................................................................... 40
Eisner’s World of Disney.................................................................................... 45
Today's World of Disney .................................................................................... 50
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 53

CHAPTER THREE: Untangling Perceptions of the Modern Woman,

Consciousness-Raising of the Androgynous Disney Princess ..................................... 59
Introduction................................................................................................................ 59
Rhetorical Strategies .................................................................................................. 61
Consciousness-Raising ........................................................................................ 61
Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 65

x
 Mother’s Control Imposed on Princess’s Ambition ........................................ 68
Mother’s Control Conflicts with Princess’s Ambition .................................... 71
Princess’s Ambition Reigns Over Mother’s Ambition .................................... 78
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 82

CHAPTER FOUR: Being Brave, A Princess’s Alternative Narrative to Dominant

Gender Expectations ....................................................................................................... 88
Introduction................................................................................................................ 88
Woman’s Role and Social Climate: 2008-2012 ................................................ 90
Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 95
Mother’s Tradition Imposed on Princess’s Ambition ..................................... 96
Mother’s Tradition Conflicts with Princess’s Ambition ................................. 98
Princess’s Ambition Reigns Over Mother’s Tradition .................................. 102
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 111

CHAPTER FIVE: Long May She Reign, Disney Princesses as Moral Role Models
for Society ...................................................................................................................... 117
Introduction.............................................................................................................. 117
Contributions to Society ................................................................................... 118
Moral Messages in Tangled and Brave ............................................................ 121
Marriage is a Not a Necessary End .......................................................... 121
Rejecting Authority Is Necessary in the Quest for Self-Discovery ............ 125
Princesses Should Embody the Virtues of Femininity and Masculinity .... 126
Future Directions ..................................................................................................... 129
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 133

APPENDIX A: Disney Letter of Rejection to Mary Ford, 1938............................... 137

APPENDIX B: Lyrics to song “When Will My Life Begin?” ................................... 138

APPENDIX C: Lyrics to song “Mother Knows Best” ............................................... 139

APPENDIX D: Lyrics to song “Reprise of Mother Knows Best” ............................ 141

APPENDIX E: Lyrics to song “Into The Open Air” ................................................. 143

APPENDIX F: Lyrics to song “Learn Me Right”...................................................... 144

BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 145

CURRICULUM VITA ................................................................................................. 156

xi
 CHAPTER ONE: An Introduction to Disney Studies

Introduction

This thesis explores gendered messages contained in Disney princess films. In this

first chapter, I examine the body of literature surrounding Disney animated movies.

Specifically, I explore films with princesses as main characters in order to understand

how mass communication texts depict the roles of females in society. The analytical

chapters of this thesis consist of two Disney films as rhetorical objects: Tangled (2010)

and Brave (2012). I focus on the female protagonists of these films: Rapunzel and

Merida, respectively. As an overarching theme, I am interested in the ways that Disney

films contain moral messages, and how those messages shape a rhetorical understanding

of the texts. Much like the terms “rhetoric” and “rhetorical,” the terms “moral” and

“morality” have a variety of definitions within moral education literature. For the purpose

of this thesis, I refer to the term “moral messages” in the sense articulated by moral

education scholars, Rebecca Glover, Lance Garmon, and Darrell Hull.1 In their

assessment of moral messages in television programming, Glover, Garmon, and Hull

define moral messages as “the themes presented in media that may influence viewers’

understandings of social standards of right and wrong that pertain to… social norms

regarding how people ought or ought not to treat each other.”2 Of special concern to this

study are those moral messages that influence the viewer’s understandings of social

standards of gender expectation.

Through this investigation, I will also provide the field of rhetorical studies with a

new perspective on the critique of Disney animated films. Perhaps the most important

result of this study is the refocus of attention on Disney films as important rhetorical

1
artifacts containing messages that might affect society. By examining the messages

contained in Disney princess films, my analysis will express how the various rhetorical

strategies exhibited in the films are promoted to a global audience through cinematic

means, with special focus on children as a particularly amenable target audience.

Simultaneously, using a rhetorical perspective will add new and unique knowledge to the

existing body of literature on Disney’s influence on society. Finally, this study is

important due to the recency of these films, as no rhetorical study to date has sought to

investigate the two newest additions to Disney’s princess line.

Research Purpose

Through this project, I ultimately wish to encourage the exploration of Disney

films as an important area for the discipline of rhetorical studies. In the process of

conducting research for this project, I noticed an unsettling trend in the literature on

Disney films. Much work has been done to explore the implications of Disney films for

audiences and society as a whole, but this body of literature is also limited in the field of

communication studies. “Disney studies,” a body of research bent to the Disney

phenomenon,3 has been embraced by scholars of film, English, and history, but the

literature on Disney is sparse within the field of communication studies. This became

especially apparent as I began to construct my reading list for this project and found it

challenging to find communication-centered interventions. For this reason, I recognize an

important lack in the scholarship of our field, which has motivated my study of this topic.

Additionally, Disney studies is what I believe the field of communication studies

needs in order to become a more versatile discipline. This project contributes to the deep,

historical commitment among rhetoricians to produce scholarship that is publicly

2
relevant; this study connects the traditional tools of rhetorical critics to unexplored

popular texts that influence adults and children alike. Disney is a cultural force, an

accessible phenomenon that affects everyone in some way or another. With this in mind,

Disney can serve as a way for rhetoricians and communication scholars more generally to

cipher scholarly investigations in a package that non-academics could decode. Perhaps

then, Disney films can be a tool for bridging the gap between the realm of academia and

the realm of the social. Studying Disney films allows the field of rhetoric to span beyond

an immediate, academic audience, giving access to potentially anyone. Disney princess

films are especially necessary for study because they articulate gender expectations.

These gender expectations are mirrored in society, and therefore make a scholarly

investigation of this phenomenon intriguing for a broad audience. Specifically, this thesis

investigates the messages about gender expectations contained in the two most recent

Disney princess films: Tangled and Brave. I begin by offering a literature review on the

study of Disney films and the Disney Princess marketing campaign as the contexts of this

project.

Literature Review

Perhaps the most important development in the discipline of rhetorical studies

today is the broadening of the body of texts deemed acceptable in rhetorical analysis to

include a wide variety of rhetorical artifacts. By assuming this perspective, virtually

anything can be studied rhetorically including cultural standards, fashion, tastes,

monuments, places, and film. This wide sweeping approach is the most inclusive way of

understanding the way that cultural phenomena, such as Disney films, can be explored as

socially relevant rhetorical artifacts. While not a traditional rhetorical speech text, Disney

3
princess films are both worthwhile and necessary rhetorical artifacts for the

understanding of moral messages pertaining to gender. Examining the messages

contained in these popular films allows for scholars to explore the way that cultural

phenomena influence several facets of our lives and consequently shape society.

Film has become a pervasive art that transcends entertainment value alone, as

messages in film reflect the choices of “real-life” communicators. Communication

scholar David McMahan notes that no instance of mass mediated communication is void

of influence from interpersonal communication and vice versa.4 Real-life communicators

create films, which in turn reflect the communicative expectations of society. If the aim

of rhetorical criticism is to explore the interactions between an artifact and society, then it

is only fitting that films be examined as socially constructive texts. In addition,

communication scholar Barry Brummett suggests that the pervasive nature of stories in

film “do not merely pose problems, they suggest ways and means to resolve the problems

insofar as they follow discursively a pattern that people might follow in reality.”5 This

implies that films do not simply exist in a vacuum, but instead are rhetorical organisms

that grow and react to the social context of their production. For the purpose of this

analysis, an evaluation of the importance of film will be conducted through an

investigation of two particular Disney princess films. To frame the significance of

Tangled and Brave, this thesis investigates the Disney princess line, which contains the

following eleven Disney movies: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Cinderella

(1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991),

Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), Mulan (1998), The Princess and The Frog (2009),

Tangled (2010), and Brave (2012). A review of the literature on Disney films will

4
illuminate both what has been accomplished by rhetorical scholars in the past and what

still must be done in order to build a strong foundation of literature on Disney princess

films.

Disney Studies

“Disney studies” has recently emerged as a widely discussed topic of

interdisciplinary interest. According to Disney scholar Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario,

“Disney studies has become a multidisciplinary field of study.”6 The Disney phenomenon

is a cultural force that has inundated the American public for nearly a century. According

to rhetorical scholars Elizabeth Walker Mechling and Jay Mechling, Disney has wielded

great power “over the years as the creator of grand narratives, of American mythologies,

about American origins, history, present, and future.”7 These grand narratives have come

in many forms including reinterpretations of fairytales from around the world, stories

based on real historical figures, and original stories written by creative animation teams.

Animators and film writers behind the scenes often express that Disney’s responsibility is

to produce and tell great stories. An interview with Disney story head Paul Briggs reveals

this sentiment. Briggs discusses the studio’s “story trust, and ‘keeper’ of the ‘safe room,’

which is the nickname for the Disney’s writer’s room where artists and writers feel safe

to share personal things from their own lives to help inform the stories they are telling.” 8

Not only does Disney strive to tell great stories, but the stories told reflect the human

experience. But Disney’s reach has spanned beyond film, as the company has grown into

a corporate empire since the company’s first success with Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs in 1937. Business writer Andrew Beattie notes that before Disney became a

world powerhouse company, “with interests spanning the globe, Disney was more closely

5
associated with the vision of the man after whom it was named.”9 Walt Disney’s original

vision for his company has transformed into a company named seventeenth most valuable

brand in the world by Forbes,10 with a market value of $103.96 billion as of May 2013.11

The reach of Disney has prompted Disney studies scholars to investigate the

messages and effects of the Walt Disney Company on viewers, consumers, and

audiences. “Within Disney studies literature, a variety of approaches have been

implemented, including examination of Disney films compared to their original written

versions,12 the marketing and context of Disney film releases,13 and the imagery of

Disney characters and resulting body image investigations.14 Since the mid 1990’s, the

critical investigation of Disney films has become a specific area of interest for rhetorical

scholars. This branch of research includes many different approaches from within

communication studies. For example, Annalee Ward illustrates the versatility of Disney

films in her book Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. An influential

text for my own investigation, Ward’s book provides rhetorical criticisms of five

prominent films: The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre

Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), and Mulan (1998). In each of her analyses, Ward uses a

different theoretical perspective to investigate the films and subsequently illustrate the

versatility of these rhetorical texts.15 As an overarching goal, Ward seeks to illuminate

the ability to use different critical approaches to uncover the moral messages taught in the

films and “demonstrate the possibility of understanding the films from any number of

angles.”16 Using a similar approach, this literature review seeks to account for the various

interpretations of Disney princess films and the subsequent evaluations of morality that

can be made.

6
 The conceptualization of “Disney princess films” comes from the marketing line

that specifically showcases the female heroines of Disney films. According to author

Peggy Orenstein, the “Disney princess line” is dedicated to the marketing of princess

characters separate from their film’s release.17 Originally released in 2000, the Disney

Princess Line sold $300 million in its first year, without any marketing focus groups, or

advertisements.18 In a New York Times article titled, “What’s Wrong with Cinderella,”

Orenstein discusses the span of Disney Consumer Products associated with this Disney

princess line:

Sales at Disney Consumer Products, which started the craze […] by packaging
nine of its female characters under one royal rubric, have shot up to $3 billion,
globally (in 2006) from $300 million in 2001. There are now more than 25,000
Disney Princess items. “Princess,” as some Disney execs call it, is not only the
fastest-growing brand the company has ever created; they say it is on its way to
becoming the largest girls’ franchise on the planet.19

As if by pixie dust, the anticipated success stated by Disney executives in 2006 has

become a reality; in 2012, Disney Princess topped Forbes’s list of the 20 best-selling

entertainment products, ahead of Sesame Street and Star Wars.20

Disney princess has become a prominent part of growing up for young girls, and

has therefore blossomed into a scholarly consideration in recent decades. The

investigation of Disney princesses stems from an understanding of the term “princess”

itself. According to child development scholar Karen Wohlwend, princess invokes certain

connotations. Wohlwend notes that “princess characters voice scripts for passive

victims,”21 and therefore show a subordinate status. A princess is typically juvenile,

naïve, and helpless, representing a “persona that is friendly, always-beautiful, and self-

sacrificing.”22 In the end, the princess rarely loses sight of her goal to attract a prince.

According to folklorist Sharon Sherman, “the princess may be seen as the female

7
counterpart of the hero.”23 These connotations of “princess” invite scholars to consider

the significant messages that may be expressed through Disney’s representations of

“princess.” With its success as a marketing line, Disney Princess has become a popular

area for scholarly investigation in recent years. I offer a discussion Disney studies

literature that specifically addresses Disney princesses in order to understand the

rhetorical implications of these films. The majority of academic literature on Disney

princesses tends to focus on the immoral messages that appear as a result of these

princess’s actions and in some cases inactions. I will provide a synthesis of this literature

in order to frame the resulting perspective taken in this thesis.

Critical Investigations of Disney Princesses

In 1975, folklore scholar Kay Stone wrote, “heroines have been virtually ignored

except by a handful of writers interested in children’s literature.”24 However, the growth

of Disney studies, and the scholarly interest in princess narratives has put this idea to rest.

For critics today, the problem with Disney does not lie only in its power as a teacher of

moral messages, but also in the fact that the morals being taught are aimed primarily at a

child audience.25 For Ward, Disney’s adaptation to cultural changes has been realized

through the “Disneyfication” of each fairytale plot, fitting a formula for both commercial

success and Disney’s perspective on reality.26 As illustrated in the literature, this

“Disneyfication” of society raises the question of whether or not Disney films “contribute

positively to children’s moral education.”27

To respond to this inquiry, scholars from various disciplines have provided

“critiques” of Disney princess films. I use their word “critique” with caution, for my

investigation as a rhetorical criticism employs the term in order to address evaluative,

8
rather than critical implications of the films. A vast number of scholarly investigations of

Disney film seem to employ the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of the word

critique, “making or expressing unfavorable judgments about things.”28 However,

rhetoricians employ this word differently. As rhetorician Karlyn Kohrs Campbell notes,

“the critical process makes conscious and explicit what may be non-conscious or even

unconscious for the author(s) and what is unrecognized by a casual or non-expert

audience.”29 Rhetorical criticism seeks to “make overt what is hidden,”30 but does not

initially seek to determine the value (unfavorable or favorable) of what is found. A true

critique should attempt to evaluate all sides of an issue, or argument in order to present a

well-rounded and valid analysis. In order to illustrate the types of past criticism on

Disney films, I will provide a brief synthesis of this literature.

To reiterate the goals of this literature review, I will reference the definition of

moral messages introduced in the opening paragraphs of this chapter. Again, Glover,

Garmon and Hull define moral messages as those messages that influence viewers’

understandings of social standards.31 In many cases, Disney as a media force has

provided a set of standards about how the world should operate. According to

communication scholar Sharon Downey, “the images culled from fairy tales’ oral and

written traditions persist in their contemporary mass-mediated manifestations, including

Disney animated film features.”32 Disney critics have overwhelmingly interpreted Disney

animated films for the negative messages they may contain; these types of evaluations

have been focused on Disney princess investigations primarily. As quoted in Downey,

Disney princess films have been condemned […] “for their stereotypical, sexually

provocative, and denigrating portraits of females. For example, Lieberman criticizes

9
Disney’s ‘beauty contest’ motif as harmful for viewers; and Stone indicts Disney

heroines for their passivity.”33 To understand the scope of past Disney princess

scholarship, I discuss three moral messages that I see frequently mentioned in Disney

studies scholarship: (1) princesses operate in patriarchal societies; (2) princesses should

be beautiful; (3) princesses must “dream” for social advancement.

Princesses Operate in Patriarchal Societies

“We all must serve our Emperor, who guards us from the Huns: a man by bearing arms, a
girl by bearing sons.” –chorus girls (Mulan)

Scholars have traditionally taken aim at the kingdom of gender constructed in

Disney films. Patriarchy is especially upheld in the first generation 34 of princess films:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. According to

literary critic Brenda Ayers, Disney both mirrors a Victorian tale and perpetuates a

nineteenth-century notion of domesticity in the portrayal of the princesses.35 Ayers also

notes, “women are to be submissive, self-denying, modest, childlike, innocent,

industrious, maternal, and angelic—all traits that perfectly describe Snow White.”36 The

patriarchal ideologies displayed in Disney princess films can become a problematic

reality when viewed by young children in today’s society. Author Peggy Orenstein

discusses the negative messages found in Disney films in the context of raising young

girls in American society.37 The literature points to the concern that young girls will

embrace patriarchal ideology and miss out on the opportunities for personal advancement

as a result.38 The Disney princess theme of patriarchy is certainly evidenced in the story

of Snow White which focuses on “a tale of a woman’s coming into maturity, but she

matures in order to be someone’s wife, and later, a mother.”39 For Snow White, the desire

10
for a heterosexual marriage ensures her ability to have a family all her own, and serves as

the ultimate goal of her tale.

While many princess films uphold a typical patriarchal ideology, it is possible to

argue that Disney does not always seek to uphold the dominant understanding of

patriarchy in its princess films. Heterosexual marriage is a recurring theme in virtually

every Disney princess film (with the exception of Brave). However, the fairytale

weddings that conclude several princess films can be read as somewhat contradictory to

the messages of a true patriarchal ideology. This is evident in the social and hegemonic

structures of the princesses’ worlds. While the relational dynamics that exist in Disney

princess films have been critiqued by several scholars as being patriarchal, it is also true

that traditional patriarchy cannot be upheld in the model of Disney princess films. This is

due to the fact that the princess serves as the pivotal character of each royal family. After

all, traditional patriarchy is upheld by the bearing of sons, not daughters. 40 Therefore, it is

inherently flawed to assume that Disney princess films are only interested in upholding

patriarchal ideologies. If this were the case, “the princess would always have a brother or

other male relative poised to succeed her father, but she does not.” 41 This being said,

Disney’s construction of patriarchal hierarchy does not fit the traditional mold. Rather, it

fits the mold constructed as part of the Disney worldview, which values the princess as

the focus of their tales.

Princesses Should Be Beautiful

“She’s got these eyes that just... and this hair... and her smile! (sigh)” -Aladdin (Aladdin)

Within Disney studies literature, an entire subset is dedicated to investigation of

the body imagery of princesses. This branch is important to a social understanding

because film can serve to inform children about sociocultural models of body image.

11
According to Marika Tiggemann and Amanda Pickering, “current societal standards for

beauty unduly emphasize the importance of thinness and drive young women to achieve a

body shape that is often unattainable.”42 It can be problematic if these ideals are

internalized by children, especially when what is “ideal” does not reflect the diversity of

body image. As communication scholar Elizabeth Bell notes, the “animation of race and

ethnicity was unproblematic in the early Disney shop.”43 Instead, the early animated

heroines were portrayed with fair-skinned, fair-eyed, Anglo-Saxon features that

emphasized their perfectly skinny model-like form.44 Early princesses displayed the

elegance and grace of a ballet dancer. As a result, critics cite this imagery, evidenced in

the animation of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora as a proponent of unrealistic body

image expectations for young girls.45

The image of the princess has changed with the introduction of princesses of

color. This shift occurred during the second generation of princess films, which I argue

begins with The Little Mermaid in 1989 and concludes with Mulan in 1998. Lacroix

expands on recent depictions of Disney princesses in the 1990s, outlining the

stereotypical “orientalization” of the first Disney female protagonists of color. 46 Do

Rozario notes that the physical form of princesses like Pocahontas and Jasmine

emphasize the shift from princesses of dance to “heroes of sport.”47 This shift has also

reflected sexuality in the princesses designs that scholars find disconcerting. As

communication scholar Celeste Lacroix notes, “an increased emphasis on sexuality and

the exotic is evident in the construction of the female heroines in these films, particularly

in the female characters of color.”48 The field of Disney studies consistently argues for

future investigation of race and gender imagery in princess films. For the purpose of

12
understanding the moral messages contained in these films, it is important to consider

how the production of animated body image can frame expectations in reality.

Princesses Must “Dream” of Social Advancement

“But they say if you dream a thing more than once, it’s bound to come true, and I’ve seen
him so many times…” – Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

A final prominent critique of Disney princess films is based upon passive and

subordinate behaviors elicited by the princesses. It is somewhat intriguing to recognize

that even princesses, individuals of royal descent and power, can still appear subordinate

in a Disney scripted world. For the first generation of Disney princesses, the dark cloud

of misfortune that hangs over her head is not something that she can save herself from;

her savior comes not from her own action, but instead the result of her dreaming. The

conflict in their tales originates from a malevolent outside source, albeit sometimes from

a questionable member of the princess’s family.

Snow White’s beauty so torments the Evil Queen that she is willing to kill her

stepdaughter. This leads to the conflict that propels the story, where Snow White must

lock herself away in a woodland cottage in order to hide from her antagonist. Cinderella’s

unhappiness is a result of her evil stepmother’s cruelty, culminating in Cinderella’s

imprisonment when she is prevented from attending the royal ball and trying on the glass

slipper.49 For Cinderella, the only escape from her dismal life lies in the prince’s decision

to choose her over all others in the kingdom. Likewise, Aurora is tormented by

Maleficent, an evil sorceress whose name is just a few letters off from being named

“Malevolent.” Once again, Aurora hides away, singing and dreaming of the day when her

vision of romantic love will become her reality. As the prophecy predicts, Aurora pricks

her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and at once falls into a cursed sleep, only to

13
be awoken by the arrival of her prince.

In the case of these princess narratives, the princess’s ability to move from a

dismal existence to one that she desires is only achieved through rescue by a prince, with

the aid of dwarves, fairy godmothers, and animals; advancement is never made possible

by her own actions. The desires of these princesses are to be whisked away from their

lives so that they may live out their moral platitudes of heterosexual romance. Accepting

this moral message, the princesses need not assume any action on their own. In other

words, the fate of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora lies outside of their delicate

hands. Subsequently, this is a problematic moral message for two reasons. First, because

it implies that personal advancement cannot come from within. Second, because it

suggests that if the desires you have do not require individual action, then your morality

can be determined for you.

Introducing a New Perspective

The Goal of Disney Princess Criticism

As a scholar, I am troubled by the expansive body of literature that seems only to

focus on the immorality of Disney films. The extent of unfavorable judgment outweighs

the critiques that have tried to uncover more evaluative accounts of what is happening in

Disney films. The opposite perspective is also in need of critical investigation: the idea

that perhaps Disney films serve as a form of rhetoric that provides important and even

favorable moral messages for viewers. While the majority of Disney studies literature

tends to emphasize the social harm that princess films can cause, I argue that we should

also examine the social good they might do; rhetorical criticism allows for alternative

interpretations to shine through. Using the terminology of literary critic Northrop Frye,

14
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell expresses the goals of rhetorical criticism. According to

Campbell, “criticism must be polymorphous (taking many forms), because

communicative and rhetorical acts are polysemous (having multiple meanings).”50 In

order to accomplish this goal, scholars must recognize that more than one possible

interpretation exists for any rhetorical object. Because this is true, a multitude of tactics

must be used in rhetorical investigations in order to represent the many possible

interpretations of a given object. This inclusive approach to criticism fuels the

interpretations I offer of Disney princess films.

Other scholars have already begun to explore the possibility of interpreting

Disney princess films in new, productive ways. In her review of Peggy Orenstein’s

Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Sherianne Shuler brings to light an important consideration:

“While the book is quite respectful of the intelligence and imagination of little girls, my

daughter’s suggestion that princesses have ‘magic powers,’ for example, points to ways

that girls are capable of creatively interpreting and reappropriating princess texts in non-

Disney ways and is worth further exploration.”51 Shuler’s suggestion should encourage

scholars to consider breaking free from traditional exploration of Disney princess films.

Scholars that approach the Disney princess realm with an open mind can view the

messages contained in the narratives for more than their immoral implications. In the case

of Sharon Downey’s research, for instance, a rhetorical approach was specifically useful

in explaining the gender dynamics between male and female characters in Disney’s

Beauty and the Beast.52 Downey’s polymorphous approach is, quite frankly, a breath of

fresh air; she offers an atypical perspective by discussing the favorable impact of Disney

princess narratives. Downey argues that “Disney animated films’ blending of discursive

15
and nondiscursive forms enables viewers to construct meanings of the films that empower

the feminine.”53 Therefore, rather than immediately assuming that the rhetorical messages

in Disney films are inherently harmful, exploring the texts more open-mindedly allows

for the examination of rhetorical elements that provide messages of morality.

Non-traditional investigations of Disney princess films also have a place in what

rhetorical scholar Annalee Ward calls the “Disney worldview.”54 The Disney worldview

is the result of considering Disney as “the means by which experience and belief are

merged and organized and by which values are prioritized.”55 However, Ward cautions

against the supposition that a single Disney worldview can be constructed and

maintained, given the many interpretations that can be formed based on any given

perspective for analysis.56 This thesis expands the possible interpretations of Disney

princess films, and ultimately expands the definition of “princess;” this expansion will be

revisited in chapter five. It is necessary to recognize that a wide variety of interventions

are available when examining these unique rhetorical texts. To understand how these

alternative interventions might be true for child viewers, I explore a study in child

development research related to Disney princess film consumption.

A Child’s Ability to Reason Beyond Critique

“Every child is blessed with a vivid imagination.” - Walt Disney

The bombardment of anti-Disney critique may be a premature diagnosis of

Disney’s effect on society. After all, the supposition that children learn immoral

messages from Disney films is not supported in the research literature. As Orenstein

notes, no study exists in the literature proving that “playing princess specifically damages

girls’ self-esteem or dampers other aspirations.”57 The current study does not seek to

16
identify how children actually respond to Disney films. Nevertheless, it is helpful to

investigate literature that has sought to do exactly that. An exploration of child

development research reveals important insight about the actual effect of the messages

found in Disney princess films. Contrary to popular critique, children do not necessarily

conform to the messages that scholars feel are most troublesome in Disney films. This

invites the need for new scholarship to explore alternative interpretations of Disney

princess narratives. Karen Wohlwend points to the potential for children to modify the

rhetoric of Disney princess films through transmedia, giving dolls active identities. 58 Zoe,

a kindergartener in Wohlwend’s study, makes evident the alteration of traditional roles by

transforming her Mulan doll into a superhero.

She’s really a princess, but I’m pretending she’s a superhero. Her powers make
her fly. She can make tornadoes. She can use power from her hands to make fire.
Sometimes she makes the bad guy dead with her fire. This is how they make her
weak: They make a stronger power -wind- and they blow her over to the door. My
mom got her for me when I got back home from Disney World. That’s not her
natural clothes; her natural clothes -but I got this- this is my other Barbie’s thing -
this is her- my Barbie’s cheerleading skirt… I want her to talk in there [Lowering
pitch of her voice and bending close to the digital voice recorder.] I have super
powers and I am a superhero and I can’t have a lot of powers and I can make
tornadoes.59

When Zoe states, “she’s really a princess, but I’m pretending she’s a superhero” she

moves beyond the gender expectations that are portrayed in the film.60 Although scholars

argue that Disney is a dangerous tool that teaches children to accept what is found in the

films as morally sound, it is apparent through Zoe’s exploration that children are not

passive consumers of what they see. Rather, Zoe and the other students in this study were

found to adapt their playtime representation of Disney princess dolls in order to reflect

their own experiences, rejecting gender stereotypes in the process. 61 Zoe’s

reinterpretation of her Mulan doll ultimately provides justification for the need to

17
reinvestigate Disney films in different ways. It is important to note that Zoe is a

representative example of responses, not just an exception to the norm. Additionally,

Wohlwend found that even male children adapt their concept of gender expectations

when they interact with Zoe and the other female children in the study. 62 The realization

that young children are not blind consumers of the traditional femininity that appears in

Disney discourse should open the door for scholars to investigate the positive

implications of Disney princess films as rhetorical artifacts.

Alternative Moral Messages

It is important to note that media consumption plays an important role in

understanding identity. According to McMahan, “identities constructed through specific

media consumption can be just as significant as other aspects of the self”63; this does not

necessarily mean that the identities constructed through media consumption are

inherently bad. Ward argues, “Disney’s influence in society is powerful. It can shape the

way children think about who they are and who they should be.” 64 I therefore wish to

illuminate alternative moral messages that appear in opposition to dominant critique of

Disney’s influence on society. With this perspective, it might be said that children are

capable of overlooking the harsh critiques of Disney films that some scholars argue are

obvious. In a sense, perhaps we are not giving enough credit to a child’s ability to

construct his or her own identity. To understand the social expectations of gender present

in Disney princess scholarship, I discuss three moral messages that I found frequently

mentioned by researchers: (1) princesses are capable of self-motivated advancement; (2)

princesses should respect nature and animals; (3) princesses should stand up for others.

Princesses are Capable of Self-Motivated Advancement

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 “Bright young women, sick of swimmin’, ready to stand…” - Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

The rise of the active princess seems to be a recent trend in the Disney princess

realm. Rather than assuming that the patriarchal societies that the girls operate in are rigid

constructs, more recent princesses have begun to break the traditional mold. The desire

for independence reoccurs as the driving force in several recent Disney films. Examining

the history of Disney plots, Hines and Ayers note that “independence is usually conferred

upon boys in Disney’s wonderful world: Pinocchio and Mowgli in The Jungle Book

(1967) tend to do as they please, while Snow White and Cinderella just do more than

their share of housework.”65 While the theme of independence has been an area of

contestation in critiques of the earliest princess films, more recent princess films exhibit

princesses with a desire to break free from traditional gender norms in their pursuit of

independence. The desire for autonomy presents itself in different ways for each of the

princesses. Buescher and Ono cite the theme of independence of Pocahontas in her ties to

nature, which allows this desire to symbolically emerge as one carried by the wind.

Kekata, the shaman, enunciates the link between Pocahontas and the wind when
he says, “You know Pocahontas. She has her mother’s spirit. She goes wherever
the wind takes her.” At this moment the film cuts to Pocahontas standing high
above her people while the wind and leaves circle around her. The wind embodies
the spirit of her desire for freedom and adventure.66

Pocahontas ultimately desires freedom and adventure for reasons similar to that of

Jasmine: for the pursuit of a love interest that contradicts the accepted norms in her

society. However, to assume that all Disney princesses are motivated for the pursuit of

heteronormative marriage is a restrictive interpretation. Instead, it seems fair to notice

that the more recent Disney princesses are driven to do whatever necessary to achieve

their goals. This is certainly a positive shift from the passive, subordinate scripts of the

19
early Disney princesses. For young girls in society today, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine,

Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Merida showcase the importance in standing

up for what you believe in and pursuing your own dreams through action; for these

reasons, the princesses can be interpreted as positive role models for young girls. This

assessment can serve as a balance to the negative assessments that overwhelm Disney

studies literature.

Princesses Should Respect Nature and Animals

“I know every rock and tree and creature, has a life, has a spirit, has a name” -Pocahontas

Another positive moral message comes with the relationship between Disney

princesses and the natural worlds they inhabit. It is readily accepted that displaying

kindness to animals and a respect for nature is a moral message worth teaching our

children. Additionally, the connection between Disney princess and the natural world

perpetuates the perception of “nature as female,” conveyed through the term, “Mother

Earth.”67 Therefore, the incorporation of this moral message is important because it is

connected to the construct of gender. Whether the role of nature is an active component

of the princess film (as in Pocahontas), or simply the context for the film’s plot, all of the

princesses display this moral theme. For each princess, nature takes the form of a pet, or

animal companion of some kind. Snow White and Aurora have the woodland animals,

while Belle and Merida rely on their horses, Philipe and Angus, respectively. Of the

eleven Disney princesses, only three (Ariel, Mulan, and Tiana) have pets that display

personification through spoken dialogue with the princess. The rest serve as comic relief

and companionship for the girls. For some, the pets become their therapists, the

constructive outlets for the princesses to express their feelings to the audience. A group

20
of mice for Cinderella, a pet tiger named Raja for Jasmine, and a pet chameleon named

Pascal for Rapunzel serve as the “only friends” for the princesses until other characters

appear in the plot. For Pocahontas, “Flit the bird and Meeko the raccoon not only make

noises that imply rudimentary language skills, but also interrupt people, point to objects,

and have distinct personalities.”68 The importance of these animal companions is not to

be taken lightly. These pets replace the “friendships” that the princesses might be

expected to have with other girls, setting them up as the female centers of their universes.

The value each princess places on these relationships is intrinsic to her own character,

reflecting her compassion and respect for nature in the process. The relationships formed

between princess and nature facilitate a moral message that can certainly be evaluated as

a positive aspect of the Disney princess realm.

Princesses Should Stand Up for Others

“You risked your life to help people you love. I risked your life to help myself… at least
you had good intentions.” – Mushu (Mulan)

Disney princesses in recent years have been portrayed with confidence enough to

stand up for the rights of others in their stories. This moral message is powerful because

it instigates a sense of possible agency in audience members. Disney scholars Jill Birnie

Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith note, “Belle has freedom to make

choices and to act on her own behalf as well as on the behalf of others; and she exercises

that freedom.”69 For example, Belle stands up for the Beast and defends his character

against the unruly mob organized by Gaston. Belle also stands up for her father and

sacrifices her own safety to ensure his freedom. This is an important development in

more recent Disney princess films. Prior to Belle’s strong-willed and self-sacrificial

actions, princesses like Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora did not stand up for

21
themselves, let alone for the people around them. However, standing up for others

becomes a central theme in the stories of Pocahontas and Mulan.

When Pocahontas realizes that both the settlers and her people have reached a

point of war, she literally throws herself onto John Smith, willing to sacrifice her life to

ensure that he is not executed. She stands up for herself and her beliefs while

simultaneously protecting John Smith from death. In the end, Pocahontas also stands up

for her people, rather than selfishly abandoning her role as peacekeeper. At the end of the

film, John Smith is injured by a gunshot wound and he needs to return home to England

for medical attention. However, Pocahontas remains loyal to her people and tearfully tells

Smith, “I’m needed here.” Pocahontas displays faithfulness to others in her life, and is

willing to stand up for them even at the expense of her own desires.

Finally, Mulan’s story is exclusively centered on the theme of standing up for

others. This theme is evident in two ways: her devotion to her father and to her country of

China. First, Mulan’s aging father receives orders from the general that he must report to

serve in the Imperial Army. However, Mulan knows that if her father goes to war in his

frail state, he will surely die. As a result, she stands up for her father by disguising herself

as a man and reporting for duty in his place. Ultimately, Mulan stands up for her fellow

soldiers against the leader of the Mongolian army, Shan Xu. In the film’s climactic

moment, Mulan cuts the rope that leads to safety in order to keep the emperor of China

from being reached by Shan Xu. Mulan sacrifices her safety for the safety of others and

stands up for others out of a sense of honor and duty.

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 Method

Introduction

With an understanding of Disney studies literature, a theoretical lens for

examination of Disney princess films will now be offered. A rhetorical investigation of

these films prompts several questions. How can Disney princess films be grouped in

order to understand their rhetorical significance? How do Disney princess films reflect

the worldview of society at the time of their production? In what ways do Disney

princess films inform our understanding of gender expectations? What unique messages

about gender expectations appear in the most recent Disney princess films that set them

apart from previous princess films? What moral messages can be found in the most recent

Disney princess films by conducting a polymorphous critique? Finally, what do the

presence of these moral messages suggest about the state of the Disney princess film

genre? With these questions as a foundation for analysis, I will provide an overview of

the method used in this thesis and an overview of the subsequent chapters.

Overview of Method

For the purpose of this project, a clear understanding of Disney princess films

begins with the creation of a taxonomy to categorize our understanding of the world; this

idea is the foundational concept for what rhetorical scholars call “genre.” Genre as a

theoretical construct implies that similar rhetorical situations reoccur, resulting in

“discourse with similar stylistic and substantive elements.”70 As discussed in the

literature review, there are several instances of recurrent similarities within Disney

princess films. Nevertheless, Disney studies literature has yet to examine the benefits of

using a generic, rhetorical approach for the specific classification and examination of

23
Disney princess films. However, by grouping these films through genre analysis, we can

reveal rhetorical notions that have previously been unexamined. For example, when

grouped into historical time-periods, the Disney princess line reveals diverse messages

about gender expectations.

The simple identification of similarities and grouping does not reveal anything

inherently rhetorical about a body of texts— it simply reveals commonalities. However,

assuming a generic perspective toward criticism helps us move away from genre as a

mere categorization.71 Campbell and Jamieson claim that “inherent in each classification

are two comparative standards— the comparison of like to like, the comparison of like to

unlike.”72 In this sense, previous research literature has made great strides toward

understanding Disney princess films through a comparison of like to like. Disney

princesses are a part of a grouping of Disney films that typically carry similar plots and

display princesses with similar characteristics. As rhetorical critics often mention, simply

identifying that a theoretical construct exists in a given text is not enough: something

must then be said about this discovery. It is therefore essential to move beyond a simple

categorization of the Disney princess line.

It is my goal in this thesis to also illuminate the comparison of like to unlike in the

Disney princess line. Campbell and Jamieson argue that the investigation of like to unlike

allows scholars to explore contrasts which “compel re-definitions and form the basis for

strategic evaluations.”73 Through this analysis, I argue that re-definitions of the Disney

princess line are prompted by historical time periods. This idea is supported by James

Jasinski, who argues that genres are historically continuous, but are open to fluid

reinterpretation over time as new texts emerge and subsequently co-construct the genre

24
itself.74 This accepts that new components added to an existing genre can help to enhance

and redefine the genre itself. With the continuous addition of films to the Disney princess

line, each new princess film adds something unique and important to the existing Disney

princess line. Therefore, working to explore Disney princess films as a genre is a

constructive theoretical perspective.

Literacy development scholar George Kamberelis claims that, “learning a genre is

equivalent to learning an ideology; generic enactments rearticulate ideologies.”75 The

dominant ideologies that reoccur within Disney princess films shape the moral messages

that are carried throughout the films; since Disney princess films consistently uphold

certain gender ideologies, rhetorical scholars can investigate how the recurring moral

messages might appear in reference to real-life communication. In the case of Disney

princess films, the genre’s function as a set of activity structures lies in the gender

expectations that reoccur in the films; subsequently, the recurrence of Disney princess

gender expectations in the films informs society about the appropriate roles of women,

providing what Kenneth Burke labels, “equipment for living.”76 Jasinski also points out

that “learning a genre is a lesson in how to contest or disrupt an ideology. Generic

enactments refract or reaccentuate ideologies, modifying the ideology along with the

genre.”77 Disney princess films have upheld certain ideologies about what it means to be

a princess. This study invites consideration for the disruption of dominant Disney

princess ideologies, by comparing the like to the unlike and revealing alternative

ideologies in the process.

Princess films can be generically classified on the similarities of the princess’s

motivation (pursuit of a prince, independence, etc.), body images of the princesses, or the

25
conformity to traditional fairy tale story expectations. However, based on an investigation

of ideology and genre, it seems best to group these princesses by the time periods and

dominant ideologies that existed at their creation. It is also essential to understand that the

gender expectations communicated by Disney princess films can be interpreted in a

variety of ways— as previously mentioned, these messages about gender are polysemous.

According to rhetorical scholar Celeste Condit, polysemy is defined as the degree to

which a text creates free space to interpret its messages in multiple ways. 78 The analysis

chapters of this thesis will highlight the free space of interpretation within the films.

By acknowledging Disney films as complex, multi-dimensional rhetorical objects,

scholars can better illuminate all perspectives of a film. As a result, accepting the multi-

dimensionality of princess films upholds the necessity that texts not be interpreted as

rigid, cookie cut molds to fit in a generic categorization. To summarize, using the concept

of polysemy to help uncover the vast possibilities for interpretation of Disney princess

films, paired with the understanding of genre as “continually open to reconfiguration,”79

enables this project better to investigate gender expectations in the films and society. By

using this approach, an investigation of Disney princess films across a large historical

context can be conducted, while still leaving room for future additions to the genre as

new princess films are released.

Overview of Subsequent Chapters

Overview of Chapter Two

The title of chapter two is Disney Princesses – A Rhetorical History. Using a

critical approach that emphasizes polysemy, the second chapter of this thesis explores

how Disney princesses reflect the gender expectations of society. Primarily, I argue that

26
Disney princesses speak and act in ways reflective of gender expectations of women in

society during the time the films were released. In order to examine this dynamic, I

provide a historical investigation of the years when each of the princess films were

released. I focus specifically on the culture of employment opportunities for women in

the Walt Disney Company itself to illustrate the changes in women’s roles. I use

interviews, newspaper articles, and primary source documents to frame an understanding

of these dynamics in society. In order to understand the rationale for studying Tangled

and Brave separately in chapters three and four, I use chapter two to explain how three

distinct groups exist within the Disney princess genre. For the purpose of this thesis, I

label Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty

(1959) as “the first generation” of Disney princess films. Snow White, Cinderella, and

Aurora, the respective princesses in this group, exhibit common traits within similarly

themed stories. Generally, the first generation princesses display the least amount of

independence, power, and motivation to achieve their own dreams. In addition, I label

The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas

(1995), and Mulan (1998) as “the second generation” of Disney princess films. Second

generation princesses certainly break from the “norms” of the first generation by

assuming active roles in the pursuit of their dreams. Despite the newfound independence

of princesses since Ariel (1989), the disturbances created by the villains are always

resolved romantically in the end. Despite the extensive literature encompassing Disney

films, scholarly classifications of the Disney princess line have not included the newest

additions to the collection. Therefore, I propose the need for an additional category to

include the most recent additions. As a result, this third group will be the primary focus

27
of this thesis. The remaining three films in the Disney Princess line, The Princess and

The Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), and Brave (2012) are labeled as “the third generation”

of Disney princess films. In grouping these films together I draw comparisons between

first, second, and third generations of Disney princess films, and provide a heuristic

springboard to engage in the study of the two most recent princesses, Rapunzel and

Merida.

Overview of Chapters Three and Four

In previous studies, the reconfiguration of gender expectations within the Disney

princess genre has been explored in reference to past princesses.80 However, Tangled and

Brave both seem to confront and reflect the implications of what it means to be female in

today’s society. Specifically, it seems that Rapunzel and Merida both struggle with some

of the same conflicts experienced by girls in society today: the tension of upholding

traditional expectations about female gender roles and pursuing an autonomous, self-

motivated lifestyle of personal attainment. Therefore, chapters three and four investigate

the messages about gender expectations that are present in Tangled and Brave

respectively. Although race is certainly an interesting component of Disney film research,

the discussion of race is beyond the scope of this particular study. 81 Therefore, Princess

Tiana, of The Princess and the Frog, is excluded from my analysis. Additionally,

Tangled and Brave are ideal for a comparative investigation in this thesis because both

Rapunzel and Merida are primarily in conflict with their mother figures, rather than an

external villain. This is another reason why The Princess and the Frog is not discussed in

this thesis; the antagonism for Tiana comes from an evil witchdoctor, rather than a

matriarchal figure. Finally, as the two most recent Disney princesses, Rapunzel and

28
Merida are worthy of an extended investigation because no previous rhetorical

scholarship has focused exclusively on these new princess narratives.

In both chapters, the rhetorical analysis will be limited to key narrative moments

that showcase messages about gender expectations. Additionally, I will include song

lyrics as a part of the intrinsic text in this thesis. Whether the characters are singing the

songs themselves in a film-musical format, or the songs are performed as a backdrop for

the actions of the characters, music is a recurrent generic element of the Disney princess

realm. In many cases, the investigation of songs revealed instances of detailed self-

disclosure, where the princess speaks to her true feelings about her conflicts, thoughts,

and dreams. Much like a Shakespearean monologue aims to clarify for the audience the

character’s feelings, it seems that the most revealing moments of personality and tension

are disseminated through catchy tunes that resonate with Disney consumers long after the

credits roll. However, it should be noted that the selection of lyrics does not fit into what

would be considered a “rhetorical analysis of music.” As communication scholars

Deanna Sellnow and Timothy Sellnow note, “the rhetorical power of music can only be

ascertained effectively by considering both lyrical content and musical score.”82 An

investigation of the aesthetics of music is outside the scope of this project. There are

several factors to music that extend beyond a rhetorical investigation of gendered

messages (e.g. tempo, meter, rhythm, dynamics, melodic and harmonic structure,

instrumentalization, phrasing, etc.). Sellnow and Sellnow note that “any method designed

to analyze music as a rhetorical form must consider the dynamic interaction between

lyrics and score to capture a full meaning of the message.”83 This thesis does not seek to

employ a method for the analysis of music. Therefore, I treat the lyrical content of the

29
songs in Tangled and Brave in the same fashion as the dialogue that occurs between

characters. In doing so, it is my goal to understand how dynamics of female gender

expectations are upheld in the lyrics and narratives and in turn shape the Disney princess

film genre.

Additionally, both chapters will be divided into the same three key sections. For

both princesses, conflict appears from the expectations of their mothers. Therefore, the

analysis in each chapter will begin with an investigation of the instances where Mother’s

Control Conflicts with Princess’s Ambition. For both Rapunzel and Merida, the conflict

they experience begins due to disagreement with their mothers. Next, the analyses will

segue into an investigation of the instances where Mother’s Control Conflicts with

Princess’s Ambition. For both Rapunzel and Merida, the frustration with the expectations

of their mothers leads to rebellion, and conflict ensues between mother and daughter.

Finally, each chapter will conclude with an analysis of the instances where Princess’s

Ambition Reigns Over Mother’s Ambition. This will allow for an investigation of the

moments where both Rapunzel and Merida display gender expectations that are different

from those previously found in Disney princess films.

In chapter three, Tangled is examined for the gender expectations that are

reflected in Rapunzel’s narrative. Specifically, I argue that consciousness-raising as a

rhetorical strategy serves to illuminate the gendered messages expressed by Rapunzel.

Consciousness-raising occurs first for the character of Rapunzel, who is unaware of her

position in society. She is ignorant of her own potential and therefore does not see herself

as a human being capable of action. Rapunzel’s journey allows her to experience a raised

consciousness, when she breaks free from her mother’s control and realizes her identity.

30
Consciousness-raising as a rhetorical strategy is also projected on the film’s viewers, who

are invited to experience a new understanding about gender expectations as a result of

Rapunzel’s words and actions. Rapunzel suggests new ideas about what it means to be a

princess through her androgynous behaviors and speech. Therefore, Rapunzel

exemplifies strong, feminist behaviors that challenge the typical actions of past Disney

princesses, and awakens viewers to a new understanding about women’s roles in society.

In chapter four, I address the real-life societal factors that serve as a backdrop for

Brave and the animated portrayal of Merida. Brave is investigated as a rhetorical text that

operates as an alternative narrative to the dominant discourse about gender expectations

for women in society. Merida’s desire for self-efficacy, or control over her life is

challenged by the expectations of her community. The gender expectations for women in

reality are situated in the “can-do discourse,” a social standard that suggests to young

women that they can be exceptional homemakers and mothers and leading professionals

in their fields, if only they work hard enough. The problem with this discourse is that it is

socially determined, not individually desired. As an alternative narrative, Merida rejects

the expectations of her society, which are primarily enforced by her mother, Queen

Elinor. As a result, she achieves self-efficacy and obtains control of her fate.

Conclusion

For the purpose of this study, I argue that Tangled and Brave are worthy of a

closer investigation because the films are analogous to larger society. Just as Rapunzel

rejects her life as a humble shut-in to seek adventure and autonomy, similar trends can be

found in society, where today’s young women are turning to lives of career motivated

“adventure,” and abandoning their expected gender roles. As Merida suggests ways to

31
revise the dominant discourse of her place in her community, today’s young women are

invited to consider the social standards that prescribe unattainable goals. The tension

between independence and tradition is still a present conflict for both women in society,

and the heroines of Tangled and Brave. The present study will work to identify the ways

that Rapunzel and Merida represent the independent spirit, in spite of the restrictive

gender roles in which they must operate. The final chapter of this thesis will then reassess

the presence of moral messages in Disney princess films, using the analyses of chapter

three and four to introduce new moral messages about gender expectations.

32
 Notes

1
Rebecca Glover, Lance Garmon, and Darrell Hull. “Media’s Moral Messages:
Assessing Perceptions of Moral Content in Television Programming,” Journal of Moral
Education 40, no. 1 (2011) : 89.
2
Ibid., 91.
3
Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario, “The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia,
the Function of the Disney Princess,” Women’s Studies in Communication 27, no. 1
(2004) : 35.
4
David McMahan. “What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate: Linking
Interpersonal Communication and Mass Communication,” Review of Communication 4,
no. 1/2 (2004) : 48.
5
Barry Brummett. “Burke’s Representative Anecdote as a Method in Media Criticism,”
Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 1, (1984): 164.
6
Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario, “The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia,
the Function of the Disney Princess,” 35.
7
Elizabeth Walker Mechling and Jay Mechling, “The Atom According to Disney,”
Quarterly Journal of Speech 81, (1995): 437.
8
C. Edwards, Frozen’ Story Head Paul Briggs Talks About Truth in Storytelling,
Cartoon Brew, December 13, 2013, http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/frozen-story-
head-paul-briggs-talks-about-truth-in-storytelling-92787.html.
9
Andrew Beattie, Walt Disney: How Entertainment Became An Empire, Investopedia,
December 1, 2011, http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/11/walt-
disney-entertainment-to-empire.asp.
10
Ahead of Walmart (#18), Nike (#24), and Pepsi (#25), according to Forbes rankings.
11
“Walt Disney.” Forbes. accessed March 10, 2014.
http://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney/.
12
For a detailed examination of this comparative literature, see Sun and Scharrer (2004),
Finkelstein (2003), and Buhler (2003).
13
See O’Brien (1996) for an investigation of Disney films through textual and contextual
analysis.
14
For an investigation of the function of body image in Disney princess films, see
Lacroix (2004), Do Rozario (2004), and Bell (1995).

33
15
Annalee Ward. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2002), xiii.
16
Ibid.
17
Peggy Orenstein, Cinderella Ate My Daughter (New York: Harper-Collins Publishers,
2011), 13.
18
Ibid.
19
Peggy Orenstein, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?,” New York Times, December 24,
2006.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/magazine/24princess.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
20
Jenna Goudreau, Disney Princess Tops List Of The 20 Best-Selling Entertainment
Products, Forbes, September 17, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/09/17/disney-princess-tops-list-of-the-
20-best-selling-entertainment-products/.
21
Karen Wohlwend, “The boys who would be princesses: playing with gender identity
intertexts in Disney Princess transmedia,” Gender and Education 24, no. 6 (2012): 597.
22
Ibid, 596.
23
Sharon R. Sherman, “Perils of the Princess: Gender and Genre in Video Games,”
Western Folklore 56, no. 3/4 (1997): 253.
24
Kay Stone, “Things Walt Disney Never Told Us,” The Journal of American Folklore,
88, no. 374 (1975) : 42.
25
Annalee Ward. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film, 113.
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid., 3.
28
“Critical,” Merriam-Webster Online, accessed April 18, 2014, http://www.merriam-
webster.com/thesaurus/critical.

29
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “The Nature of Criticism in Rhetorical and Communicative
Studies,” Central States Speech Journal 30 (1979) : 7.
30
Ibid.

34
31
Rebecca Glover, Lance Garmon, and Darrell Hull. “Media’s Moral Messages:
Assessing Perceptions of Moral Content in Television Programming,” 89.
32
Sharon Downey, “Feminine Empowerment in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,”
Women’s Studies in Communication 19, no. 2 (1996) : 186.
33
Marcia Lieberman, “‘Some Day My Prince Will Come’: Female Acculturation through
the Fairy Tale,” College English 34, no. 3 (1972), 385. and Kay Stone, “Things Walt
Disney Never Told Us,” 43, quoted in Sharon Downey, “Feminine Empowerment in
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” 186.
34
To distinguish between the three time periods in which Disney films have been
produced, I use the term “generations” as a labeling device. This labeling device is one
that I argue avoids additional connotations in a scholarly sense. Other scholars have used
alternative labels such as Princesses 1.0 and 2.0 (Rome, 2013) which does not quite fit,
and First, Second, and Third Wave Princesses (Whelan, 2012) which invites questions
about the waves of feminism. However, the term “generations” allows me to reference
the three groups of princess films in a strictly generic sense.
35
Brenda Ayers, "The Poisonous Apple in Snow White: Disney's Kingdom of Gender."
In The Emperor's Old Groove: Decolonizing Disney's Magic Kingdom, by Brenda Ayers,
(New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2003), 39.
36
Ibid.
37
Peggy Orenstein, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, 13.
38
For a review of child perceptions of film see Wohlwend (2009) and Booker (2010).
39
Brenda Ayers, "The Poisonous Apple in Snow White: Disney's Kingdom of Gender,"
40.
40
Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario. "The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia,
the Function of the Disney Princess," 52
41
Ibid., 52.
42
Marika Tiggemann, and Amanda Pickering. “Role of Television in Adolescent
Women’s Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness.” International Journal of Eating
Disorders 20, no. 2 (1996) : 199.
43
Elizabeth Bell, “Somatexts at the Disney Shop: Constructing the Pentimentos of
Women’s Animated Bodies.” In From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender,
and Culture, edited by Elizabeth Bell, Lynda Haas, and Laura Sells, (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1995) 110.

35
44
Ibid.
45
Peggy Orenstein, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, 76.
46
Celeste Lacroix, "Images of Animated Others: The Orientalization of Disney's Cartoon
Heroines From The Little Mermaid to The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Popular
Communication: The International Journal of Media and Culture 2, no. 4 (2004): 213.
47
Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario. "The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia,
the Function of the Disney Princess." 47.
48
Celeste Lacroix. "Images of Animated Others: The Orientalization of Disney's Cartoon
Heroines From The Little Mermaid to The Hunchback of Notre Dame." 213.
49
Pamela O’Brien. "The Happiest Films on Earth: A Textual and Contextual Analysis of
Walt Disney's Cinderella and The Little Mermaid." Women's Studies in Communication
19, no. 2 (1996): 161.
50
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “The Nature of Criticism in Rhetorical and Communicative
Studies,” 8.
51
Sherianne Shuler, “Review of Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front
Lines of the New Girly-Girl Culture. Peggy Orenstein. New York, NY: Harper Collins,
2011,” Women and Language 34, no. 1 (2011): 98.
52
Sharon Downey, “Feminine Empowerment in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” 188.
53
Ibid.
54
Annalee Ward. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. 116.
55
Ibid.
56
Ibid.
57
Peggy Orenstein, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, 16.
58
Karen Wohlwend. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity
Texts through Disney Princess Play,” Reading Research Quarterly 44, no. 1 (2009): 75.
59
Ibid.
60
Ibid.
61
Ibid.

36
62
Ibid.
63
David McMahan. “What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate: Linking
Interpersonal Communication and Mass Communication,” 48.
64
Annalee Ward. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film, 5.
65
Susan Hines, and Brenda Ayers, "Introduction: (He)gemony Cricket! Why in the
World Are We Still Watching Disney?" in The Emperor's Old Groove: Decolonizing
Disney's Magic Kingdom, by Brenda Ayers, (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2003), 5.
66
Derek Buescher, and Kent Ono. "Civilized Colonialism: Pocahontas as Neocolonial
Rhetoric." Women's Studies in Communication 19, no. 2 (1996): 138.
67
Catherine Roach. “Loving Your Mother: On the Woman-Nature Relation.” Hypatia 6,
no. 1 (1991): 46
68
Derek Buescher and Kent Ono. "Civilized Colonialism: Pocahontas as Neocolonial
Rhetoric," 135.
69
Jill Birnie Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith, “Constructions of
the Female Self: Feminist Readings of the Disney Heroine,” Women’s Studies in
Communication 19, no. 2 (1996) : 238.
70
James Jasinski, Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical
Studies (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2001), 273.
71
Ibid, 275.
72
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, “Form and Genre in Rhetorical
Criticism: An Introduction,” in Readings in Rhetorical Criticism, ed. Carl R. Burgchardt,
(State College: Strata Publishing, 2010), 457.

73
Ibid., 458.
74
James Jasinski, Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical
Studies, 273.
75
George Kamberelis, “Genre as Institutionally Informed Social Practice,” Journal of
Contemporary Legal Issues 6, (1995): 146.
76
Kenneth Burke, “Literature as Equipment for Living.” Direction 1, (1938) : 262.

37
77
James Jasinski, Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical
Studies, 275.
78
Celeste Michelle Condit, “The Rhetorical Limits of Polysemy,” Critical Studies in
Mass Communication 6, no. 2 (1989) : 104.
79
George Kamberelis, “Genre as Institutionally Informed Social Practice,” Journal of
Contemporary Legal Issues 6, (1995): 135.
80
See Hoerrner (1996) for detailed investigation of gender roles in Disney films.
81
I do not mean to suggest that only The Princess and the Frog would be conducive to an
investigation of race and gender in Disney princess films. Additionally, I do not mean to
suggest that Tiana is “raced,” whereas Rapunzel and Merida are not. However, several
Disney princess researchers have already explored race in second generation princess
films (i.e. Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan) and scholars have recently investigated The
Princess and the Frog using a similar approach. Although race and gender intersect in
many cases, I narrow this thesis to gender alone as a strategic choice. My project is more
interested in gender expectations regardless of race, and this allows for an appropriate
narrowing of scope. For an investigation of race in Disney princess films specifically, see
England, Descartes, and Collier-Meek (2011), Ma (2003), Parekh (2003), Sachko (2003),
Staninger (2003), or Wise (2003).
82
Deanna Sellnow and Timothy Sellnow, “The ‘Illusion of Life’ Rhetorical Perspective:
An Integrated Approach to the Study of Music as Communication.” Critical Studies in
Media Communication 18, no. 4 (2001) : 396.
83
Ibid.

38
 CHAPTER TWO: Disney Princesses - A Rhetorical History

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to understand the distinction between each of the

three historical time periods in which Disney princess films have been produced: 1937-

1959, 1989-1998, and 2009-present. As discussed in chapter one, Disney princess films

serve as rhetorical artifacts in the current study, and their production during these time

periods is important to understanding their significance. These film texts function to

provide a larger understanding about the expectations of women during the time in which

they were released. Disney princess films in the “first generation” are produced between

1937 and 1959, and include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Cinderella (1950),

and Sleeping Beauty (1959). Disney princess films in the “second generation” are

produced between 1989 and 1998, and include The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and

the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), and Mulan (1998). Finally, Disney

princess films in the “third generation” are produced between 2009 and the present, and

include The Princess and The Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), and Brave (2012).

In order to uncover the importance of the films’ gendered messages relative to the

time period when they were released, I will address the historical context of women's

gender expectations in society at these times. Specifically, I examine expectations of

women in the workplace as a way to uncover the extrinsic aspects of the princess

narratives. For the purpose of narrowing this analysis, I find it useful to address the

changes in social atmosphere of women’s involvement within the Disney Corporation

itself. After all, if social norms regarding women's roles were changing within society, it

is reasonable to assume that these changes were occurring in Disney’s own social,

39
corporate climate. This investigation helps to examine the direction of influence taking

place by addressing the following question: Does Disney’s reach allow their films to

prescribe and influence society in order to promote their own worldview, or does society

serve to influence the films as the starting point for Disney’s stories?

This question frames the historical analysis in this chapter, and will be revisited in

the conclusion. Through this historical account, I argue that Disney princesses speak and

act in ways reflective of gender expectations of women in society during the time the

films were released.

Analysis

Walt’s World of Disney:

In this section, I will investigate the social atmosphere for women in the Walt

Disney Company between 1937 and 1959. During this time period, the films Snow White

and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty were released. As I mentioned in

chapter one, the princesses in this first generation of princess films reflect a certain

similarity in their (in)actions, attitudes and behaviors. Snow White, Cinderella, and

Aurora are certainly the least self-motivated princesses within the Disney princess line.

They each display the characteristics of being “traditional” women, enunciating their

domesticity while waiting for their handsome princes to arrive at their rescue. At the

point in American history when these films were created, the roles of women were still

quite restricted. Although originally applied to the understanding of women in the

nineteenth century, the traditional roles of women labeled by Barbara Welter as “The

Cult of True Womanhood,”1 seem to be reflected in the narratives of the Disney

princesses from 1937-1959. In fact, women were widely expected to conform to being

40
homemakers until the 1950’s. The Cult of True Womanhood constituted a set of socially

accepted ideals to which American women were expected to conform during the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A woman’s proper “place” was within the

confines of her home. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell notes that a typical American woman

learned “the crafts of housewifery and motherhood” as she bore children, tended to the

needs of her husband, maintained the cleanliness of the home, prepared meals, and served

as an educator through child-rearing.2 Stemming from this role, four key principles of

True Womanhood appear consistently for women of the nineteenth century. To be a “true

woman,” Welter notes that one was to be “pure, pious, domestic and submissive.”3 While

these ideals appear to be antiquated or overly traditional within a modern perspective,

these expectations of women appear very much alive in Disney's representations of Snow

White, Cinderella, and Aurora.

Although their films were created decades after the early women’s rights

movement of the nineteenth century in American society, Disney’s first three princesses

appear to be representative of the expectations indicated by the Cult of True

Womanhood. To understand why this view of women was perpetuated in Disney’s early

films, we need look no further than the namesake himself. Born in 1901, Walt4 grew up

during the heart of the woman suffrage movement. By the time Walt opened his

animation studio, the expectations of women had not changed all that much from the

expectations indicated by the Cult. Author of Feminism in America: A History William L.

O’Neill argues that while the women’s rights movement resulted in the ratification of the

nineteenth amendment allowing women the right to vote, this movement failed in larger

feminist goals.5 Because this time period of reform focused intently on the woman’s vote,

41
other social issues were largely ignored. For example, issues like working conditions and

employment rights for women were underrepresented during the fight toward woman

suffrage. Due to these failures of the women’s rights movement, the division between

men and women in the workplace remained problematic, and is apparent in the way that

Disney Animation Studios operated at the start.

The roles occupied by women in the Disney corporation between roughly 1935

and 1960 reveal key insight about the expectations of women more generally. In her

book, Good Girls & Wicked Witches: Women in Disney’s Feature Animation, Amy Davis

discusses the assumption that Disney films reflect and helped shape the attitudes of wider

society, especially in their representations of femininity. 6 These attitudes, Davis

discusses, establish the extent to which the characterizations of women were shaped

through wider popular stereotypes.7 This function contributes to a value system that

constructs what Annalee Ward calls, “the Disney worldview,” teaching viewers what is

important in culture and individual living through Disney film texts.8 Specifically, the

issues of women in wider society and the social constraints of the time influenced the

depictions of Walt’s princesses (those created while Walt was still alive). As these iconic

princess films were produced, it is notable that female Disney employees were not

allowed any real say in the matter; this sort of female exclusion was typical of society at

the time. I argue, however, that these exclusions did not stop within the walls of the

Disney Animation Studios; these real-life gender expectations of women in the 1930s,

40s, and 50s crept into the princess narratives of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,

Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. In other words, the way these princesses are depicted is

reflective of the constraints faced by Disney female employees as these films were being

42
constructed. Therefore, the social climate of female subordination lives on in the iconic

Disney films that worldwide audiences, and especially child audiences, embrace today.

To illustrate the ways that the Disney company excluded women during this time, I will

highlight two primary source examples. First, I will introduce the experience of

Marcellite Garner. An interview with Garner reveals her understanding of women’s roles

in the Disney Company as a result of the restrictions she experienced first-hand. Second,

I will discuss Mary Ford’s experience with the Disney Company at the time; an official

letter addressed to Ford reveals, in writing, the blatant exclusion of women from creative

roles.

In an interview with Marcellite Garner, as detailed in the book, Working with

Walt, Don Peri paints an in-depth picture of a woman’s role in the creation of some of

Disney’s first feature-length successes. According to Peri, inkers and painters were to

transfer the cleanup drawings to transparent celluloid; inkers traced the drawings on the

front of the celluloid and the painters filled color onto the reverse side of the sheets.9

Essentially, women were responsible for the manual, tedious tasks for building the

images seen in the films, while men assumed the creative and inventive side of the

occupation. Garner’s experience working in the Ink and Paint Department during the

1930s reveals critical insight about the segregation between men and women in the field

of animation.10 She was never given the opportunity to speak out regarding the story or

images drawn of Snow White. Ultimately, Garner’s career in the animation industry was

halted when her “cute” voice caught the attention of animators and she was encouraged to

try out for the voice acting part of the timeless character, Minnie Mouse 11; from then on,

this became her principle role in the Company. Garner’s experience further indicates the

43
separation of roles between men and women at the time, as she was ultimately valued

only for her femininity and not for her creative potential.

DON PERI: When you worked in Ink and Paint, did it bother the women
that women were only employed there and not in animation?
MARCELLITE GARNER: No. Oh, I think there was some little feeling that
there were no women in animation at that time. And they used to say that there
never would be any women animators, because men couldn’t be as free in the gag
meetings. But when I went to work for Walter Lantz, they had a woman animator
and she didn’t seem to create any problems.
DON PERI: I have read about the rules - I guess they were at the Burbank
studio - that men were not supposed to be in the Ink and Paint Building and
women were not supposed to be in the Animation Building.
MARCELLITE GARNER: That’s true.
DON PERI: They were strict on that?
MARCELLITE GARNER: Yeah, we were pretty well separated. I think the
only time I ever got over there was a couple of times when I had to go over and
talk to Walt [Disney] about something.12

The words of Marcellite Garner show how social expectations of women during this time

were at play when she worked for the Disney Company. In the words, “oh, I think there

was some little feeling that there were no women in animation at that time” Garner

expresses the segregation between men and women that was expected and, in her eyes,

not to be questioned. Through the language that “no women” were allowed to contribute

to the animation industry and that “we [the women and men] were pretty well separated”,

an understanding of what women were and were not allowed to do in Garner’s time

becomes apparent. The narrative contained in Garner’s interview is situated within a

larger history of how women were expected to engage in society during this time. While

women were an integral part of the production of Disney films in the early years, their

role was subservient to the roles served by men. Due to this, women’s communication

was suppressed and excluded from the drawing boards as men defined the animation and

dialogue of characters. Likewise, the representations of Snow White, Cinderella, and

44
Aurora are consistent with the social expectation of woman as submissive and domestic,

rather than self-willed and industrious. Female roles in the Disney Corporation are

connected to the representation of women in Disney films, and therefore are important in

understanding the rhetorical significance of these princesses.

Additionally, a recent primary source document belonging to Ms. Mary Ford

provides further evidence that Disney Animation Studios had no intent of including

women in the creative processes of the company in the early princess years. Found by her

grandson after her death, Ford’s official letter from Walt Disney Productions, Ltd. reveals

the gendered exclusions that took place in America at the time.13 In response to an

application for the animator training school submitted by Ford, Disney hiring officials

responded with a letter that explicitly told her “women do not do any of the creative work

in connection to preparing the cartoons for the screen.”14 In other words, the Disney

Animation Studios during the time of the earliest princess films was a man’s world.

Subsequently, the films created may be centered on female characters, but each princess

in question waits patiently for her “happily-ever-after” in the “prince’s world” she

inhabits.

Eisner’s World of Disney

In this section, I will investigate the social atmosphere for women in the Walt

Disney Company between 1989 and 1998. From the release of Sleeping Beauty in 1959

to the release of The Little Mermaid in 1989, the Walt Disney Company went on a

princess film hiatus of sorts. This changed after Michael Eisner stepped into the role of

CEO of Disney in 1984. Prior to Eisner’s arrival, Disney had experienced a serious

decline in cultural, cinematic prominence. Following Walt’s death in 1966, Disney films

45
leading up to 1989 (The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver and

Company, to name a few) were not as successful as the era of films released while the

company’s namesake was alive and influential in the Company. The absence of princess

films here is significant, given the fact that the women’s liberation movement came to

fruition during this time period. However, as noted by Hoi F. Cheu, “more than those of

other major Hollywood studios [during the Reagan years (1981-1989)], Disney pictures

tended to stay away from any heated political debate of the time and stood firm in its

objective to produce ‘wholesome’ home entertainment.”15 Therefore, the absence of

princess films between 1959 and 1989 suggests that Disney was not yet ready to venture

into the territory of depicting strong, independent, feminist, protagonists. For the purpose

of this section, I will discuss the corporate influence of women in the Disney Company

during the 1990s and the ways that new, more progressive attitudes about women crept

into the portrayals of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.

After Eisner joined the Company, Mark Axelrod notes that Disney went from

economic vulnerability to a stable and prosperous animation studio once more.16

According to Laura Sells, under Eisner’s new leadership, the completion of “The Little

Mermaid [was Disney’s] first commercially successful animated feature since Walt’s

death in 1966, and the first in a spate of new animated features that reaffirm[ed] Disney’s

position as one of the largest producers of ‘acceptable’ role models for young girls.” 17

This new era of film success for Disney came coupled with several social changes

regarding the roles of women in society and how they could be portrayed in media. While

Cheu discusses Disney’s avoidance of political debate from 1981 to 1989 following the

woman’s liberation movement, the second generation of princess films seem to directly

46
confront the gains of this movement. As a result of this woman’s rights effort, American

women were able to be independent, bold and more rebellious than ever before. These

qualities are present in the portrayals of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan.

Nevertheless, women did not completely abandon the social norms of the past. While

woman of the 1990s took new strides toward independence, the patriarchal ideal of

finding a husband and marrying were still valued during this time. As a result, each of the

princesses’ stories ends with an apparent or implied marriage; Pocahontas is the only

exception to this rule because she gives up her romantic ending with John Smith so he

may return to England to receive medical attention. The changes in the perceptions of

women’s roles following the woman’s liberation movement, coupled with the

expectations of traditionalism are represented in second generation Disney princess films.

As indicated by Amy Davis, “throughout popular culture in America in the 1970s

and 1980s, changes in the ways in which women were portrayed began to appear. The

images of the happy home-maker and contented wife and mother did not disappear, but

neither did they remain the only acceptable alternative shown to be available to

‘respectable’ women.”18 This is the dynamic that plays out in the five princess films of

this time period. Second generation princesses are active female protagonists, which

reflects the progress that real women had achieved in the Disney Company in the decades

after the first generation of princess films were released. In fact, the Disney Company

experienced a large increase of women in leadership positions during the Eisner years.

Davis reports that several women began to climb the ladders within the Disney Company,

including an increase in the number of women in the animation department during the

90s.19 The key distinction here is that while women’s opportunities became greater,

47
women were still expected to conform to the typical feminine goal of marrying and

starting a family. In the late 1990s, women were motivated by a dominant discourse that

suggested they could “have it all” in a professional sense. This theme emerged in a

variety of films during the 1990s, not just those produced by Disney. A key passage by

Davis expresses this reality quite perfectly.

In Hollywood’s movie industry as well, examples were emerging of women who,

instead of being on the hunt for a husband were on the hunt for everything else,
and when (because in most of these films, a man eventually did come along and
sweep the heroine off her feet) she fell in love, finding a husband and starting a
family were portrayed as being not her goal, but rather the last pieces of her life
falling into place.20

In this passage, Davis illustrates a social stigma regarding women in the 1990s: Women

in society had achieved the freedom to act in pursuit of personal growth, but personal

achievement was still less important than their success in achieving love. This dynamic is

certainly apparent in the personal achievements of women in the Disney Company during

this time period. This new level of female involvement in Disney animation consequently

came to life in the narratives of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.

Whereas Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty found solace in their

prince’s arrival, second generation princesses find a sense of incompleteness to their lives

and fight for their own destiny. However, despite their will-power, the princesses of this

time period still do not abandon the traditional, heteronormative end of finding a prince

to complete them; each of the girls find their “prince” in the end. Nevertheless, it is

absolutely the case that these girls are portrayed as ambitious, spunky, and determined to

get what they want. For Ariel, her infatuation with Prince Eric leads to her wish “to be

human,” so she can be with him. For Belle, her “poor, provincial town” leaves her

wanting “adventure in the great wide somewhere.” For Jasmine, she proclaims, “maybe I

48
don’t want to be a princess anymore” at the first sign that she cannot have her way. For

Pocahontas and Mulan, the desire to protect their families motivates their actions. The

ambition of these princesses showcases Disney’s transition to new perceptions of female

protagonists; these perceptions were in line with social expectations between 1989 and

1998. Author of “Damsels and Heroines: The Conundrum of the Post-Feminist Disney

Princess” Cassandra Stover observes “the situations of these princesses are, in effect, a

criticism of the very situations with which Disney began its princess empire.” 21 The

attitudes of these princesses are reflective of the addition of women’s voices in the

creative processes of Disney.

During the Eisner years, women were given the opportunity to take up creative

roles in the production of Disney films. However, these creative roles did not reflect

women in lead positions like director or producer, for instance. 22 New strides were made

by women like Sue C. Nichols, who is credited as a visual development artist for Beauty

and the Beast, and a character designer for Mulan.23 Susannah Grant is credited as co-

writer for Pocahontas, alongside two male writers Carl Binder and Philip LaZebnik.24

Lorna Cook is credited as a character animator for Belle, and a credited with story

development for Mulan.25 Additionally, Rita Hsiao is credited with screenplay writing for

Mulan.26

By the time Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan made their debuts,

women had certainly moved up form the ranks of the ink and paint department. The

growing number of women in the animation industry allowed for women like Nichols,

Grant, Cook and Hsiao to work in creative roles in the Walt Disney Animation Studios.

This trend has only increased in recent years. According to LA Times writer Rebecca

49
Keegan, the California Institute of the Arts' prestigious character animation program

(graduates of which oftentimes funnel directly into Disney) in 1987 had “only five

women out of a class of 34; this year (2013) there are 98 women enrolled in the same

program out of a class of 161, according to the school.”27 While the second generation of

princess films certainly served as a successful comeback for Disney, the third generation

of Disney princess films looks even more promising for the Company’s future.

Today's World of Disney

In this final section, I will investigate the social atmosphere for women in the

Walt Disney Company from 2009 to present day. While only a decade passed between

the release of Mulan (1998) and The Princess and the Frog (2009), much had changed

regarding the portrayal of princesses during this time. The princesses in the contemporary

world of Disney reflect a slight, but absolutely crucial distinction from any of the prior

princesses. Rather than feeling incomplete in their individualistic pursuits until love

completes them, third generation princesses are completely content and self-satisfied

without a prince, even if they end up getting one anyway. I argue that this discourse is a

direct response to what critical feminist scholar Julia Wood has termed the “can-do

discourse” of today’s young women.28 Gone are the days when the dominant narrative for

female success in Western society consisted of the need to find a suitable mate, spur a

marriage proposal and become affianced, put on an elaborate, fairytale wedding, go on a

honeymoon, then proceed to live married life together, which ideally leads to the raising

of children. While this narrative may have represented the aspects of female life for much

of history, and certainly the period of history during which Snow White, Cinderella and

Sleeping Beauty appeared, today’s women are told that they can do it all through the

50
promotion of female advancement in the workplace and in higher education.29 According

to Wood, “this can-do discourse encourages [young women] to imagine they will have

high status careers and successful families if they are but willing to invest sufficient

effort.”30 Although this social shift has given females the opportunity to successfully

pursue high-power careers, women still feel pressure to maintain rich and fulfilling home

lives, working what sociologist Arlie Hoshchild calls a “second shift” 31 in order to fulfill

their feminine duties.32 What is most interesting about this dynamic of gender roles is

that Disney’s most recent princesses seem less interested in their “second shift” and far

more interested in getting what they want, for their own personal growth.

Third generation princesses appear ready to achieve their goals without the need

to achieve love in the end. For both Tiana and Rapunzel, their respective “princes” come

to them in the form of guides that neither princess really wants for any purpose but as a

means to their desired ends. Prince Naveen and Flynn Rider eventually take the role of

“prince" but not before The Princess and the Frog’s Tiana gets her restaurant and

Tangled’s Rapunzel ventures to see the floating lights and discovers her true identity. I

argue that Brave’s Merida takes this dynamic to the next level, as the first of Disney’s

princesses to have no love interest by the end of the film. In fact, she blatantly rejects her

mother’s hopes of finding her a suitor. Merida does not want to be a princess if being a

princess means giving up her individuality. This message is powerful in reference to

modern social context. Specifically, I argue that the reasoning for the individualistic

focus of recent princesses has much to do with women finally making it to the top in

Disney’s recent years.

51
 In recent years, the growth of women’s roles in the Company indicates significant

changes for female employees at Disney. In 2006, Meg Crofton was promoted to the role

of Walt Disney World President, and has just recently had her role extended to oversee

management of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA and Disneyland Paris, according to Orlando

Sentinel writer Jason Garcia.33 Crofton’s role in overseeing the Disney Parks network is

an extension of Disney’s initiative to create “One Disney,” within its theme park empire,

but certainly marks an important advancement for women in Disney. Second, with the

recent release of Frozen (2013) much talk about the nature of women in high level

positions in animation has come to the surface again. As Keegan notes, “the new era of

female creative leadership at the studio is the product of decades of evolution in a slow-

moving field.”34 Brave (2012) is the first (Disney) Pixar Animation Studios film to focus

on a female lead character, and was produced by Katherine Sarafian. While other

Disney/Pixar films have been produced by female producers, it is most noteworthy that

the original story of Brave was written by Brenda Chapman, who also served as a director

for the film. According to her own editorial piece written to the New York Times,

Chapman was eventually taken off of Brave due to “creative differences.”35 Chapman

discusses the series of events and persistence that it took to keep her name on the project.

To keep my name attached to Brave, I was persistent and stuck to my principles

[…] This was a story that I created, which came from a very personal place, as a
woman and a mother. To have it taken away and given to someone else, and a
man at that, was truly distressing on so many levels. But in the end, my vision
came through in the film. It simply wouldn’t have worked without it (and didn't at
one point), and I knew this at my core. So I kept my head held high, stayed
committed to my principles, and was supported by some strong women (and
men!). In the end, it worked out, and I’m very proud of the movie, and that I
ultimately stood up for myself, just like Merida, the protagonist in Brave.36

52
The struggles felt by Chapman and her overall success in taking credit for this project are

apparent in the struggles felt by Merida, and I would argue even Rapunzel. The struggle

for autonomy and individuality is at the core of the discursive tension in the stories.

These fictional struggles did not appear without influence from the real world, and

Chapman’s persistence to make things right showcases the social climate of the Disney

Company during this time. As a woman, Chapman’s level of involvement was a first for

Pixar. However, Disney Animation Studios has followed in similar footsteps more

recently. The Disney Company has certainly come a long way from pretty young girls

inking and painting their way into the history books. Keegan notes, “Three-quarters of a

century later, for the first time on a Disney animated feature, a woman's place is in the

director's chair. Jennifer Lee, a screenwriter, shares directing credit on Frozen with

animator Chris Buck.”37 Lee’s leadership in the creative process of this film marks

another major and timely shift in Disney animation studios. This corporate shift in

women’s roles suggests that Disney princesses in the open-ended third generation will

continue to adapt and reform to represent the Company’s social environment of strong,

leading women.

Conclusion

The changes in women’s roles in the Disney Company suggest a great deal about

the extrinsic factors that contributed to the creation of Disney’s princesses. This analysis

allows me to revisit the question posed in the introduction of the chapter: Does Disney’s

reach allow their films to prescribe and influence society in order to promote their own

worldview, or does society serve to influence the films as the starting point for Disney’s

stories?38 While Amy Davis claims that Disney is both prescriptive and reflective, I think

53
that Disney films more reflect than prescribe culture. These films were certainly not

created in a vacuum, void of influence from the outside world. Walt’s princesses

responded to the society of the time, whereas Eisner’s era of influence was responsive to

an American public 30 years later. The princesses of today reflect the current changes in

society regarding “typical” gender roles and expectations. Even as Disney released

Frozen (November 2013), an adaptation of an original Hans Christian Andersen tale, this

“latest princess film”39 carries on with similar themes to those found in Tangled (2010)

and certainly Brave (2012). Given the similarities to previous princess narratives and the

unique elements of Frozen, I predict that it will not be long before Ana, and perhaps even

her sister Elsa, joins the ranks of her fellow princesses, adding new depth and meaning to

the group of most recent Disney princesses.

Most interestingly, the inclusion of women in leadership ranks of the Walt Disney

Animation Studios is an idea that came first from Walt himself. In a recent Los Angeles

Times article, Rebecca Keegan cracks open the vault of the Walt Disney Archives to

reveal Walt’s true feelings about the future of his studio. In a speech Walt gave to his

employees in 1941 he stated, “If a woman can do the work as well, she is worth as much

as a man […] The girl artists have the right to expect the same chances for advancement

as men, and I honestly believe they may eventually contribute something to this business

that men never would or could.”40 Considering the advances discussed in this chapter, it

is clear that Walt’s prediction has and will continue to come true. Women’s contributions

to the Walt Disney Animation Studios, and to the Disney princess culture specifically,

have allowed more authentic and time sensitive representations of women in these

animated films. A historical investigation reveals that what is occurring in Disney

54
princess films is more than meets the eye. For the purpose of this project, the

investigation of these three time periods helps me to narrow the subsequent analysis

chapters to focus on the dynamics of the two most recent princess films in the third

generation. This narrowing will allow me to investigate the specific instances of women’s

expectations that are revealed in the plots of Tangled and Brave.

55
 Notes

1
Barbara Welter, “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860,” American Quarterly, 18
(1966): 152.
2
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Man Cannot Speak For Her. Volume I: A Critical Study of
Early Feminist Rhetoric (New York: Praeger, 1989), 13.
3
Barbara Welter, “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860, 152.
4
In order to avoid confusion between the company and the man, Walt Disney is
referenced as “Walt” in the context of this thesis.
5
William L. O’Neill, Feminism in America: A History 2nd revised ed. New Brunswick:
Rutgers University Press, 1989.
6
Amy Davis. Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Women in Disney’s Feature Animation.
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006), 14.
7
Ibid.
8
Annalee Ward. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2002), 7.
9
Don Peri. Working with Walt: Interviews with Disney Artists. (Jackson: University Press
of Mississippi, 2008), xxvi.
10
Ibid., 89.
11
Ibid., 83.
12
Ibid., 89.
13
Nina Bahadur, “Disney Rejection Letter From 1938 Tells Candidate, ‘Girls Are Not
Considered,’” The Huffington Post (New York, NY), March 30, 2013.
14
See Appendix A
15
Hoi F. Cheu, “Disney and Girlhood.” in Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia Volume I., eds.
Claudia Mitchell and Acqueline Reid-Walsh (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2007), 53.
16
Mark Axelrod, “Beauties and Their Beasts & Other Motherless Tales from the
Wonderful World of Walt Disney,” in The Emperor’s Old Groove: Decolonizing

56
Disney’s Magic Kingdom, ed. Brenda Ayers (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2013),
36.
17
Laura Sells, “‘Where Do the Mermaids Stand?’: Voice and Body in The Little
Mermaid,” in From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture, eds.
Elizabeth Bell, Lynda Haas, and Laura Sells (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1995), 176.
18
Amy Davis, Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Women in Disney’s Feature Animation,
169.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid., 170.
21
Cassandra Stover, “Damsels and Heroines: The Conundrum of the Post-Feminist
Disney Princess,” LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from
Claremont Graduate University, 2, no. 1 (2013): 4.
22
All filmography credits for Sue C. Nichols, Susannah Grant, Lorna Cook, and Rita
Hsiao are taken from IMDb (Internation Movie Database) listings found with the film
credits at www.imdb.com.
23
“Sue C. Nichols,” IMBd.com, last modified 2014,
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629734/?ref_=ttfc_fc_wr9.
24
“Pocahontas: Full Cast and Crew,” IMBD.com, last modified 2014,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writers.
25
“Lorna Cook,” IMBD.com, last modified 2014,
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177170/?ref_=ttfc_fc_wr15.
26
“Rita Hsiao,” IMBD.com, last modified 2014,
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0398763/?ref_=tt_ov_wr.
27
Rebecca Keegan, “'Frozen,' 'Get a Horse!' female directors mark firsts for Disney,” Los
Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), Nov. 22, 2013.
28
Julia Wood, “The Can-Do Discourse and Young Women’s Anticipations of Future,”
Women &
Language, 33 (2010): 103-107.
29
Ibid.
30
Ibid., 103.

57
31
Arlie Hoshchild, The Second Shift. (New York: Penguin Group, 1989), 4.
32
Ibid., 103.
33
Jason Garcia, “Disney World President Meg Crofton promoted,” Orlando Sentinel
(Orlando, FL), July 5, 2011.
34
Rebecca Keegan, “'Frozen,' 'Get a Horse!' Female Directors Mark Firsts for Disney.”
35
Brenda Chapman, “Stand Up for Yourself, and Mentor Others,” New York Times (New
York, NY), Aug. 12, 2012.
36
Ibid.
37
Rebecca Keegan, “'Frozen,' 'Get a Horse!' Female Directors Mark Firsts for Disney.”
38
I thank Tom Burkholder for this insight. (Tom Burkholder, Personal Communication,
Aug. 12, 2013.)
39
Frozen has not yet been named an official “Disney Princess Film.” Based on the fact
that Anna and Elsa are princesses, it is likely that the pair will be added to the Disney
Princess marketing line.
40
Rebecca Keegan, “72 years before 'Frozen,' Walt Disney spoke on women in
animation,” Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), Nov. 29, 2013.

58
 CHAPTER THREE: Untangling Perceptions of the Modern Woman,

Consciousness-Raising of the Androgynous Disney Princess

Introduction

The changing dynamics in society during the three time periods of Disney

Princess films are essential to understanding the remaining chapters of this thesis. This

chapter begins the analysis of the specific films of interest in this study. Chapter three and

chapter four are solely dedicated to uncovering important rhetorical implications within

the third generation of Disney princess films (2009-present). To do so, I focus on the new

representations of “princess” that emerge in the Disney film, Tangled (chapter three), and

the Disney/Pixar film, Brave (chapter four).

As mentioned in chapter one, I have selected these two films in order to

appropriately address the scope of this project. To reiterate this discussion, The Princess

and the Frog (2008) is also a part of this new grouping of Disney princesses, but has been

excluded for three reasons. First, The Princess and the Frog is Disney’s first story about

an African-American princess. While an analysis of race and gender in Disney princess is

a valuable area of research, this project focuses exclusively on issues of gender

expectations. Secondly, there are more similarities in the plots of Tangled and Brave

because each film is centered around mothers as antagonists.1 Rapunzel and Merida are

different from other recent Disney princesses because their ambition is what causes this

tension to emerge. With this similarity, it allows the study of each of these films to follow

the same pattern in the analysis chapters: (1) mother’s control on princess’s ambition; (2)

mother’s control conflicts with princess’s ambition; and (3) princess’s ambition reigns

over mother’s ambition. In comparison to other princess films, second generation

59
princesses (Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and Pocahontas) are exclusively raised by their fathers

and have no mother figure in their lives at all; with the exception of Mulan, a mother

figure is present, but she plays a very minimal role in the story. In the case of the third

generation of Disney princesses, mothers reappear as important influences for Tiana,

Rapunzel, and Merida. However, The Princess and the Frog is removed from this

analysis because Tiana’s mother, Eudora, is portrayed as a nurturing and compassionate

figure that, again, plays a minimal role in the plot of the film. Tangled and Brave are

distinct from The Princess and the Frog because Rapunzel and Merida’s mothers act as

the films’ antagonists. The antagonism from Mother Gothel and Elinor is important

because in both films, the mothers represent certain gender-expectations, while Rapunzel

and Merida respectively fight against those expectations. Finally, the decision to analyze

Tangled and Brave exclusively comes from the desire to provide something new to the

field of rhetoric and Disney studies. Because Rapunzel and Merida are the two most

recent inductees to the Disney Princess marketing line, it is valuable to begin examining

their influence. These newest princesses are unique in a variety of ways, which adds to an

investigation of the Disney Princess genre as a whole.

In this chapter, I use the concept of consciousness-raising to explore the primary

tension present in Disney’s Tangled. This tension is twofold for the purpose of this study,

and leads to two interrelated claims: 1) The film’s protagonist, Rapunzel, experiences

consciousness-raising during her journey for self-discovery and 2) Tangled serves as a

form of third-wave feminist consciousness-raising for the film’s audience because

Rapunzel models non-traditional behaviors and tendencies that challenge gender

expectations. This chapter begins with an explanation of third wave feminist

60
consciousness-raising as a critical lens for this analysis. The analysis works to illuminate

the common threads between the princess’s journey and the implications of her narrative

in the society outside of the film. A close reading of both dialogue and song lyrics in

Tangled is implemented in order to narrow the analysis to key moments of

consciousness-raising in the film. To make these selections, I look at the ways in which

the quest for identity reflects a personal consciousness-raising for the character Rapunzel.

The consciousness-raising function of Tangled is enunciated by the relational struggle

between Rapunzel and her “mother” (who is actually her kidnapper), Mother Gothel.

Then, I explain how Rapunzel’s narrative is a form of third wave feminist consciousness-

raising for society, specifically because of her androgynous tendencies. For Rapunzel,

consciousness-raising occurs through her androgyny. As a result, Tangled showcases

Rapunzel in ways that suggest new ideas about what it means to be a princess.

Rhetorical Strategies

Consciousness-Raising

In, “The Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation: An Oxymoron,” rhetorical scholar

Karlyn Kohrs Campbell describes consciousness-raising as an affirmation “of the

affective, of the validity of personal experience, of the necessity for self-exposure and

self-criticism, of the value of dialogue, and of the goal of autonomous, individual

decision making.”2 This definition emphasizes the ability for consciousness-raising to

promote self-awareness and empowerment among women. In Campbell’s 1983 article,

“Femininity and Feminism: To Be or Not to Be a Woman,” she notes that consciousness-

raising as a rhetorical strategy in the women’s rights movement of the 19th century was a

style specifically adapted to women, because it served as a way for them to bring private

61
issues into the public and political realms of society. 3 In this sense, consciousness-raising

was understood as both a rhetorical strategy and a mode of small-group communication,

where women gathered and shared their experience.

The concept of consciousness-raising has been especially useful for understanding

feminist rhetoric, because the function of consciousness-raising helps to illuminate how

individuals gain social awareness. Communication scholars Stacey Sowards and Valerie

Renegar argue that the evolution of consciousness-raising in third wave feminism has

instilled “a critical perspective that focuses on personal and social injustices.” 4 Third

wave feminists primarily critique second wave feminism for its exclusion of minority

experiences, but there are still similarities in the rhetorical obstacles faced in the second

and third wave. Second wave feminism used the foundation of the nineteenth century

women's rights movement, but expanded to issues that became relevant to women in the

twentieth century; topics like job availability, sexual harassment, and equal pay emerged

during this wave. Third wave feminism emerged in an effort to finish the job set out by

second wave feminists by including minority experiences. Just as there are differences in

the three waves of feminism, there are also differences in the ways that consciousness-

raising functions within the waves. As such, consciousness-raising as a rhetorical option

has changed as the influence of mass media has become more accepted. The function of

mass media in second wave feminist rhetoric is discussed in an excerpt from the

Encyclopedia of Gender in Media:

In many ways, second wave feminists demonstrated an uneasy relationship with

mass media. Mass media were thought to constitute an extremely negative force
in the lives of women. However, in recognizing the influence of media on popular
understandings of gender and behavior, some feminists also advocated harnessing
the tools of mass media and using them to empower women. If a major goal of
feminism was to make women more aware of the shared concerns they

62
 experienced, then media could be used to break down this isolation. It was
thought that popular culture could be used to create positive portrayals of women
while also making women aware of their oppressed state through media-based
consciousness-raising.5

This conceptualization of consciousness-raising in media will be used to guide this

analysis.

Third wave feminist consciousness-raising draws from consciousness-raising

tactics used in the second wave. However, by mobilizing these tactics within mass-

mediated messages, consciousness-raising has gone far beyond small group interaction.

As stated by Sowards and Renegar, “the rhetorical features of traditional small-group

consciousness-raising were designed to overcome a distinct set of barriers and as these

barriers have evolved so must the consciousness-raising designed to address them.”6 The

use of consciousness-raising strategies presented through mass media is a way in which

feminists have started to break down these “barriers.” Sowards and Renegar note that

new uses of consciousness-raising in third-wave feminist rhetoric are moving beyond

previous conceptions of the term. As they note, third-wave feminists have used

[. . .] public venues and mass media outlets to address diversity issues within
feminism, which would not be possible in the same way within a small group of
people who share a particular geographic proximity. In a small group
consciousness-raising session, a limited number of people participate in
consciousness-raising activities for a limited amount of time. However,
consciousness-raising in books and popular culture can provide a wider array of
perspectives than any one small group.7

By using media, third wave feminists have been able to transform consciousness-raising

to a scale unachievable within the limitations of the small group communication

environment. Instead, mass media outlets serve as a way for consciousness-raising as a

rhetorical strategy to function in a contemporary setting. The reach of mass-mediated

messages allows for consciousness-raising to function on a grand scale.

63
 When Campbell first discussed consciousness-raising as a rhetorical strategy, she

wrote of its use in feminist rhetoric. This is important to the current study because Disney

princess films serve as a form of feminist rhetoric as a rhetorical strategy for

consciousness-raising. In the case of women rhetors, the use of relatable, personal

anecdotes illuminated how “the personal became social and political and the experiences

of individuals were generalized into statements about the conditions of women as a

group.”8 This, Campbell notes, has become “the essence of the consciousness-raising

process in contemporary feminism.”9 As a rhetorical strategy, consciousness-raising is

well suited to feminist rhetoric. According to Campbell, nineteenth century orators had to

deal with the rhetorical problem of audience unawareness because women saw

themselves as incapable of effective action.10 In the modern context, the idea of a strict

feminine communicative style still acts as a barrier for women in political discourse. In

discussing contemporary feminine style, communication scholars Bonnie Dow and Mari

Boon Tonn state,

Attempts to avoid perceptions of masculinity and to be rhetorically effective with

public audiences have led these women to synthesize gender expectations by
using socially approved rhetorical strategies commonly identified as “masculine”
— formal evidence, deductive structure, and linear modes of reasoning — while
simultaneously incorporating concerns and qualities typically considered
“feminine,” such as family values or feminine personae.11

By using these approaches, women rhetors have adapted their strategies to meet a present

need. In this sense, consciousness-raising as a rhetorical strategy in contemporary

feminist rhetoric has transformed into an androgynous style, rather than a feminine style.

As Dow and Tonn note, this gender-equal approach to rhetoric is not exclusive to women,

as rhetors or audiences.12 As a rhetorical strategy, consciousness-raising in feminist

rhetoric has become a way to share the complexities of the female experience.

64
 Mass media functions as a viable medium to raise consciousness because it

presents feminism as a political activist concern in a way that is accessible to the general

public. Consciousness-raising has expanded and adapted to the expectations of

contemporary audiences. As activist Kristina Sheryl Wong writes, “feminist politics can

be shared with the world if it is carefully disguised in the mass media. Pop culture

provides an effective vehicle to carry the self-celebrating concepts of third-wave

feminism.”13 Television and film, then, can be used to reflect third-wave feminist

thinking by showcasing strong female leads. As noted in Michele Byer’s analysis of the

empowered female characters in the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the

actions of the title character can serve as consciousness-raising for the show’s audiences.

“[Buffy] dramatizes the struggle that many young women face to be strong, independent,

articulate, ambitious, and powerful. And this is done without erasing women’s desire for

connection.”14 This example in Buffy indicates a promising step in a feminist direction

regarding the portrayal of women in media. In describing this study, Byer states, “What

has been missing in both the feminist and popular commentary about Buffy is the

recognition that the artifacts of popular culture that are directed at young adults should be

taken seriously and tied—whenever possible—to feminism, the study of gender, and

activism.”15 With the substitution of the word “Disney” for the word “Buffy,” the

purpose of the current analysis is well articulated.

Analysis

Rapunzel’s narrative may serve to raise audience consciousness regarding gender

roles and expectations. Through Rapunzel’s androgynous tendencies, her narrative serves

to raise consciousness about the contemporary female experience. Rapunzel’s story is

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ideal for a rhetorical investigation because the accessibility of her narrative brings

consciousness of women’s roles to a popular audience; an investigation of Rapunzel is

fruitful because her audience expects princesses to be inherently feminine. With Disney,

the size of this audience is expansive, so the scope of this message is vast. Films also

have the opportunity to be viewed at a future time, promoting messages that span not

only their current audiences, but audiences for decades to come. Much like the audiences

of early women’s rights activists, Rapunzel is initially presented with a complete

unawareness of her position in society; she spends her life locked away in a tower

without any understanding that she has the power within her to enact change. However,

this unconsciousness is also what sparks her curiosity for identity and ultimately allows

her to experience her own consciousness-raising.

As noted by feminist writer Kathie Sarachild, consciousness-raising for women

was rooted in recognizing personal oppressions. Through the subsequent analysis, I will

reveal how Rapunzel recognizes and overcomes her personal oppression. According to

Campbell, the rhetorical strategy of consciousness-raising allowed early women rhetors

to address their subordination to their husbands, fathers, or male employers.16 In similar

fashion, consciousness-raising allows Rapunzel to speak out about her subordination to

Mother Gothel. Additionally, Campbell notes that because women had a lack of voice,

they also often had negative self-images.17 I illustrate how consciousness-raising allows

Rapunzel to recognize her lack of voice, and overcome the negative self-image which is

forced upon her by her mother. In the process of experiencing these consciousness-

raising characteristics, Rapunzel achieves the status of being fully human.

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 Also relevant to the subsequent analysis is the role of conflict in this

consciousness-raising. Communication scholar Charles Conrad states that a key factor in

the rhetoric of the early women’s rights movement lies in “the assumption that rhetorical

acts originate in conflict.”18 Conflict is relevant to the current analysis because

Rapunzel’s rhetoric is spurred by the tension she experiences between herself and her

maternal guardian. The conflict that emerges in Tangled is driven by Mother Gothel's

suppression of Rapunzel’s ability to recognize herself as a capable human being.

According to Conrad, the fundamental conflict that emerged from women’s restrictions in

society during the early women’s rights movement was “the consciousness that they were

fully capable human beings and that their society defined them as incomplete, not-fully-

human creatures.”19 In Tangled, Rapunzel experiences this restriction, as all three

characteristics of being fully human are denied to her. According to Conrad these

characteristics are, (1) human beings are aware of themselves and their condition; (2)

they are free to make meaningful choices; and (3) they are responsible for those

choices.20 Through the analysis, I will use these three characteristics to help illustrate

how Rapunzel overcomes her oppression and ultimately gains consciousness.

Early women rhetors found themselves addressing the nature of being subordinate

in their efforts to raise consciousness. Similarly, viewers can recognize these efforts in

Rapunzel’s self-searching story. In Tangled, this conflict is animated through the

interaction between “princess” and “mother.” I see this dynamic unfolding in a three step

process in this film. First, Mother Gothel imposes control on her princess daughter.

Second, a conflict emerges due to the princess’s unwillingness to conform to her

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mother’s authority. Third, Mother Gothel’s power is ultimately overrun by the ambition

of the princess, who finds herself in the process of rejecting her mother’s values.

Mother’s Control Imposed on Princess’s Ambition

Tangled begins with a flashback to Rapunzel’s life as a baby. The flashback

reveals that Rapunzel is the daughter of the king and queen (unnamed) of the kingdom.

While pregnant with Rapunzel, the Queen becomes very sick. The cure to her illness

comes in the form of a magic, golden flower, which the Queen consumes. As a result, a

healthy baby girl is born, and the magical qualities of the golden flower are imparted to

the infant princess. Soon after, Mother Gothel, who had previously used the golden

flower as her own personal fountain of youth, steals Rapunzel from her crib. By singing

to the flower, Mother Gothel subtracted years of age from her appearance, and she

realizes that she can continue doing the same with the child. By the time she steals baby

Rapunzel from her royal home, Mother Gothel is actually hundreds of years old. In order

to stay young forever, Mother Gothel keeps Rapunzel and the magical properties of her

hair locked up in a tower where no one can steal her away.

To understand the relationship between Mother Gothel and her “daughter,”

Rapunzel, it is worth noting that Mother Gothel sustains the relationship only for personal

gain. It is clear from the beginning that Mother Gothel does not truly love Rapunzel the

way a mother should; Mother Gothel’s primary motivation is to ensure that the magic in

Rapunzel’s hair is kept safe, and therefore, Rapunzel is hidden away from the outside

world. Similarly, Rapunzel blindly accepts her mother’s “affections” because she has

never known anything else (a state of unconsciousness). In an early moment in the film,

we see a young, curious Rapunzel learn about the world from Mother Gothel.

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 YOUNG RAPUNZEL: Why can’t I go outside?
MOTHER GOTHEL: The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible,
selfish people. You must stay here, where you’re safe. Do you
understand, flower?
YOUNG RAPUNZEL: Yes mommy.21

Mother Gothel puts a belief in Rapunzel’s head that the outside world is evil and there is

no good in people outside the tower. As a result, Rapunzel believes that she needs to stay

in the tower because her mother is the only person protecting her from the danger that

awaits. As a young child, Rapunzel is too naïve to recognize that she is not in control of

her life; Mother Gothel controls Rapunzel’s life and her understanding of the world. In

terms of Conrad’s characteristics of being fully human, Rapunzel is not aware of herself

or her condition because she has been cast as the obedient follower in Mother Gothel’s

plot. Mother Gothel is able to perpetuate her eighteen year lie to Rapunzel, and continue

using the powers released by brushing the princess’s long blonde hair to stay young

forever.

The way in which Mother Gothel speaks to Rapunzel early in the film suggests

that the princess is unaware of her condition. In a key moment, Mother Gothel looks into

a large mirror with her daughter by her side and says, “Look in that mirror. I see a strong,

confident, beautiful young lady.” As Rapunzel begins to smile, Mother Gothel chimes in

again with an abrupt, “Oh look, you're here too!.” This comment suggests that Rapunzel

perceives herself with a negative self-image that is generated from the words that Mother

Gothel speaks to her. The imposition of Mother Gothel’s views creates a princess who

believes that she has little self-worth. As a result Rapunzel believes that polishing and

waxing, doing laundry and sweeping until the floors are clean is the only life that should

be desired. After all, life outside of the tower is dangerous and should not even be

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explored. In the lyrics of the song “When Will My Life Begin?” it becomes clear that

Rapunzel has used the endless time spent in the tower to become crafty and skilled in a

variety of activities.

Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup

Start up the chores and sweep till the floor’s all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it’s, like, seven-fifteen
And so I’ll read a book or maybe two or three
I’ll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I’ll play guitar and knit and cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?22

After finishing her daily chores in 15 minutes flat, Rapunzel spends her time doing a

variety of things that keep her busy during the day. With her infinite spare time, Rapunzel

works to cure her boredom and limited independence by entertaining herself with

activities that are atypical by the standard of Disney’s earlier princesses. While not

mentioned explicitly in the lyrics of the opening song in the film, Rapunzel is displayed

enacting behaviors that suggest androgyny early on. According to Sangeeta Rath and

Aakankshya Mishra, “androgynous individuals are independent, industrious and

courageous, and at the same time they are nurturing, tender and expressive. They do not

rely on gender as an organizing principle.”23 At this stage in the film, it is unclear that

Rapunzel is, indeed, androgynous. However, in searching for the combination of

masculine and feminine elements of her character, viewers can begin to uncover small

hints at her versatility. For example, as Rapunzel sings, she is shown as physically strong

when she uses her hair to climb toward the ceiling of her tower and sit on the beams high

above. For Rapunzel, her hair is not inanimate. Her locks are used to aid her as rope, and

even to grab door handles, which then open with a slight tug (things that would be

impossible with normal hair). Rapunzel displays individual strength through the use of

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her hair, but even then, she does not recognize herself as a fully-grown human being. Her

androgynous tendencies come through as the conflict begins to unfold. Certainly at this

point, she remains unaware of herself and her condition, at least to the point that she does

not recognize that her life could be any different. This is apparent in the closing lines of

the song:

And then I’ll brush and brush and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I’ve always been
And I’ll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering
When will my life begin?

These last lyrics are representative of the idea that Rapunzel is unconscious of her

potential. The fact that she is stuck in the same place she’s always been is not something

she feels that she can change. While she does sing of a burning desire that her life could

be something more, she passively wonders and wonders, believing that her destiny is out

of her hands in the same way that Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora await true love’s

kiss. At this point in the plot, Rapunzel displays no signs of self-awareness, nor does she

exhibit any desire to achieve her own goals. In fact, the song concludes with Rapunzel’s

hope that her destiny will change with external influence: “now that I’m older, Mother

might just… let me go.” However, there is no recognition that she has the power

internally to make that decision on her own.

Mother’s Control Conflicts with Princess’s Ambition

The conflict in Tangled appears as Rapunzel suddenly becomes aware of the true

nature of the relationship with her mother. What begins as a simple request for her

eighteenth birthday present transforms into a moment of awakening for Rapunzel; she

recognizes through this conflict that she is not free to make her own choices and

consciousness-raising begins. Every year on her birthday, Rapunzel waits anxiously to

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watch the floating lights appear in the night sky. Because Rapunzel is unaware of her

identity, she has no idea why the lights appear consistently year after year; the “floating

lights” are actually sent into the night sky by her real parents, in hopes that their “lost

princess” will return home. Rapunzel’s curiosity prompts her to ask Mother Gothel if she

may go see the floating lights in person for her birthday. In response, Mother Gothel tries

to convince her that the “floating lights” are just “the stars,” but Rapunzel is too old to be

fooled after years of tracking stellar patterns from her window. As Rapunzel insists that

she is seeing something different, Mother Gothel begins a hyperbolic explanation of the

evils outside in an attempt to distract her daughter’s one-track mind. This takes place in

the song, “Mother Knows Best.”24 In the song, Mother Gothel begins by framing the

world as a dangerous place.

Mother knows best

Listen to your mother
It’s a scary world out there
Mother knows best
One way or another
Something will go wrong, I swear

As Mother Gothel frames the outside world in this way, Rapunzel fearfully hides from

theatric representations of poison ivy, quicksand, men with pointy teeth, and even the

plague. Mother Gothel’s dramatizations cause Rapunzel to run back to her mother’s

embrace, which allows the antagonist to regain control of the princess’s ambitions to

explore the outside world. Her litany of perils morphs into another key moment, where

Mother Gothel addresses Rapunzel directly in her song.

Mother knows best

Take it from your mumsy
On your own, you won’t survive
Sloppy, underdressed, immature, clumsy
Please, they’ll eat you up alive

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 Gullible, naive, positively grubby
Ditzy and a bit, well, hmm vague
Plus, I believe, gettin’ kinda chubby
I’m just saying ’cause I wuv you

Perhaps most troubling is the second verse of this song, where Mother Gothel’s lyrics

degrade Rapunzel’s sense of self in a way that causes the princess to second-guess her

competence. As Campbell notes, women often had negative self-images partly due to

their subordination to men. For Rapunzel, her subordination to Mother Gothel makes her

feel incompetent. When she sings, “Plus, I believe, gettin’ kinda chubby,” Mother Gothel

perpetuates Rapunzel’s negative self-image even more by suggesting inadequacy in her

daughter’s physical appearance. Mother Gotehl’s song concludes with a final judgment,

“Rapunzel…(Yes?)… Don’t ever ask to leave this tower again.” Rapunzel responds with

a “Yes, mother,” but it is clear that she has been put down and is dissatisfied with her

mother’s ruling. Rapunzel recognizes in this moment that she is not free to make her own

choices, and through this, she experiences the onset of consciousness-raising. Aware of

her condition, but still not sure if she can act disobediently Rapunzel begins to feel

hopeless.

Just as it seems that Rapunzel has no hope of seeing the lights in person, Flynn

Rider, the swashbuckling criminal on the run from his latest heist, climbs the tower and

enters her home. Without warning, he is greeted with a frying pan to the back of the head

and is swiftly knocked unconscious. Here we see a feisty and rather aggressive Rapunzel

who behaves in a more masculine fashion than her princess predecessors as she

physically defends herself against the intruder. This certainly is the most excitement that

Rapunzel has ever experienced, and in her naivety she wishes to share this news with her

mother. With the unconscious Flynn Rider now stuffed in a dressing cabinet, Rapunzel

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begins to search through his satchel. Inside, she finds the crown of the lost princess,

which Flynn has just stolen. In a moment of foreshadowing, Rapunzel places the crown

on her head and stares in amazement at herself in the mirror. However, nothing becomes

of this moment, as her pet chameleon, Pascal, shakes his head in disapproval and the call

of “Rapunzel, let down your hair!” from Mother Gothel interrupts the moment. In this

startled moment, Rapunzel hides the satchel and the crown away in order to keep the

element of surprise. The enthusiastic Rapunzel intends to tell the news to her mother,

who has just returned from a trip outside.

MOTHER GOTHEL: I brought back parsnips. I’m going to make hazelnut soup for
dinner, your favorite–surprise!
RAPUNZEL: Well mother, there’s something I want to tell you.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Oh Rapunzel, you know I hate leaving you after a fight
especially when I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.
RAPUNZEL: Okay, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve said earlier (and)…
MOTHER GOTHEL: I hope you’re not still talking about the stars.
RAPUNZEL: ‘Floating Lights’, and, yes, I’m leading up to that, and…
MOTHER GOTHEL: Because I really thought we dropped the issue, sweetheart.
RAPUNZEL: No, mother, I’m just saying, you think I’m not strong enough to
handle myself out there.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Oh darling, I know you’re not strong enough to handle yourself
out there.
RAPUNZEL: But if you just–
MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel, we’re done talking about this–
RAPUNZEL: Trust me–
MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel…
RAPUNZEL: I know what I’m saying (places hand on the chair which is securing
the cabinet with Flynn Rider inside)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel…
RAPUNZEL: Oh, come on…
MOTHER GOTHEL: (furiously) Enough of the lights, Rapunzel! You are not!
Leaving! This! Tower! … Ever!
RAPUNZEL: (delicately lifts her hand off the chair)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Ugh, great… Now I’m the bad guy.

Mother Gothel’s domineering tone, use of passive aggressive tactics, and manipulative

language has multiple meanings. To the audience, she appears sinister; to Rapunzel, she

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appears authoritative, and the princess does not dare disagree with her outright. The

breaking point for Rapunzel is reached when Mother Gothel screams “You are not

leaving this tower! Ever!.” As the tension escalates, Rapunzel realizes that she wants to

experience what is beyond the tower but can never do so if her mother stands in the way

of that freedom. Although Rapunzel experiences an awareness that she is not in control of

her life, she still suffers from a lack of voice in this moment. In other words,

consciousness-raising allows Rapunzel to recognize her personal oppression, but she has

not achieved agency to speak up in defense of herself. Instead, Rapunzel resorts to

trickery, seeing that this is the only way to combat the firm ruling laid out by Mother

Gothel. In order to get her way, Rapunzel decides to keep Flynn’s presence in the tower a

secret, and plots a way to make Mother Gothel leave. Realizing that she cannot reason

with her mother, Rapunzel changes her birthday wish to “new paints” knowing that the

materials to grant this request require a journey of three days’ time. In this moment of

consciousness-raising, Rapunzel realizes that the only way she is ever going to get her

way is if she misleads her mother. She chooses to act against her mother’s wishes, and

does all of this without her finding out. In this sense, Rapunzel is working toward the

freedom to make her own choices for the first time in her life. Recognizing that

Rapunzel’s request for new paints is easier to facilitate than her request to see the floating

lights, Mother Gothel agrees and begins on her journey.

Soon, Flynn comes to and Rapunzel bargains with him to achieve the end she

desires. Using her hair, Rapunzel ties Flynn to a chair, forcing her captive audience

member to hear her case. Rapunzel reveals that she has stolen his satchel, but promises to

return it to him if he serves as her guide to see the “floating lights;” Flynn reveals that the

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lights are actually “lanterns.” After much hesitation, Flynn reluctantly agrees to take

Rapunzel, and they leave the tower together. In a crucial moment, the scene that follows

contains a series of exclamations made by Rapunzel as she finally decides to be

disobedient. Although a comical moment in the film, her inner turmoil is representative

of a larger narrative where women still feel the pressure of doing what is socially

expected versus what they truly want. Her angst is shown through a kind of dialogue with

herself.

RAPUNZEL: I can’t believe I did this.

(in disbelief) I can’t believe I did this.
(with excitement) I can’t believe I did this! Haha!
Mother would be so furious.
That’s okay! I mean, what she doesn’t know won’t kill her, right?
(with agony) Oh my gosh, this would kill her.
This is so fun!
(with disgust) I am a horrible daughter. I’m going back.
I am never going back! Woo-hoo!
(with agony) I am a despicable human being.
Woo-hoo! Best. Day. Ever!
(Rapunzel sobs)
FLYNN: Hmm-mm-m. You know, I can’t help but notice you seem a little at war
with yourself here.
RAPUNZEL: (sniff) What?
FLYNN: Now, I’m only picking up bits and pieces, of course. Overprotective
mother, forbidden road trip. I mean, this is serious stuff. But let me ease
your conscience. This is part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little
adventure–that’s good, healthy even.

Rapunzel is not convinced by Flynn’s nonchalance. Although she has finally achieved

“freedom,” she still feels inherently guilty about her quest toward consciousness-raising.

Even in her freedom, Rapunzel still speaks of herself with a negative self-image when

she expresses “I am a despicable human being.” Because she had to be deceptive to get

her way, being free to make her own choices does not feel like freedom at all. Of course,

deception is a major plot propellant between Mother Gothel and Rapunzel throughout. In

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a sense, Rapunzel has learned to deceive others through the example set by her mother,

and eventually those behaviors return back to Mother Gothel.

Soon after leaving the tower, Mother Gothel comes across a palace horse without

a rider and instinctively rushes back to the tower to make sure no one has found

Rapunzel. Not surprisingly, when Mother Gothel arrives she realizes that Rapunzel is

gone. However, Mother Gothel finds the crown and Flynn Rider’s wanted poster in his

satchel in the process of searching the tower for her daughter. In her panic, Mother

Gothel realizes that her daughter has been deceptive; she sets out to find Rapunzel and

manipulate the princess into returning “home.”

Shortly after, Mother Gothel comes upon Flynn and Rapunzel at a pub down the

road. Rather than acting immediately, Mother Gothel waits in the shadows until an

opportune moment appears. Rapunzel is ultimately confronted by her mother when Flynn

walks away to find more firewood. Initially, Rapunzel becomes panicked and remorseful

for her actions. Although Rapunzel had become aware of herself and her condition by

leaving the tower, she is not yet confident enough to take responsibility for the choices

that she has made. Thus, Rapunzel is not yet able to achieve the characteristics of being

fully human. However, consciousness-raising unfolds in this moment to help the princess

realize her oppressed state and begin to act in defense of her self-worth. In the reprise of

the song, “Mother Knows Best,” Rapunzel finally seems to accept her disobedience. As

Mother Gothel cunningly reassures Rapunzel in this moment, she sings to her daughter,

“this whole romance that you’ve invented just proves you’re too naive to be here […]

don’t be a dummy, come with mummy.” As Mother Gothel concludes her musical

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manipulation, singing “mother knows best,” Rapunzel indignantly shouts “No!” at her

parental figure.25

In this pivotal moment, Rapunzel not only rejects her mother’s authority, but also

renounces her life as an obedient follower. The deception displayed by Mother Gothel

toward Rapunzel is symbolic of the deception that women could not be fully actualized

human beings and therefore reach consciousness of their roles in society. This moment

links with broader culture as a moment of consciousness-raising. In Rapunzel’s moment

of empowerment, her bold “No!” betrays all sense of typical, proper, feminine style, and

her firm disobedience sets her apart as an androgynous protagonist, rather than a proper

princess. Unlike the original “Mother Knows Best,” moment, Rapunzel gains voice when

the song reprises. She finally shouts out in defense of her self-worth. The unwavering

obedience to Mother Gothel’s control is finally severed in this moment of consciousness-

raising; Rapunzel’s commitment is never the same again. The remainder of the film

reveals important steps taken by Rapunzel to finally achieve the status of being fully

human. As Rapunzel finally stands up for herself and rejects Mother Gothel, this is her

moment of realization, of awareness, and of coming-to-consciousness.

Princess’s Ambition Reigns Over Mother’s Ambition

Mother Gothel allows Rapunzel to continue on her quest after she finds out what

Rapunzel has done. More sure of her decision to be disobedient, Rapunzel continues to

hide the satchel from Flynn in order to get what she wants. By refusing to return home

with Mother Gothel, Rapunzel enacts active, rather than passive personality traits, and

tries to take responsibility for her choices. It also seems as though Rapunzel has fallen

victim to social learning, picking up on her mother’s deception as a means of tricking her

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guide into doing what she wants. In the end, she is not trying to do this to harm Flynn, but

does mirror similar behaviors to her conniving mother nonetheless. After exploring the

kingdom with Flynn, Rapunzel passes by a mosaic of the king and queen with a baby girl.

The depiction of the princess catches her attention, but much like the moment in the

mirror at the beginning of the film, she quickly moves on. As night falls, Flynn escorts

her out into the bay on a gondola where they anticipate viewing the lanterns rise into the

night sky. While there, they converse:

FLYNN: You okay?

RAPUNZEL: I’m terrified.
FLYNN: Why?
RAPUNZEL: I’ve been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about
what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it’s not
everything I dreamed it would be?
FLYNN: It will be.
RAPUNZEL: (thoughtfully) Hmm. And what if it is? What do I do then?
FLYNN: Well, that’s the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.

Meanwhile, Mother Gothel awaits in shadows on the shore, convinced that she can still

make Rapunzel see the foolishness of her actions and manipulate her into returning home.

In order to force Rapunzel to abandon her adventure Mother Gothel sets an elaborate trap

that results in Rapunzel “seeing” Flynn sail away with the crown moments after their

nearly-romantic-ending in the gondola; what Rapunzel is actually seeing is an

unconscious Flynn tied up to the helm of a small boat sailing toward the castle. Shocked

by what has happened, Rapunzel is soon confronted by two “ruffians” who attempt to

capture her for her “magic hair.” As Rapunzel runs away, her hair gets caught in tree

branches and she braces for her capture. However, a large thud is heard followed by the

desperate cry of “Rapunzel!?” by Mother Gothel in the distance. As Rapunzel turns

around, she sees her mother with a large club and the unconscious figures of the two

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thugs that had attempted to kidnap her. Her mother’s outstretched arms are indication to

Rapunzel that she should have never tried to recognize herself as capable of making her

own choices. As a result, Rapunzel has been convinced once again that there is no good

in the world and that she should have never left her tower to begin with. Rapunzel reverts

to believing that she is not capable of being a fully actualized human being. She

compliantly returns to the tower without hesitation, and Mother Gothel has successfully

regained her control over Rapunzel.

Once the pair has returned home, Rapunzel lays in her bedroom staring at the

ceiling in utter dismay. After her journey to the kingdom, it is clear that Rapunzel is

struggling with the consciousness that she has voice and agency, and the feeling of

helpless compliance that has led her back to the tower. Mother Gothel reassures Rapunzel

one last time, “I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there. The

world is dark and selfish and cruel. If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it

destroys it.” It is not until Rapunzel is staring at the ceiling that she has a flashback of her

first days of life, looking up from her crib into the loving faces of her mother and father,

the king and queen, that she experiences her epiphany in recognizing her identity. In

finally sharing this personal realization out loud (and to the audience), Rapunzel’s story

culminates in a key function of third wave feminist consciousness-raising. According to

Sowards and Renegar, sharing personal experiences, “becomes an avenue of

consciousness-raising not only for the audience, but also for the individuals who share

their personal experiences of oppression and discrimination.”26 The practice of

consciousness-raising in the context of Tangled serves a dual function, allowing

Rapunzel to express her feeling of oppression, but also by affecting the audience who

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experiences this revelation with her. In this moment of the film, Rapunzel knocks her

bedside table over, which forces Mother Gothel’s attention.

MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel? (climbs stairs) Rapunzel, what’s going on up there?

(Rapunzel gasps)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Are you all right?
RAPUNZEL: I’m the lost princess.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Oh, please speak up Rapunzel. You know how I hate the
mumbling.
RAPUNZEL: I am the lost princess! Aren’t I? Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I
even call you that?
MOTHER GOTHEL: Oh Rapunzel, did you even hear yourself? Why would you ask
such a ridiculous question?
RAPUNZEL: It was you! It was all you!
MOTHER GOTHEL: Everything that I did was to protect… you.
RAPUNZEL: (pushes Mother Gothel away) Ugh!
MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel!
RAPUNZEL: (descends stairs) I’ve spent my entire life hiding from people who
would use me for my power…
MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel!
RAPUNZEL: … but I should have been hiding… from you!
MOTHER GOTHEL: Where will you go? — He won’t be there for you.
RAPUNZEL: What did you do to him?
MOTHER GOTHEL:— That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes.
RAPUNZEL: (gasp) No.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Now, now. It’s alright. Listen to me. Everything is as it should
be. (reaches to pat Rapunzel's hair)
RAPUNZEL: (apprehends Mother Gothel's hand) No! You were wrong about the
world. And you were wrong about me. And I will never let you use my
hair again!

In terms of consciousness-raising, this is a key moment. She gains control of her life by

using her voice to tell Mother Gothel that she may never use her hair again. Rapunzel’s

epiphanic realization serves to affect both the princess herself, and the film’s viewers. For

Rapunzel, the reign of Mother Gothel is over when she connects the dots that she is the

lost princess and that her mother has been using her for her whole life. Rapunzel has

regained consciousness at this moment, as she realizes that she no longer owes any

loyalty to Mother Gothel. She has been lied to her entire life about her identity and about

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her capabilities as a human being. With the revelation that Mother Gothel has been using

her, Rapunzel finally displays the characteristics of being fully human, which can no

longer be denied to her. Rapunzel is now fully aware of herself and her condition, she is

finally free (and unafraid) to make meaningful choices, and she is responsible for those

choices. For the film’s viewers, the actions of Rapunzel illuminate a new sense of

understanding about what a young woman is capable of doing. By standing up to

oppressive authority, Rapunzel fights for what is rightfully hers: her freedom. This

feminist message is promoted not through political activism, but through a fully

accessible text that audiences can learn from. Tangled’s princess speaks in a way that

challenges the expectations of the feminine style. In her bold and powerful assertions,

Rapunzel adopts an androgynous style for speaking that allows her to promote the

importance of standing up for oneself.

Conclusion

Tangled translates its themes of consciousness-raising beyond the boundaries of

the film and into a real-life understanding for its audience. Consciousness creates an

identity for the rhetor as well as for an audience, both of which are necessary for rhetoric

to function properly and ultimately to induce action. In this case, the rhetor is Rapunzel,

and her message invites audience members (particularly, female audience members) to

think about their roles in society. An examination of feminist gains historically can help

to reveal how Rapunzel’s narrative is able to affect society today. Campbell notes that

early feminist rhetoric was inherently in need of consciousness-raising “because of the

obstacles presented by women as audiences.”27 According to Campbell, “an audience is

composed of agents of change, persons capable of acting to implement the rhetor’s goals

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[…] Women [were] not audiences because they [did] not see themselves as agents of

change.”28 This passive reality for women remained problematic until the second wave.

Campbell cites studies published by Jo Freeman (1971) that reflected women’s negative

self-image in a similar light in 1959 (helpless, small, uncertain, anxious, etc.). 29 However,

the transformation of women’s self-perception from the second wave and into the third

wave has allowed mass media to positively implement the tool of consciousness-raising.

Author of The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed

America, Ruth Rosen supports this notion when she states, “Unlike Second Wave

feminist, who had met in consciousness-raising groups in women’s living rooms, Third

Wave feminists mostly shared their revelations, desires, and dilemmas in magazines and

on blogs and feminist Web sites”30 In other words, third wave consciousness-raising has

specifically utilized popular culture as a way to continue discussing women’s issues in

the public realm.

Disney’s representation of Rapunzel as a young woman achieving consciousness

is an important step toward creating agents of change in modern society. The portrayal of

Rapunzel as an androgynous princess is a form of consciousness-raising that may serve to

transform the understanding of how a woman ought to be. Of course, because these

messages are packaged within the context of a popular children’s film, mass media relies

on consciousness-raising as a rhetorical strategy. As Sowards and Renegar note, “third

wave feminist consciousness-raising […] creates new avenues to an individual’s own

consciousness-raising because a person may engage in self-dialogue and persuasion to a

greater extent than if she were participating in a small group consciousness-raising

session.”31 By viewing Rapunzel as a role model, audience members may be influenced

83
by the film’s narrative to change their perceptions of women’s roles and subsequently

model her behaviors. Rapunzel displays strength, persistence, and courage in her

narrative as she combats the oppression of her mother. In this way, she challenges the

previous dominant discourse of Disney princesses. As an act of consciousness-raising,

Rapunzel’s new take on “being a princess” serves to extend third wave feminist thinking

to a viewership beyond political activists. Young girls might view Rapunzel’s experience

and be influenced to think differently about their own capabilities. In other words,

Tangled may serve as the kiss that awakens an audience of sleeping beauties.

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 Notes

1
I acknowledge that there are also dissimilarities between the films Tangled and Brave.
Recognizing the similarity that conflict emerges through the maternal figure in both films
does not suggest that the films are in any way identical. For instance, there are
dissimilarities in the degree of feminist lessons that can be drawn from the texts. It can be
argued that Merida is a more feminist character than Rapunzel based on her tendencies
and her narrative. However, the investigation of the similarities between Tangled and
Brave reinforces my decision to categorize the Disney princess line into a genre. I will
revisit this line of thought in the final chapter of this thesis.
2
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “The Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation: An Oxymoron
revisited,” Communication Studies, 50, no. 2 (1999): 128.
3
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “Femininity and Feminism: To Be or Not To Be a Woman,”
Communication Quarterly, 31, no. 2 (1983): 105.
4
Stacey K Sowards and Valerie R Renegar. "The Rhetorical Functions of Consciousness-
Raising in Third Wave Feminism." Communication Studies 55, no. 4 (2004): 537.
5
Theresa Rose Crapanzano, “Feminist Theory: Second Wave,” in Encyclopedia of
Gender in Media, ed. Mary Kosut (Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2012), 104.
6
Stacey K Sowards and Valerie R Renegar. "The Rhetorical Functions of Consciousness-
Raising in Third Wave Feminism.” 541.
7
Ibid, 547.
8
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “Femininity and Feminism: To Be or Not To Be a Woman,”
105.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
11
Bonnie J. Dow and Mari Boor Tonn, “‘Feminine Style’ and Political Judgement in the
Rhetoric of Ann Richards, Quarterly Journal of Speech, 79 (1993), 288.
12
Ibid.
13
Kristina Sheryl Wong, “Pranks and Fake Porn: Doing Feminism My Way,” in
Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century, ed. Rory Cooke Dicker and
Alison Piepmeier (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2003), 296.

85
14
Michele Byers, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Next Generation of Television,” in
Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century, ed. Rory Cooke Dicker and
Alison Piepmeier (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2003), 172.
15
Ibid,171.
16
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “The Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation: An Oxymoron,”
Quarterly Journal of Speech 59, no. 1 (1973): 75.
17
Ibid.
18
Charles Conrad, “Agon and Rhetorical Form: The Essence of ‘Old Feminist’
Rhetoric,” Central States Speech Journal, 32 (1981): 46.
19
Ibid, 53.
20
Ibid, 48.
21
All scripted text and song lyrics taken from
http://www.digititles.com/animation/tangled-2010/scripts/tangled-movie-script. This
source is not an “official script.” However, given the recency of this film’s release, this
was the only free version of the script that I was able to obtain. In order to verify
accuracy, I have reviewed the selected excerpts compared to the actual film. No
discrepancies between the site’s script and what is present in the film itself were found.
22
For a full version of the song lyrics, see Appendix B.
23
Sangeeta Rath and Aakankshya Mishra, “Gender-role Perception and Employment
Status in the Self-Efficacy of Women,” European Journal of Sustainable Development 2,
no 3 (2013): 58.
24
See Appendix C.
25
See Appendix D for the full song lyrics and text.
26
Stacey K Sowards and Valerie R Renegar. "The Rhetorical Functions of
Consciousness-Raising in Third Wave Feminism,” 542.
27
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “Femininity and Feminism: To Be or Not To Be a Woman,”
105.
28
Ibid.

86
29
Jo Freeman, “The Building of the Gilded Cage.” The Second Wave: A Magazine of the
New Feminism, 1971, quoted in Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, “Femininity and Feminism: To
Be or Not To Be a Woman,” Communication Quarterly, 31, no. 2 (1983): 105.
30
Ruth Rosen, The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed
America (New York and London: Penguin, 2000).
31
Stacey K Sowards and Valerie R Renegar. "The Rhetorical Functions of
Consciousness-Raising in Third Wave Feminism." 541.

87
 CHAPTER FOUR: Being Brave, A Princess’s Alternative Narrative to Dominant

Gender Expectations

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to uncover rhetorical messages about gender

expectation in Disney/Pixar’s Brave (2012). Like Tangled, themes of autonomy and

rejection of authority become apparent in the film. However, because Merida is already

self-aware, she does not experience a personal moment of self-discovery in the way that

Rapunzel does. Instead, Merida’s story is more useful to understand as a possible way for

the film’s audience to understand gender expectations. The primary conflict in Brave is

carried out by the tension that Merida experiences with her mother. As the only princess

in the kingdom, Merida is expected to marry a suitor from one of the neighboring clans.

Unlike early Disney princesses, who would be more than thrilled at the prospect of

finding a prince, Merida is disgusted by the mere thought. She is a wild, free-spirited,

ambitious young woman who seeks to climb mountains and ride her horse into the sunset.

Throughout the film, Merida struggles to make others understand her desire to change her

fate. The princess wants nothing more than to break free from the norms that society has

prescribed for her. In this chapter, I argue that Merida’s words and actions construct an

alternative narrative for its viewers, with the purpose of offering a new perspective on

traditional norms for women.

In chapter three, I explored how Rapunzel’s narrative rejects dominant gender

expectations. In this chapter, Merida’s narrative allows me to expose yet another way that

Disney princesses defy traditional norms. For Merida, the ambition to do more in life is

countered by themes of suppressive traditionalism from her mother, who initially exhibits

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control over her daughter’s destiny.1 In the quest to change her fate, Merida is constantly

at war with her mother, Queen Elinor. Ultimately, the princess gains control over her

destiny by learning to communicate her wishes to her mother; Queen Elinor then

recognizes Merida’s intentions and complies with her daughter’s request to choose her

own path. Therefore, Merida’s narrative contributes to a larger understanding of what it

means to be a woman.

In order to illustrate how Merida’s narrative impacts societal understanding, I

explore a rhetorical tension that Julia Wood labels the “can-do discourse”2 as one of the

types of gender expectations that the movie defies. The can-do discourse is a structural

norm which suggests that women should have grand professional aspirations and fulfill

the duty of perfect homemaker, both of which can be achieved if they simply work hard

enough to achieve this goal. As business-woman Anne-Marie Slaughter suggests, this

goal is unrealistic because women can’t actually have it all, “not with the way America’s

economy and society are currently structured.”3 Because the can-do discourse has to do

with the dominant expectations of society, individual determination is challenged.

However, Merida’s attitudes and behaviors challenge the implications of gender norms,

which makes Brave a significant rhetorical text. Brave offers an alternative narrative to

the dominant can-do discourse, by portraying Merida’s journey as a quest for self-

efficacy, or control of one's life. As a result, Merida’s story works to revise the

perceptions of women’s roles in society, by illustrating ways to counter the dominant

ideology. Recognizing this alternative narrative in the newest princess’s story, I argue

that Merida’s experience invites and enables women to think differently about

themselves. In other words, as a film narrative that breaks down perceptions of women’s

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roles, Brave suggests moral messages about how the world ought to be.

I begin by investigating women’s roles in society that were accepted during the

time in which Brave was released. These societal changes fall in line with the

implications of the can-do discourse. This discourse is problematic for women because it

fails to acknowledge that society is responsible for this expectation; in the same way, the

expectations of Queen Elinor weigh heavily on Merida, who decides to reject conformity

as a result. I provide background of the can-do discourse and describe the ways this

phenomenon functions in society. In the analysis section of this chapter, I discuss how

Merida’s rejection of tradition is illustrated as a desire for her own self-efficacy. Through

her individual determination, Merida rejects the norms laid out by her community, which

helps to understand how women might interact with the social norm of the can-do

discourse in society. In this analysis, I explore how Merida rejects her mother’s plans and

thereby provides an alternative narrative about the relationship between women and

dominant expectations of society. This chapter concludes with an investigation of the

possible impact of Merida’s narrative on society.

Woman’s Role and Social Climate: 2008-2012

Recent social conditions in the wake of the economic recession have resulted in

several changes regarding “typical” or “traditional” gender roles in American society.

According to psychologists Sangeeta Rath and Aakankshya Mishra, “gender-role refers

to the social and behavioral norms that are considered appropriate for an individual of a

given gender.”4 The way that women’s gender roles are perceived in American society

has certainly changed in the last 50 years. For many years, the definition of “success” for

women was determined based on her status as a wife, mother, and homemaker. This

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model has been broken down in recent decades, as many women now hold high-level

positions and work in professional career fields.5 In an opinion editorial titled “Why

Women Still Can’t Have it All,” Anne-Marie Slaughter states, unlike past generations of

women “we have choices about the type and tempo of the work we do. We are the

women who could be leading, and who should be equally represented in leadership

ranks.”6 This is not to say that all women are afforded this opportunity today. Slaughter,

as well as myself, speaks for “[our] demographic - highly educated, well-off women who

are privileged enough to have choices in the first place.”7 However, while this highly

educated demographic of women may have options and choices for career advancement

now, the lingering traditionalism of the past remains in tension with their ambition.

In the midst of recent economic turmoil, many American families found it

necessary to redefine traditional gender roles for the sake of financial stability. In the

process, the familial model of father as breadwinner and mother as homemaker became

even less of a standard. According to reports of the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of

stay-at-home moms decreased from 5.3 million to 5 million in 2009 and has remained

relatively constant at this amount through 2012.8 Additionally, the U.S. Census Bureau

reports among mothers with infants, 62.1% were in the labor force in 2013; there has

been a significant increase in the number of working moms since 2006, when the number

of mothers with infants in the labor force was 57%.9 Concerning these recent changes,

sociologist Gayle Kaufman states that societal changes in gender role attitudes have

begun to reverse tradition altogether, giving rise to mothers as “bread-winners” and

fathers in child rearing roles.10 This trend can be seen in the rise of paternity leave, which

has further reinforced revisions to gender expectations. Atlantic writer Liza Mundy

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discusses the effects of ‘the daddy track’ stating, “while paid paternity leave may feel like

an unexpected gift, the biggest beneficiaries aren’t men, or even babies. In the long run,

the true beneficiaries of paternity leave are women, and the companies and nations that

benefit when women advance.”11 While paternity leave may be a “brilliant and ambitious

form of social engineering: a behavior-modification tool that has been shown to boost

male participation in the household, enhance female participation in the labor force, and

promote gender equity in both domains,”12 this ideal social construction is not yet a norm

that has been widely embraced. Kaufman notes that “a majority of women do not expect

a shared division of labor but rather anticipate performing most of the household chores

and childcare.”13 Paternity leave may be a step in the right direction, but it is still the case

that women are expected to perform at home despite the efforts they are making in the

professional world.

There appears to be a double standard in the expectation that women are expected

to work professionally and still take care of the home; men, on the other hand, do not

experience this expectation in the way that women do. In December of 2013, Mundy

notes that only three U.S. states (California, Rhode Island, and New Jersey) guaranteed

paid leave for fathers, leaving the responsibility of domesticity in the hands of mothers

for the majority of U.S. women.14 Women are still expected to perform their motherly

duties while managing an oppositional push to remain driven and career-minded. In her

editorial piece “Why Nobody Can Win the Having-It-All Race” law professor Chimène

Keitner responds to Slaughter.

For those of us who might be described as "driven," what drives many of us is the
desire to excel according to socially recognized criteria, such as graduating with
highest honors or having the most prestigious job. These criteria, which can end
up defining our sense of success and self-worth, are too often exclusively

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 professionally focused and hierarchically defined […] Instead of abandoning
ambition, we should seek to redefine it. We need to engage in a renewed
conversation about what it means to lead a successful life.15

Keitner’s struggle with socially recognized criteria enforces the supposition that women

can “have it all” only if they are willing to work hard enough for their goals. With Brave,

we can begin to explore a larger understanding of how Disney is working to renew the

conversation about what it means to lead a successful life through Merida’s narrative.

The key phrase here is that the expectations of women are “socially recognized

criteria” which are prescribed by society. Dominant expectations are unrealistic for

working women who, like Keitner, recognize that “those of us who combine careers and

parenting often feel that we’re falling short in both.”16 In other words, women have no

control over this dynamic. This struggle is indicative of a phenomenon labeled by

communication scholar Julia Wood as the “can-do discourse.” According to Wood, the

“can-do discourse encourages [young women] to imagine they will have high status

careers and successful families if they are but willing to invest sufficient effort (emphasis

added).”17 This discourse is problematic because it implies that women are in control of

this dynamic, not society. According to Wood, “the can-do discourse holds that each

person is responsible for her own successes—or failures; [most importantly,] those who

don’t succeed didn’t try hard enough. They only have themselves to blame.”18 In order to

be career motivated, Wood states women feel pressure to maintain rich and fulfilling

home lives, working a “second shift”19 of sorts in order to fulfill their matriarchal

duties.20 According to communication scholar Susan Brydon, to be a mother,

reproduction alone is insufficient. Again, the message was [and is] loud and
clear. If women do not engage in and embrace what some would call
“intensive mothering” — staying home full-time, investing hour after hour
into extensive, hands-on interaction each day — they are to blame for social

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 problems and can be assured that their children will end up, at best, not
performing to their intellectual and creative capacities and, at worst, in real
physical danger.21

Brydon therefore suggests that working women are incomplete or inadequate if they do

not assume the role of nurturing and devoted mother as well. Additionally, if a woman

tries to conform to the dominant expectation of the “can-do discourse” and fails to

succeed in either the professional or personal domain, it is her own fault for not investing

enough effort. Slaughter argues that the expectations of the can-do discourse represent a

falsehood that having it all is simply a function of personal determination.22 The “can-do

discourse” is troubling because it forces young women to assume that falling short is a

result of their insufficient effort.

With traditionalism and feminism at odds in the can-do discourse, twenty-first-

century women are subsequently expected to conform to expectations set forth by

society. In other words, women do not have control over their own destiny. If a woman

chooses to conform to society’s expectations, she gives up the agency to set her own

expectations about her life. Therefore, the struggle that women face due to dominant

discourse is in need of alternative interventions. The alternative intervention that is

needed in this discourse is the voice of the individual woman. A woman’s personal

expectations must be heard in order to resolve the tension caused by social expectations.

The struggle between social expectation and personal determination is one that

Merida seems to recognize very early in the film, Brave. Merida struggles with the fact

that her personal determination is out of line with what her society has prescribed for her.

This struggle reflects way that society has prescribed an unrealistic discourse for real

women, thereby challenging their quest for self-efficacy. According Rath and Mishra,

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“self-efficacy refers to the belief that one has complete control over his/her life.” 23

Women’s self-efficacy is lacking in society today, because women are forced to conform

to the expectations of society. A woman cannot truly have control over her life if society

expects her to strive toward an unrealistic norm. Merida’s nonconformity illustrates that

self-efficacy can be achieved by rejecting what society prescribes. While the can-do

discourse may promote the ideal that with hard work, women can achieve anything and

everything, this discourse creates a false sense of responsibility for failures. The struggle

women face to be dedicated to both domestic life and professional life does not lie in self-

determinism. Instead, the fault lies with the social expectation that ‘having it all’ was a

reachable goal to begin with. Self-efficacy can be manifested as a craving for control

over one’s destiny, and it is this theme that appears as a central struggle in Brave.

Analysis

This chapter reveals ways that Merida’s story serves as an alternative narrative to

the can-do discourse. Merida achieves a different fate than the one prescribed to modern

day women by striving for self-efficacy. Merida’s discourse with her mother showcases

her desire to control her own life; in order to do so the princess must reject what is

expected of her. In describing the themes present in Disney princess films between 1989

and 1998, professor of English Ann Hall and communication scholar Mardia Bishop

reveal the following:

The princesses featured in Disney Princess movies are good girls, for the most
part. They want to make their fathers happy, and they rebel only to the extent they
must in order to win the hearts of their dream princes […] In other words, these
girls, feisty though they may be, do not overtly challenge patriarchal society, but
rather turn to that very authority to grant them what they wish.24

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Instead, Merida undermines the implication that all of Disney’s royal girls fit the mold

described by Hall and Bishop. The messages pertaining to women’s roles in Brave are

uniquely bold in comparison to the messages in previous princess films. In Brave, the

most recent Disney princess narrative, I notice an opposing trend to that described by

Hall and Bishop. First, Merida is not a good girl. In fact, she is recalcitrant, quick to pick

a fight with any and everyone, and noticeably more brazen than other Disney princesses.

Second, while Merida does her best to make her father happy, she does so only to spite

her mother. Her rebellious attitudes and actions do not come from her desire for a prince,

but instead come from her desire to be in control of her life (self-efficacy). Lastly, Merida

completely challenges social expectations by adamantly opposing betrothal, and turns

against the authority of her mother to do so. Contrary to popular criticism of Disney’s

damaging effects on young child viewers, the way Merida negotiates what is expected of

her suggests new ways of renegotiating women’s roles in society. For the first time in

Disney standards, Merida rebels outright against the expectations of gender-norms and

gains self-efficacy in the process. As a result, the messages found in Brave offer viewers

an alternative narrative to the dominant can-do discourse. What follows is an

investigation of the tension between tradition and ambition in the Disney/Pixar film

Brave (2012).

Mother’s Tradition Imposed on Princess’s Ambition

Brave begins with a short flashback to Merida’s childhood, which reveals her

family and the foundation of her adolescent life. The young, spunky, and free-spirited

princess is immediately portrayed in contrast to her prim and proper mother, Queen

Elinor. The traditionalism of Elinor appears in the form of nagging, as every little thing

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that Merida does is shaded “improper.” In the opening minutes of the film, Elinor is seen

instructing Merida in a variety of traditional, royal expectations. In the process of shaping

her daughter to be a perfect princess, Elinor appears to be the reason why Merida is

miserable and frankly bored with her existence. In a series of quick scene changes, Elinor

nags, “A princess must be knowledgeable about her kingdom… She doesn't make

doodles… Princesses don't chortle… Doesn’t stuff her gob!… Rises early!… Is

compassionate! … patient!… cautious!… clean!… And above all else, a princess strives

for perfection.”25 In a subsequent scene, Elinor greets her daughter’s placement of her

bow and arrow with a prompt, “Merida, a princess does not place her weapons on the

table.” Merida appears stifled by her mother’s rule, but unlike Rapunzel, she does not

remain obedient to her mother. She complains about her responsibilities, and deliberately

acts in ways that she knows her mother will disapprove of (e.g. eating with less-than-

perfect table manners, and sneaking sweet treats to her triplet brothers underneath the

dinner table). Through it all, Merida’s father, King Fergus, appears supportive of his

daughter’s anti-princess tendencies, and subsequently appears to be the parent she aligns

with most. This increases the tension between Merida and Elinor.

Initially, Elinor’s motives behind grooming her daughter to be “perfect” appear

selfish, much like the motives of Mother Gothel in Tangled. Rather than thinking about

the best interest of Merida, Elinor works to shape the perfect daughter for preservation of

the royal image, which in turn reflects favorably on herself as the queen. However, in

getting Merida to comply with her vision for perfection, Elinor’s personal agenda appears

less vindictive than that of Mother Gothel's. Instead Elinor is convinced, based on her

own standpoint, that her daughter is destined to act like a princess based on birthright.

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This falls in line with professor of English, M. Keith Booker’s observation that “to a

surprisingly great extent, Disney’s films are consistently informed by a conception of

individualism that sees each individual as endowed by nature, from birth, with particular

built-in characteristics that make that individual suited to play certain specific roles in

society.”26 This conception of individualism, like the can-do discourse in society,

suggests that being a princess is contingent on what the princess’s community expects.

Because of her royal status, Elinor perpetuates the image of the ideal princess as she

interacts with her daughter because she believes this is the only appropriate destiny for

Merida. However, the social norm of what a princess ought to be is not the path that

Merida desires, and her narrative thereby rejects the norm of Disney films suggested by

Booker. Merida’s actions are representative of women recognizing the inequity of gender

roles and striving for a different fate. In order to break free from the life that she is fated

to live, Merida experiences conflict with her mother.

Mother’s Tradition Conflicts with Princess’s Ambition

The conflict that emerges in Brave propels the majority of the film’s plot. It is

clear that no agreement can be reached between mother and daughter about what is “best”

for Merida. The princess seems to reach her breaking point at news that the neighboring

clans of the kingdom have accepted an invitation to present their finest suitors. The

presentation consists of games that show off the suitors’ strengths, and of course, the

prize is Princess Merida’s hand in marriage; a betrothal would subsequently indicate the

unity of the clans to all. If no announcement of the princess’s future husband is made,

Elinor believes tension between the clans will ensue and war will likely commence.

Though difficult to describe in writing, the key moment that defines the conflict between

98
Elinor and Merida is a pair of monologues set together as a dialogue, but in different

physical locations. In this scene, Merida speaks out loud about her frustration to her

horse, Angus, while Elinor speaks candidly with her husband, Fergus. Fergus tells Elinor

to pretend he is Merida, so that the Queen can practice saying the things she wishes to

express to her princess daughter. As the animation moves between physical locations, it

appears that the two are finishing each other’s sentences. In the following “exchange” of

words, the frustration between the mother-daughter dyad is revealed as the central

tension.

ELINOR: Merida, all this work, all the time spent preparing you, schooling you,
giving you everything we never had. I ask you, what do you expect us to
do?
MERIDA: Call off the gathering. Would that kill them? You’re the queen.
You can just tell the lords the princess is not ready for this. In fact,
she might not ever be ready for this, so that’s that. Good day to
you. We’ll expect your declarations of war in the morning.
ELINOR: I understand this must all seem unfair. Even I had reservations when I
faced betrothal. (Fergus glances up from listening to his wife at this
moment)
ELINOR: But we can’t just run away from who we are.
MERIDA: I don’t want my life to be over. I want my freedom!
ELINOR: But are you willing to pay the price your freedom will cost?
MERIDA: I’m not doing any of this to hurt you.
ELINOR: If you could just try to see what I do, I do out of love.
MERIDA: But it’s my life, it’s… I’m just not ready!
ELINOR: I think you’d see if you could just…
MERIDA: I think I could make you understand if you would just…
ELINOR: Listen.
MERIDA: Listen.

Perhaps then, the conflict between traditionalism and non-traditionalism is not being

communicated, but instead miscommunicated. The miscommunication in Brave reflects

the expectations of society compared to the ability for women to truly obtain self-

efficacy. As this dialogue suggests, there appears to be a miscommunication between

Merida’s desire for control of her destiny and the expectations that her mother and

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society have in mind for her. This key moment in the film suggests that if women work to

communicate about the ways that they are misunderstood, women’s expectations can be

redefined. Through Merida’s narrative, Brave suggests that by communicating

dissatisfaction, changes can potentially be made to society and women can gain control of

their destinies. The value of communication becomes a central part of the story in Brave,

as Merida and Elinor seek to understand one another.

Merida then requests that the suitors compete in an archery tournament, where the

contestant closest to the target will win her hand in marriage. Of course, Merida has

something up her sleeve from the start. The first two competitors (of the Macintosh and

MacGuffin clans) send their arrows flying toward the target, unable to hit the bullseye. It

is the third suitor, young Dingwall, who (by some sort of miracle) lands his arrow

directly in the center. In the film’s pivotal moment, the princess rises from her seat,

storms toward the archery targets and declares, “I am Merida, and I’ll be shooting for my

own hand.” As she reaches for her bow, she recognizes that the dress she has been stuffed

into will not allow her to draw back her arrow. In this passionate moment of

disobedience, she intentionally rips the dress at the seams, proceeds to shoot toward each

of the three targets, and hits directly in the center the bullseye on the first two; on the

third bullseye, Merida splits in two the perfectly centered arrow shot by her would-be

husband. In this moment, it is clear that a breaking point has been reached and the

conflict is now at a climax.

Both mother and daughter feel like they are not being heard. They both believe

that if the other would just listen, they would reach a point of clarity. In the heated

disagreement between mother and daughter that follows, Elinor confronts Merida, who

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begs her mother to listen to her perspective. Elinor has reached a breaking point of her

own, as she feels that her daughter’s actions will lead to great consequence for the

kingdom.

ELINOR: I am the queen! You listen to me!

MERIDA: Oh! This is so unfair!
ELINOR: Huh! Unfair?
MERIDA: You were never there for me! This whole marriage is what you
want! Do you ever bother to ask what I want? No! You walk around
telling me what to do, what not to do! Trying to make me be like you!
Well, I’m not going to be like you!
ELINOR: Ach! You’re acting like a child!
MERIDA: And you’re a beast! That’s what you are!
ELINOR: Merida!
MERIDA: I will never be like you!

In a critical moment of the argument, Merida points her sword at the tapestry her

mother has been working on, which depicts the royal family. After her actions at the

archery competition, it is clear at this point that a verbal exchange will not be enough to

get her mother’s attention. Merida draws her sword toward the top of the tapestry, and

cuts a line between the embroidered representation of herself and the rest of her family.

Her action can be read as a representation of women breaking free from the expectations

of society, as Merida literally cuts her obedience to tradition out of her life. As Merida

screams, “I’d rather die than be like you!,” it is clear that she has both verbally and

symbolically removed herself from her family, and the role that she was destined to play

in her world. Alternatively, this moment reflects a first, dramatic step toward openly

rejecting the expectations of her community. As the princess, Merida is expected to sew

as her mother taught her. By cutting into the tapestry, she rejects one of the royally

necessary tasks her mother frequently nagged her to perform. In this sense, Merida has

finally communicated her dissatisfaction, by expressing herself in a way more powerful

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than her complaints. She begins to stand up for herself in this moment through

disobedience, and commits to a quest for self-efficacy. While Merida does lose her

temper, the message she sends is a powerful one: she refuses to be like her mother and

insists that she will never be the prim and proper domestic wife she is destined to be.

Instead, she wishes to change her fate and become something more than what her mother

has planned. Merida’s strength comes from her rejection of the dominant discourse that

has attempted to define her identity, and her subsequent quest for self-efficacy.

Princess’s Ambition Reigns Over Mother’s Tradition

Relating back to the dialogue/monologue argument between Merida and Elinor,

Merida has two conflicts that require resolution in her story. Both of these conflicts relate

to Merida’s desire for self-efficacy. First, the miscommunication between mother and

daughter presents Merida with the need to gain agency and find a way to articulate her

perspective to her mother. In this part of Merida’s conflict, communication is key. For

Merida, the way to gain voice is to seek out supernatural aid in the form of a witch.

Merida begs of the witch, “I want a spell to change my mom. That’ll change my fate.” In

response to Merida’s ambiguous request, the witch conjures a cake, which Merida gives

to Elinor. At this point, Merida is convinced that she has found a solution to her problem

with the oh-so-clear request to simply “change” her mother. No surprise at all, the witch

gives her a “bad spell” that turns her mother into a bear.

After eating the bewitched cake, Elinor is no longer able to speak; this gives

Merida an opportunity to finally get her point across without being interrupted. Elinor,

the bear, recognizes that she must trust Merida in order to understand what has happened.

As a result, the mother-daughter pair run back to the safety of the woods. As a symbolic

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gesture of Elinor’s insistent traditionalism, she puts her queen’s crown on top of her furry

head and insists on walking upright, even though she is a bear. This moment can also be

read as Elinor’s attempt to uphold her own dignity. By placing the crown on her head,

Elinor suggests that she is still the authority in the relationship. She represents her

authority over her daughter, and her authority over the social norms of her kingdom by

continuing to wear the crown. Elinor is still bound by her own standpoint, and has not

recognized Merida’s perspective at this point in the story.

Merida and Elinor venture back to the witch’s cottage, only to discover that the

witch has moved away. The only thing the witch has left behind is a message, “By the

second sunrise your spell will be permanent, unless you remember these words: Fate be

changed, Look inside. Mend the bond, torn by pride.” Merida realizes that she has made a

terrible mistake, and she and her mother remain in the woods overnight without much

hope for the situation. However, even in the predicament that they are both in, Merida

responds to her mother’s attempts to communicate with a sarcastic, “Sorry! I don’t speak

bear.” And of course, even bear-Elinor uses non-verbals to request that her daughter

remove her bow and arrow from the makeshift breakfast table. At this point in the plot,

Merida has not yet found a way to articulate her position to her mother.

With her ability to speak up, Merida alerts her mother to the poisonous berries

and worm-infested water that Elinor has prepared for their breakfast. Realizing that she

has no idea how to live in the forest, Elinor (quietly, of course) allows her daughter to

show her the way. In the scene that follows, Merida catches a salmon for her mother in

the nearby stream with a perfect shot of her arrow. Elinor claps her paws together in

approval, and Merida cunningly responds, “Oh, wait! A princess should not have

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weapons, in your opinion.” However, Elinor has no voice to respond. Rather than

objecting with Merida’s response, Elinor begins to devour the salmon prepared by her

daughter. After Elinor requests more and more salmon with a wave of her paw, Merida

eventually becomes fed up with serving her mother, and responds by pointing Elinor

toward the stream. In a symbolic moment, Elinor removes the crown from her head, and

places it on a rock before venturing to the stream to catch her own meal. This moment is

important because it is the first time that we see Elinor acting unexpectedly. By removing

her crown and placing it on the rock, she physically separates herself from the artifact

that symbolizes her royal status. As Elinor ventures toward the stream and fishes with the

guidance of her daughter, the queen's authority becomes less apparent. As a result,

mother and daughter share in a simple task of fishing as equals. In this sense, the social

expectations of both the queen and the princess are ignored. The exchange between

mother and daughter in this scene is what I see as the beginning of Merida’s attempts to

communicate to her mother.

The song “Into the Open Air”27 plays in the background of the scene where

mother and daughter work together to catch fish. Unlike the songs in Tangled, which are

sung by the characters in the form of a cinematic musical, the songs in Brave appear only

as background to the film’s plot. I read this unique aspect of Brave as a further

justification that the verbal exchanges between characters act as the alternative narrative

to dominant discourse. Rather than packaging the messages of the film in catchy Disney

musical lyrics sung by the characters, the songs in Brave appear as backing or ambiance

to the struggle faced by the princess. With the songs in this film as a backdrop, the words

spoken by Merida become the central focus for understanding the messages. However,

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while not the explicit focus of the film, the lyrics found in the songs do implicitly

promote the film’s goal to revise dominant discourse about women’s roles.

By examining the lyrics to “Into the Open Air” it is evident that Merida’s struggle

to control her own destiny is reflected through this song. The lyrics of this song seem to

speak directly to Merida’s desire to reach out to her mother and communicate her views.

In the lyrics “I try to speak to you every day, but each word we spoke, the wind blew

away,” the nature of Merida’s first conflict is perfectly articulated. Mother and daughter

have previously been unable to accept one another, and now, in this silly moment of

fishing, there is an unspoken understanding. Elinor realizes she must rely on her

daughter’s skill, and Merida experiences a hint at self-efficacy; the princess has started to

gain control of her destiny and because her mother is forced to listen, Merida has the

power to enact this control. In another key lyrical moment, the song’s chorus reveals that

a transformation has taken place within the song itself. The first chorus’ lyrics are:

Could these walls come crumbling down?

I want to feel my feet on the ground
And leave behind this prison we share
Step into the open air

In this chorus, the phrasing of the first line as a question implies the possibility that they

may still not understand one another. The “I” in this moment refers to both Merida and

Elinor, who both want their perspective to be understood. By examining the lyric, “and

leave behind this prison we share,” a commonality can be found between Merida and

Elinor. For both mother and daughter, the expectations of their society become the prison

that they share together. For Elinor, the dignity and perfection she works tirelessly to

maintain are a result of the duties of being a queen. Their society has prescribed these

expectations on Elinor, in the same way that the queen prescribes a fixed destiny for her

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daughter. Neither mother nor daughter has achieved a self-efficacious life. Although the

characters do not realize it themselves, both Merida and Elinor are situated in a shared

prison of social expectations. The second chorus in this song is similar, but with

important changes to the wording of the lyrics.

And now these walls come crumbling down

And I can feel my feet on the ground
Can we carry this love that we share
Into the open air?

Here, the lyrics reveal that a resolution has begun. The walls that both mother and

daughter had built up between them are beginning to fall as they play and laugh in the

stream. The song concludes as Elinor leaves the water, and finally abandons her crown.

At the conclusion of this scene, the tension between mother and daughter has been lifted.

Now, Elinor relies on Merida and the princess feels that she can finally communicate

with her mother. While the communication is not directed toward the second conflict in

Merida’s story at this point of the film, Merida has reached a resolution of her first

conflict. The cooperation between Merida and her mother indicates that the princess has

broken the surface of self-efficacy and is one step closer to achieving control of her

destiny.

The second conflict for Merida comes with the desire to “change her fate.” Now

that she has found a way to articulate her position, Merida must explore avenues to

change her mother’s perception of her princess status. The pair realizes that the way to

“mend the bond” lies in fixing the tapestry previously torn by Merida, and they venture

back to the castle to do so. To sneak in, Merida realizes she must distract the clans who

are warring with food and arrows in the great hall. She waltzes past the clan leaders and

begins a lecture of sorts to the clansmen. In her speech, however, it becomes apparent

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that Elinor has changed her mind about Merida’s fate. Merida begins by describing the

great bond that exists between the clans and tells the story of their kingdom. In the

history of the clans, their past cooperation had been forged by fighting a common enemy:

the great bear Mor’Du. Based on some of the stories told by the clans’ leaders, it becomes

clear that their greatest legends focus on battles fought to avenge Mor’Du’s attacks on the

kingdom. Merida engages the rowdy audience with the following words:

MERIDA: Yours was an alliance forged in bravery and friendship and it lives to
this day. I’ve been selfish. I tore a great rift in our kingdom. There’s no one to
blame but me. And I know now that I need to amend my mistake and mend our
bond. And so, there is the matter of my betrothal. I decided to do what’s right,
and…

As she looks around the room, Merida notices Elinor in the background trying to stop her

from saying what she is about to say.

MERIDA: And…and break tradition.

Merida looks over at Elinor, who again uses gestures to prompt the words spoken by her

daughter to the clans.

MERIDA: My mother, the queen, feels…uh, in her heart, that I…that we be free
to…write our own story. Follow our hearts, and find love in our own time.

The clans react to Merida’s speech quite favorably, and she recognizes that her mother

has changed in her heart. At this point in the film, Merida has achieved self-efficacy. She

now has control over her life, and she feels confident enough to present this viewpoint to

the others. It is interesting that in this moment Merida has achieved control over her life

through a monologue that her mother has essentially fed to her. This suggests that Merida

actually desired something more complex than self-efficacy alone; to truly have control

over her destiny, Merida wanted the approval of the dominant authority in her life. With

her traditional mother’s approval of her desires, Merida proclaims for all to hear that she

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no longer feels the responsibility of meeting the expectations of society. She says to the

clansmen, “The queen and I put the decision to you my lords. Might our young people

decide for themselves who they will love?” In this question, Merida rejects the notion

that tradition can control one’s fate. To put it another way, Merida does not reject the

expectations of her society without restraint; she still seeks the approval of the dominant

structure before she boldly states her case. This moment contributes to a societal

understanding that women want to revitalize conversation about women’s roles in order

to have their views accepted by dominant authority, in the same way that Merida seeks

her mother’s approval. Even Merida’s desire to seek approval from others is self-

efficacious; Merida controls the terms by which she changes her fate, and in her eyes this

change must be recognized and accepted by her mother. Even though Merida has

achieved her goal, her success is masked by the conflict that remains: Elinor is still a

bear, and it is Merida’s responsibility to change her back. In the process of gaining

control of her own life, Merida also grows up. The princess recognizes the need to help

her mother out of the mess she has caused by trying to gain control of her life.

As the bear-human pair finally reach the tapestry, Elinor is spotted by Fergus,

which instigates a wild bear chase with the clansmen through the woods. Merida cleverly

escapes the castle with the tapestry in hand, stitching the family back together as she rides

Angus in pursuit of her mother. When Merida catches up to the others, she realizes that

they have captured bear-Elinor, and are ready to put an end to her. As King Fergus raises

his sword, Merida’s arrow knocks his blade away. The princess is now brave enough to

stand up to the patriarch of the kingdom in an effort to save her mother. She points her

arrow directly at her father and screams “Get back! That’s my mother!” Just as Fergus

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realizes that Merida is telling the truth, the evil bear of kingdom legend, Mor’Du, appears

and attacks. As Merida is about to be devoured, Elinor escapes capture to fight off the

bear to protect her family. She is now the only one strong enough physically to fight off

Mor’Du, but with cooperative thinking, Merida and Elinor work together to knock an

enormous boulder on top of Mor’Du and end his reign of terror on the kingdom forever.

Merida and Elinor celebrate their cooperative success, but their relief does not last

long. As the second sunrise peaks over the horizon, Merida quickly drapes the now

mended tapestry over her mother and waits for the spell to reverse. As the sun inches up

over the hills, Merida begins to panic and vocalizes her remorse to her mom. “I’m sorry.

This is all my fault. I did this to you… to us. You have always been there for me. You’ve

never given up on me. I just want you back. I want you back, mummy… I love you.”

Merida sobs as she hugs the bear. In this pivotal moment, Merida realizes that although

she has gained control over her life, she never wanted her quest for freedom to result in

the loss of her mother. In vocalizing her feelings, Merida does in fact break the spell, and

Elinor’s human hand is finally seen wrapped around her daughter. In shock, Merida cries,

“Mom, you’re back! You changed!” Elinor, in tears and laughter says lovingly, “Oh,

darling… we both have.”

The final moments of the film clearly summarize the intended message of the

narrative more generally. As the clans leave the kingdom by boat, the song, “Learn Me

Right”28 plays in the background. Again, the song’s chorus is where the lyrics seem to

reflect the film’s message.

We will run and scream

You will dance with me
We’ll fulfill our dreams and we’ll be free

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 The phrasing of the final lyric appears most indicative of the dynamic between

traditionalism and non-traditionalism described earlier in this analysis. “We’ll fulfill our

dreams,” suggests to the audience that both mother and daughter have different goals for

their lives, otherwise the lyric would have suggested that they fulfill the same dream.

Additionally, by fulfilling the separate duties in their hearts, they are each free from the

emotional struggle of trying to accept one another.

In the end, Merida and Elinor each change their ways by embarking on a journey

of introspective examination. Ultimately the way they change their fate is through love,

communication, and an understanding of one another. From the start, the expectations of

her mother and her society are at odds with Merida’s pursuit for self-efficacy. As the

princess, she is fated to speak, dress, behave and simply be a certain way based on what

her patriarchal society believes is acceptable. In the end, Merida is still traditional enough

to sew a tapestry together in order to save her mother, but she will always be more

motivated by the prospect of adventure and independence. Likewise, Elinor is bold

enough to ride a horse alongside her daughter to a precipice at the edge of the kingdom,

but she still is most comfortable in her role as the traditional matriarch of the kingdom.

Merida breaks down the social construction of a woman in her own world, and

subsequently suggests ways for this to occur in reality. Merida sends a particular message

to the film’s audience that suggests the way to gain control over one’s destiny starts with

a deconstruction of the high standards women are held to. By illustrating the value of

control over one’s life (self-efficacy), Merida tells young girls that they can do and be

anything they wish. The narrative illustrates to the film’s audience that Merida just wants

to have control over her life—even just to wait to make her own choice.

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 The “resolution” between traditional and non-traditional in this film offers an

intriguing suggestion for society. To recognize the value of Merida’s desires, the

resolution could only be achieved by literally stifling the voice of the traditional. As a

bear, Elinor could no longer speak to articulate her traditional views. The suppression of

traditionalism is less likely to happen in society. As Wood concludes, “It is ironic and

deeply troubling that the can-do narrative that society encourages young women to

embrace is not matched by structural or normative support for achieving it.”29 While this

may be true for society, I argue through this analysis that Brave, and the character Merida

specifically, serves to exemplify a way in which social norms can be revised. Through the

resolution of Merida’s two conflicts, Brave invites viewers to accept that a revision to

dominant discourse comes from increased communication and allowing women to write

their own expectations. As a result, Brave defies social standards like the can-do

discourse by presenting Merida in pursuit of her personal convictions.

Conclusion

“If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?” - Merida (Brave)

Merida’s embrace of independence and bravery to break free from norms is a

promising step in the right direction. Merida, in this sense, is a feminist role model for

young girls. She not only refuses the typical knight-in-shining-armor ending to her story,

but she also blatantly rejects the traditional gender roles of her community. As Merida’s

story suggests, young girls cannot have it all, and frankly should not want it all to begin

with: they should simply want the power to choose their destinies. Merida is the only

Disney princess that displays a complete rejection of dominant discourse in pursuit of her

own personal satisfaction. Although Rapunzel rejects gender expectations in pursuit of

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self-consciousness, she conforms to the dominant expectations by marrying Flynn Rider

in the end. By means of Merida’s narrative, there are signs that conforming to society’s

expectations is not the only option for young women.

While Merida does demonstrate the importance of pursuing self-efficacy, it is

notable that the film does not seem to suggest that Merida will never marry at all. The

question seems to remain open. The open-ended conclusion to Merida’s story contributes

to a larger understanding about the messages that Disney films can teach through princess

narratives. Merida serves as a way for Disney to revise its kingdom of gender to suggest

that finding a prince is not always a necessary criterion for achieving a “happily ever

after.” Merida breaks down the belief that a fairy-tale ending is needed, even though the

princess genre has traditionally suggested otherwise. Similarly, even though society has

suggested that a woman should conform to being a rock star professional and exceptional

homemaker, many agree that breaking down this perception is necessary for society.

Slaughter notes, “you should be able to have a family if you want one, however and

whenever your life circumstances allow, and still have the career you desire.” 30 However,

as she explains, society has not yet made this possible for real women. Wood further

supports this idea when she states, “the structural and normative barriers that persist mean

that if today’s young women want to have it all, they may, quite literally be required to

do it all.”31 As Merida’s narrative suggests, having control over one’s life comes with the

power to choose what is best for oneself, rather than what society deems is best. Merida

does not feel required to do what society expects of her, however, in her acquisition of

self-efficacy she still has the power to choose marriage at some point if she would choose

to do so.

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 The can-do discourse and other structural expectations regarding gender remain

problematic for women in society today. As Wood notes, “the ensconced narrative

authorizing this inequity shows no signs of abating and remains a site for feminist

research and critique.”32 Perhaps the place to start is in films that display strong female

leads that challenge patriarchal society. The final words spoken in the film Brave serve as

a sign that the narrative authorizing this inequity may be changeable if only we look

inside ourselves. Merida’s voice is overheard narrating the conclusion to the film; “Some

say fate is beyond our command, but I know better. Our destiny is within us. You just

have to be brave enough to see it.” In her final words, Merida suggests to the audience

that our fate is not laid out for us to follow. Instead, we must decide what we want and

pursue our goals, even if they fall outside the expectations of society. To put it simply,

there is no need to feel pressured to be one way or another. If she feels the desire to be

brave and pursue self-efficacy instead, then the ties of traditionalism should not hold any

young woman back from “chasing the wind and touching the sky.”33

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 Notes

1
The words “destiny” and “fate” are used differently in this chapter because for Merida,
these concepts are not set in stone. Instead, she sees destiny and fate as fluid, changeable
aspects of her life. For instance, in theatrical trailers, the film Brave was advertised with
the tag-line, “If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?” This tag-line will
help to frame the conclusion section of this chapter.
2
Julia Wood. “The Can-Do Discourse and Young Women’s Anticipations of Future.”
Women & Language 33, (2010).
3
Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” The Atlantic Monthly,
July/August 2012, accessed February 2014,
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-
all/309020/.
4
Sangeeta Rath and Aakankshya Mishra, “Gender-role Perception and Employment
Status in the Self-Efficacy of Women,” European Journal of Sustainable Development 2,
no 3 (2013): 58.
5
See Chapter 2 for a discussion of the women that now hold high-level positions in the
Disney corporation, specifically.
6
Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.”
7
Ibid.
8
“U.S. Census Bureau News: Facts for Features: Mother’s Day: May 12, 2013,” last
modified May 12, 2013,
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/
cb13-ff11.html.
9
“U.S. Census Bureau News: Facts for Features: Mother’s Day: May 9, 2010,” last
modified May 9, 2010,
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/c
b10-ff09.html.
10
Gayle Kaufman, “Gender role attitudes and college students’ work and family
expectations,” Gender Issues 22, no 2 (2005): 60.
11
Liza Mundy, “Daddy Track: The Case for Paternity Leave,” The Atlantic Monthly,
December 22, 2013, accessed March 2014,
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/the-daddy-track/355746/.
12
Ibid.

114
13
Gayle Kaufman, “Gender role attitudes and college students’ work and family
expectations,” Gender Issues 22, no 2 (2005): 60.
14
Liza Mundy, “Daddy Track: The Case for Paternity Leave,” The Atlantic Monthly,
December 22, 2013, accessed March 2014,
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/the-daddy-track/355746/.
15
Chimène Keitner, “Why Nobody Can Win the Having-It-All Race,” The Atlantic
Monthly, July 17, 2012, accessed March 2014,
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/why-nobody-can-win-the-having-
it-all-race/259901/.
16
Ibid.
17
Julia Wood. “The Can-Do Discourse and Young Women’s Anticipations of Future.”
103.
18
Ibid.
19
As mentioned in Chapter 2, this phrase was first coined by Arlie Hochschild in her
book, The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home.
20
Julia Wood. “The Can-Do Discourse and Young Women’s Anticipations of Future.”
104.
21
Susan G. Brydon, “Men at the Heart of Mothering: Finding Mother in Finding Nemo,”
Journal of Gender Studies 18, no. 2 (2009): 133.
22
Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.”
23
Sangeeta Rath and Aakankshya Mishra, “Gender-role Perception and Employment
Status in the Self-Efficacy of Women,” 58.
24
Ann Hall and Mardia Bishop, Mommy Angst: Motherhood in American Popular
Culture (Westport: Praeger, 2009), 39.
25
All scripted excerpts taken from http://imeldasanders123.wordpress.com/pixar-brave-
script/ and from personal transcription of the film. This source is not an “official script.”
However, given the recency of this film’s release, this was the only free version of the
script that I was able to obtain. In order to verify accuracy, I have reviewed the selected
excerpts compared to the actual film. No discrepancies between the site’s script and what
is present in the film itself were found.

115
26
M. Keith Booker, Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Messages of Children’s Films (Santa
Barbara: Praeger, 2010), 175.
27
For full song lyrics, see Appendix E.
28
For Full song lyrics see Appendix F.
29
Julia Wood. “The Can-Do Discourse and Young Women’s Anticipations of Future.”
104.
30
Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.”
31
Julia Wood. “The Can-Do Discourse and Young Women’s Anticipations of Future.”
106.
32
Ibid.
33
Taken from the film’s opening song “Touch the Sky,” which features music by Alex
Mandel, lyrics by Mark Andrews and Alex Mandel, and is performed by Julie Fowlis and
produced by Jim Sutherland with Éamon Doorley and Julie Fowlis.

116
 CHAPTER FIVE: Long May She Reign, Disney Princesses as Moral Role Models

for Society

Introduction

“I am a princess. I am brave sometimes. I am scared sometimes. Sometimes I am

brave, even when I am scared. I believe in loyalty and trust. I believe loyalty is
built on trust. I try to be kind. I try to be generous. I am kind, even when others
are not so generous. I am a princess. I think standing up for myself is important. I
think standing up for others is more important, but standing with others is most
important. I am a princess. I believe compassion makes me strong, kindness is
power, and family is the tightest bond of all. I have heard I am beautiful. I know I
am strong… I am a princess, long may I reign.”1

Taken from a new Disney campaign titled, “I Am a Princess,” the words above are

narrated alongside a commercial video displaying the faces of young girls, intermingled

with iconic animated images of Disney princesses. The girls shown in the video clip

represent various ethnic groups, sizes, ages, and abilities that are all indicative of a real-

life princess. The picture-perfect image of the Disney princess is replaced by the diverse

smiles of young girls from around the world, and the words that narrate their joy are

profound. According to opinion editorial writer, Katie Patton, “the ‘I Am A Princess’

campaign is finally taking a stand to show that being a princess means being beautiful on

the inside; making it known that little girls everywhere are princesses each and every

day.”2 The words of this commercial are affectively powerful, and Patton’s commentary

expresses the very argument being made through this thesis: Disney princesses are not

what they were 75 years ago, and their narratives do not necessarily teach messages that

may be interpreted to indoctrinate false realities about gender expectations. Through this

campaign, we see that young girls are princesses just by being who they are, which has

little to do with the shimmer of a ball gown, or even the charm of a prince.

In this way, the I Am A Princess campaign serves as a way to synthesize the

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purpose of this project as a whole by summarizing a number of the observations

presented in the analysis chapters of this thesis (chapters three and four). With Merida,

Disney showcases the strength of girls within, and the importance of standing up for

yourself. With Rapunzel, Disney showcases that kindness is, in fact, power, and that

believing in loyalty and trust does not make a person any less strong. In this final chapter,

I will discuss how the findings of this thesis contribute to larger society in the form of

moral messages about gender expectations, particularly those pertaining to the female

experience. As discussed in chapter one, moral messages have served as a framework for

understanding the rhetorical function of these films. Using Annalee Ward’s work as a

foundation, the final chapter of this project will specifically focus on “the messages about

how we ought to live, about morality.”3 Therefore, this thesis culminates with a

discussion of the moral messages found in Tangled and Brave as a way of bridging the

messages within the films to the real world.

Contributions to Society

This thesis contributes to larger society by the very nature of the artifacts under

investigation. Through an analysis of the characters Rapunzel and Merida, particular

messages about gender expectations are revealed in the films Tangled and Brave.

Therefore, with the vast reach of Disney films and the Disney princess line specifically,

these films suggest important ideas about gender to a global audience. This is especially

important because young children are the primary target audience for these films. As

Sharon Downey notes, Disney’s princess films “must provide sufficiently safe, clean, and

wholesome advice and appropriate models of behavior to mollify parents while

entertaining both child and adult members of the audience.”4 This thesis illustrates

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several key moments of “wholesome advice” that are present in Tangled and Brave, and

may be internalized by young viewers (especially young girls). As such, parents (adults)

serve as another target audience for these films. These newest princess films invite adult

audience members to consider their understanding of gender expectations in society.

Primarily, because Disney princess films contain messages about gender expectations,

these messages are inherently rhetorical insofar as they describe the expectations of

gender in reality. Based on the rhetorical nature of Disney films, it is necessary to

synthesize the messages that are being promoted through the specific films in this

analysis. It is important to note that the number of moral messages synthesized here by no

means constitutes an exhaustive list. For example, moral messages pertaining to beauty

and appearance were certainly present in the two films. While these messages are of

course useful to an overall rhetorical understanding of Disney princess films, exploring

these moral lessons is outside the scope of this project. The focus of this study has been

to uncover the textual and lyrical messages about gender in the two films; therefore, an

exploration of moral messages about appearance enters the realm of visual rhetoric,

which does not fit with this analysis. However, with specific focus on the rhetorical

functions of consciousness-raising and androgyny5, and the quest for self-efficacy

through alternative narrative to dominant discourse6, certain moral messages are more

productive to this study than others.

As discussed in chapter one, a generic grouping of Disney princess films helps to

reveal important comparisons of like to like and comparisons of like to unlike. Because

the moral messages in Tangled and Brave step beyond the moral messages that have been

identified in the first and second generation princess films, this study reveals a key

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comparison of like to unlike. As such, these films contribute to new understandings about

the Disney princess genre as a whole. By identifying the moral messages in Tangled and

Brave we can understand the way that Disney princess narratives reach society. As

education scholar Henry Giroux notes, “[Disney’s] films inspire at least as much cultural

authority and legitimacy for teaching specific roles, values, and ideas [as] more

traditional sites of learning such as public schools, religious institutions, and the family.”7

One cultural authority that Disney has claimed is the power to define what “princess”

means. In this thesis, the films Tangled and Brave are also different in their messages

about what it means to be a princess, and therefore accomplish a narrowed comparison of

like to unlike within the genre. It is important to note that Rapunzel and Merida are

certainly not identical. Both Rapunzel and Merida invoke different ideas about what it

means to be a princess. Therefore, I acknowledge that it is possible that there is more

dissimilarity between Rapunzel and Merida that I have not had time to explore in this

thesis. However, it is important to understand the ways that Rapunzel and Merida

function similarly to teach about the way the world ought to be through their narratives.

The moral messages found in Tangled and Brave serve two key functions in

society. First, the messages appearing in the narratives of both Rapunzel and Merida are

framed as messages about the way the world “ought to be.” These messages are the way

that the films primarily reach an audience of children, and are framed as moral lessons

that can be drawn from the films’ narratives. Secondly, the moral messages I have

selected for discussion are unique to Tangled and Brave; as a result, these films add to

the understanding of moral messages already present in other princess films. If Rapunzel

and Merida represent moral messages that are not explicitly present in other Disney

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princess films, then this indicates strides toward a new definition of what it means to be a

Disney princess. The inclusion of Rapunzel and Merida in the princess genre indicates a

new understanding of “princess” that echoes with the words of the “I Am A Princess”

campaign noted above.

Moral Messages in Tangled and Brave

With the two key functions above in mind, the following sections will present the

moral messages that are unique to Tangled and Brave. In each, the sections will begin by

expressing how the theme appears as a moral message for the film’s audience. Each

section will conclude by working to evaluate the presence of each moral message in the

new princess films compared to previous princess films. Comparing these messages to

previous princess narratives reinforces the study of these films as a genre. The moral

messages that I believe are most significant to this study of gender expectations in Disney

princess films are as follows: (1) marriage is not a necessary end; (2) rejecting authority

is necessary in the quest for self-discovery; and (3) a princess should embody the virtues

of femininity and masculinity. Again, these moral messages do not constitute an

exhaustive list. However, they are the lessons unique to the plots of Tangled and Brave,

and do not appear prominently in the other films in the Disney princess line.

Marriage is a Not a Necessary End

“I don’t want to get married! I want to stay single and let my hair flow in the wind as I
ride through the glen, firing arrows into the sunset!” - King Fergus impersonating his
daughter, Merida (Brave)

In both Rapunzel’s and Merida’s narratives, marriage is not viewed as the goal for

the princesses. Rapunzel’s goals rest in her curiosity about the world around her; she

desires knowledge and self-discovery, and this desire propels her actions. In the end, she

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does fall in love and chooses her prince in Flynn Rider, but this is not the necessary end

for her quest. The necessary end for Rapunzel is the need to see the floating lanterns and

subsequently discover her identity. In a pivotal moment of the film, Rapunzel questions

the moment when she is finally about to see the light, asking Flynn, “what if it is

[everything I dreamed it would be]?” Flynn replies, “Well that’s the good part, I guess.

You get to go find a new dream.” In the end, Flynn becomes Rapunzel’s new dream, but

this only occurs after she has achieved her personal goals. This signifies to viewers that

marriage is not a necessity, but that if it presents itself in one’s life it is still an acceptable

end. The key distinction here is that marriage is not a necessary end for Rapunzel; she

could have still achieved personal satisfaction in simply seeing the floating lanterns and

discovering her true identity. After all, Rapunzel repeats at several points that she has

dreamed of seeing the floating lights for her whole life. This indicates that her true dream

lies in this quest, not the quest for a man. Fitting with Disney princess tradition, Rapunzel

realizes through Flynn’s comment that life is a series of dreams and that marriage is

simply the next dream available in her life. She chooses to pursue this dream, only after

achieving the personal dreams she had in mind for herself. In this sense, Rapunzel

achieves a degree of self-efficacy like Merida; she seeks control of her life, gains that

control, then chooses marriage in the end. Ultimately, Rapunzel’s quest for self-discovery

is the action most central to her film.

For Merida, the requisite of marriage is rejected instead. In Merida’s eyes,

marriage is not only undesirable, but also entirely unnecessary for her to feel fulfilled as

an individual. She is not the first princess to display this desire, but she is the first to

follow through with her convictions. Rejecting marriage, as indicated in chapter four, is

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representative of Merida’s rejection of traditional gender expectations. Like Rapunzel,

marriage is not the primary goal for Merida. This sends the message to film viewers that

the world ought to view marriage not as a necessary end, but as an option instead. In

terms of the two newest princesses, there is no prerogative to being wed, and marriage

can be outwardly rejected if that is what she truly feels is her fate. This moral message is

important for young girls to experience in Disney princess narratives, especially

considering the critique that princesses teach girls to embrace unrealistic expectations

about weddings and marriage.8 Traditionally, Disney princess films end with a wedding

scene, or an implied marriage. This suggests to young viewers that stories should end in

this way, and is therefore a moral message that has been historically prominent in the

Disney princess line. Therefore, Merida and Rapunzel’s narratives regarding marriage

appear as alternatives to the dominant Disney princess ending.

By completely rejecting marriage as the end to her story, Merida also separates

herself from all other Disney princesses. For example, in Beauty and the Beast (1991),

Belle, while not a princess by birth, is portrayed as an intelligent, female lead who always

has her “nose stuck in a book.” Initially, her intelligence dissuades her from accepting the

advances of the town brute, Gaston, and she rejects his forced marriage proposal

countless times as a result. At least at the onset of the film, Belle appears to be a strong-

willed protagonist that knows what she wants in life and will not settle for less. Of

course, her rejection of marriage does not last long and her quest for knowledge is put on

the back burner at the opportunity to change a ferocious beast into a caring,

compassionate man, with whom she falls in love. The moral messages associated with

this ending are troublesome from a relational communication perspective. In the end,

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Belle’s desire to remain autonomous and free-spirited is not the moral message associated

with her story. Instead, the more recognizable moral message associated with Beauty and

the Beast goes something like this: a compassionate and patient woman can turn even the

most abhorrent man into a prince.

In addition, Aladdin’s (1992) Princess Jasmine reaches a similar conclusion at the

announcement of her father’s search for her suitors. She initially affirms the notion that

she does not want to be married, but it is soon made clear that she only wants marriage if

she can marry who she wants. At the Sultan’s request that she marry a suitor of his

choosing, Princess Jasmine expresses disinterest in being a princess based on the laws

that require her to marry. However, it does not appear that much else bothers her about

her life as a princess. Even though she states, “maybe I don’t want to be a princess!” she

in fact does want to fit the Disney princess mold based on her subsequent actions. Her

struggle throughout may be to find a suitable husband for her standards, but her goal is to

be married in the end.

While the plot of Brave initially mirrors the “you must be married as soon as

possible” theme found in Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, the influence of this theme is

not as meaningful for Merida as it is for Belle and Jasmine. Merida, on the other hand,

breaks all the rules of Disney princess expectations when she ultimately rejects the notion

of betrothal completely, and becomes the first Disney princess without an implied

marriage by the end of her film. Even though Rapunzel does get her prince in the end, it

is not her main or even secondary pursuit within her story. The narratives of both

Rapunzel and Merida are working to kickstart a new trend for Disney princesses: a lack

of focus on marriage replaced with new focus on self-discovery.

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Rejecting Authority Is Necessary in the Quest for Self-Discovery

“Does your mother deserve it? No. Would it break her heart and crush her soul?
Of course. But you’ve just got to do it.” –Flynn Rider to Rapunzel (Tangled)

Rejecting authority is something very central to both Rapunzel and Merida’s

quests for self-discovery. Both princesses reject authority by displaying blatant

disobedience toward their maternal figures. As I have mentioned in previous chapters,

mothers have been largely absent from Disney princess films, and even then their roles

have been minimal. However, both Rapunzel and Merida experience antagonism through

the relationship with their respective mothers. The antagonism elicited by the mothers is

the need for their daughters to remain obedient through adherence to dominant gender

expectations. Rapunzel and Merida both reject these expectations by disobeying the

wishes of their mothers. In Tangled, Rapunzel agonizes over her decision to act against

Mother Gothel’s wishes in pursuit of her own goals. In the end, it is easier for Rapunzel

to reject Gothel’s influence because the princess discovers that Gothel is not really her

mother. In other words, being disobedient is necessary for Rapunzel to break free from

the imprisonment of Gothel. Similarly, Merida experiences remorse for her bold, self-

motivated actions when she believes that she cannot take back what she has done in order

to save her mother. The quest for self-discovery fuels the plot of both films, which makes

up for any disobedience or rejection of gender expectations that the girls have exhibited.

With these things in mind, the moral message that self-discovery must be achieved by

any means possible is an important feature of both Tangled and Brave. The presence of

this message indicates to viewers that it may be an agonizing and conflicted process, but

self-discovery should be the goal of young girls. Central to both plots is the moral

message that the process of self-discovery requires a rejection of authority.

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 Compared to other Disney princess films, the prevalence of this message is most

noticeable in Tangled and Brave. In the early Disney princess films, disobedience for self

gain is almost unheard of, as in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty.

However, the princesses between 1989 and 1998 are trademarked on disobedience (see

Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan). While these girls are all rebellious in their

own way, they ultimately do not reject traditional gender expectations for the pursuit of

self-discovery; in other words, discovering who they are is not the primary motive in

their journeys. For Ariel, the rejection of her father’s authority is motivated for personal

gain in attracting the attention of the human, Prince Eric. Belle rejects the expectations of

her community by falling in love with a beast, Jasmine by falling in love with a “street-

rat,” and Pocahontas by falling for the white man. Mulan seems to reject traditional

expectations outright, but her primary motivation is to save her father, not to gain

understanding about herself. By striving to understand their identities, Rapunzel and

Merida embody a moral message that has been previously unrepresented in Disney

princess films. Through understanding herself, Rapunzel is able to achieve her goals;

likewise Merida’s rejection of her mother’s tradition is the only way to not only

understand herself, but to insist that others understand her perspective. This common

moral message signifies to viewers the importance of self-discovery, regardless of how

society expects young girls to behave.

Princesses Should Embody the Virtues of Femininity and Masculinity

“Leave her be! Princess or not, learning to fight is essential.” – King Fergus (Brave)
Finally, both Tangled and Brave display the newest princesses with androgynous

tendencies. With marriage not being needed in the end, and a quest to reject tradition for

self-exploration, it is not surprising that an embodiment of the virtues of femininity and

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masculinity also plays a key role in these films. In order to reject the dominant discourse

of their worlds, both Rapunzel and Merida appear more gender fluid than previous

princesses. These characteristics, according to Rath and Mishra, are indicative of

androgynous individuals, who “do not rely on gender as an organizing principle” 9 As a

result, androgynous individuals display industrious autonomy, but are simultaneously

compassionate and emotional. In other words, androgynous individuals display a balance

of gender expectations; both Rapunzel and Merida are displayed with androgynous

tendencies in their own right.

First, Rapunzel is an explicitly androgynous character as she is both physically

strong and emotionally capable. As she wields her frying pan as a weapon, she is unafraid

to confront a large group of ruffians on the way to the kingdom. With a swift throw of her

golden locks, Rapunzel pulls back a large log, and releases her grip as the log springs

back to hit the head of a “malicious, mean, and scary” man. She bravely shouts, “find

your humanity!” with no sign of fear toward the man. When it comes time to see the

floating lanterns, we see the thoughtful and compassionate side of Rapunzel, as she

dances through the kingdom encouraging stranger townsfolk to dance and participate in

the festivities. Perhaps the most androgynous moment for Rapunzel lies in the fact that

she is the princess who saves the prince. As the disfigured body of Mother Gothel careens

from the tower window to the earth below, Rapunzel outstretches her arms as if to save

the woman who was moments from destroying all her dreams. 10 With Flynn dying in her

arms, Rapunzel grieves at the thought that her new dream is now lifeless. She sheds a

single tear, which because of the magic inside her, is enough to save Flynn and bring him

back to life. Even in grief, she is his savior. Rapunzel’s narrative suggests the moral

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message that androgyny is an acceptable and even celebrated way to be. In other words,

society ought to value individuals that strike a balance in their gender conformity.

As a point of comparison, Rapunzel seems to embrace both aspects of the can-do

discourse: traditionalism in choosing marriage with Flynn Rider as her suitor, and non-

traditionalism in breaking past the barriers that were once set in front of her in order to

discover her identity. Merida is overwhelmingly masculine in her actions, but there are

still aspects to her character that suggest androgyny. For example, even though she

despises the traditional skills that her mother teaches her, she is quite skilled despite her

discontented quips. When it comes time for her to “mend the bond,” Merida skillfully

sews the tapestry together while riding full speed into the forest atop her horse, Angus.

Merida is also depicted with emotionality, and she cries hysterically when she realizes

that her mother may remain a bear forever. Coupled with the courageousness of fighting

against the evil bear, Mor’Du, and the perfect aim she possesses in archery Merida

embraces androgyny in her actions and words. Her rejection of the can-do discourse and

her fearlessness are not diminished by her emotionality. With Rapunzel and Merida as

exemplars, society ought to value the versatility of androgyny as a positive aspect of

womanhood.

The prominence of androgyny in the films Tangled and Brave compared to past

princess movies is important to understanding the value of this moral message. Rapunzel

and Merida are distinct from princesses like Cinderella and Ariel, for example, because

androgyny is not an explicit tendency for these royal girls. For example, Cinderella does

not display a balance of gender expected tendencies. Rather than acting rebelliously to

stand up for herself, she awaits the aid of a fairy godmother, who grants her the

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stereotypical princess image she desires. Rapunzel, on the other hand, walks around

barefoot and defends herself against enemies. As another example, Ariel, while brave

enough to make a deal with Ursula the sea-witch, still primarily conforms to female

gender expectations. Without her voice, Ariel uses “her looks,” “her pretty face,” and

“body language”11 to win her prince’s affection. Her story, like Cinderella’s, is primarily

focused on maintaining a Disneyfied understanding of female gender expectations.

Certainly other princesses have been androgynous in their tendencies (e.g.

Pocahontas and Mulan), but the narratives of Rapunzel and Merida seem to address this

tendency with more deliberate focus. Neither Rapunzel nor Merida employs gender as a

defining principle for their actions. Rapunzel walks through the forest in bare-footed

stride, and uses her hair as her most trusty weapon of choice. Merida fights off a bear ten

times her size and speaks out adamantly in order to make her voice heard. By painting

the two newest princesses in this image, Disney is promoting the ideal that princesses are

not always what meets the eye. Both Rapunzel and Merida are dynamic, brave, and

independent. At the same time, they are fearful, empathetic, and emotional. What is most

important is that these tendencies help align the moral message of androgyny with the

messages found in the I Am A Princess campaign. From this, the world ought to expect

princesses to be unique, and no longer fit a mold that was originally designed in 1937.

Future Directions

This project contributes to current academic literature in a variety of ways. First,

the linking of mass media and rhetoric provides new avenues for research in gender

studies. As evidenced by the analyses in chapter three and chapter four, theoretical lenses

based in rhetoric are effective tools for the exploration of women’s roles in society. When

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women’s roles are defined through mass mediated texts (e.g., film) scholars have the

opportunity to interpret messages that affect society. Specifically, Tangled and Brave

depict Rapunzel and Merida in ways that invite viewers to reconsider the behaviors, goals

and attitudes of women; simultaneously the reconsideration of what constitutes a Disney

princess comes to mind. The media’s influence on women’s perceptions in real life is a

phenomenon worthy of future study because of the prevalence of mass mediated

messages in our lives. These messages shape reality not only for girls, but for all those

who expect girls to conform to such messages. Finally, this research is an addition to the

area of Disney studies because little has been done to discuss recent Disney princesses.

This is important for communication studies because it contributes to a breadth of

scholarship in our field. While I have started to explore these films for gender

expectations, additional investigations will add depth to this area of rhetorical studies.

This is the case not only for rhetorical investigations, but also for Disney scholarship

more generally. Disney studies can benefit from a reinvestigation of what it means to be a

princess according to Disney. This thesis demonstrates that Disney is actively interested

in expanding the conception of “princess,” and reminds readers of the significance of the

princess genre of films. Rapunzel and Merida suggest new moral messages to be added to

the Disney princess line, which help to expand the reach of this genre; additionally, the

moral messages are situated with the “I Am A Princess” campaign, because these

messages showcase a variety of princess characteristics that can be emulated in reality.

Also, this study opens new doors for the analysis of future Disney princess films. As a

case in point, I would like to provide an extension for future research pertaining to the

Disney princess genre.

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 The most recent Disney Animation Studios film, Frozen (2013) is bound to

produce one, if not two, new members of the Disney princess line. Although not yet

officially a Disney princess film, Frozen seems to be an inevitable addition to the

marketing line. The film has been received with rave reviews and even Oscar distinction.

On March 2, 2014, Frozen won two Oscars. The film received the honor of Best

Animated Feature, an award category that has only been established since 2001; the

award for Best Original Song was given to “Let It Go,” which accompanies the pivotal

musical moment of the film Frozen.12 On the same day, worldwide, box- office sales for

the film peaked at over 1 billion dollars.13 Due to the success of this newest film, it seems

likely that Frozen’s royal sisters will soon be added to the official marketing line; after

all, excluding the princesses of a $1 billion success would appear slightly irresponsible.

What makes a future investigation of Frozen a fruitful endeavor is the focus on its

leading ladies. “For the first time in forever,”14 Disney has included a pair of sisters as

princesses in a single film. Anna and Elsa are the heirs to the kingdom of Arendelle, and

shortly after the film’s start, Princess Elsa becomes Queen Elsa as the oldest heir.

However, Elsa has a secret that she has been forced to keep hidden from everyone,

including her sister. Elsa has magic within her that makes the world freeze around her

when she is scared, or upset. Initially, she believes that she must conceal her powers in

order to keep her little sister safe. However, this tactic backfires at a coronation

ceremony; Elsa accidentally hurts her Anna, freezing the younger princess’s heart in a

moment of panic. Anna discovers that the only way to thaw a frozen heart is with love. In

a stereotypical Disney moment, Anna believes that “true love’s kiss” is the solution to her

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problem. What ensues as the actual solution is what warrants this film as an area of future

research.

Rather than a fairy godmother, or a handsome prince arriving to save the day,

Anna saves herself. With her heart nearly completely frozen, she struggles to reach

Kristoff, the film’s leading male, in the midst of a blizzard caused by Elsa. As the snow

becomes denser, Hans corners Elsa. Hans is convinced that the only way to end the

eternal winter is to kill the snow queen. Even though Anna is moments from death

herself, she turns away from true love’s kiss in order to jump between Hans and her

sister. In the process, Elsa is protected, as Anna turns to ice just as Hans lowers his sword

toward the snow queen. Initially, it appears that it is too late, but moments later Anna

thaws and comes back to life. The love between sisters is expressed as the strongest and

most powerful bond of all. This calls to question new investigations about the nature of

Disney princess films and the messages they teach. Unlike any other princess story, Anna

was able to save herself. Her bravery broke the curse all because she was selfless enough

to sacrifice her life for her sister’s safety. The film concludes with the sisters sharing the

relational bond that they both desired all along, but that Elsa was too afraid to embrace

for fear that she would hurt her sister in the process. To understand the rhetorical

potential of Anna and Elsa’s narrative, we need look no further than the words of Frozen

songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband, Robert Lopez. Upon winning the

Academy Award for “Let It Go,” the couple “dedicated the honor to their two daughters

and "the hope," Anderson-Lopez said, "that you never let fear or shame keep you from

celebrating the unique people that you are.”15 This dedication indicates a moral message

contained in the film that has a larger meaning for society. Frozen is yet another step in

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the right direction for the Disney princess line because it promotes individuality and

bravery through the actions of strong female protagonists. It is my hope that future

research investigates the rhetorical influence of Frozen as an important Disney princess

film for understanding gender expectations and the roles of women in society as a whole.

Conclusion

With Rapunzel and Merida as examples, today’s young girls now have additional

types of role models to look up to. By recognizing that every young girl is a princess in

her own right, Disney has made great strides to represent the princess genre in new light

through Tangled and Brave. The moral messages expressed by Rapunzel and Merida

strengthen the rhetoric of the “I Am A Princess,” campaign. As rhetorical texts, the

narratives of these two newest princesses indicate that being a princess today is different

from being the type of princess exemplified by Snow White, or Cinderella. Waiting for a

handsome prince to rescue us is no longer the norm in society. Instead we can be bold,

strong, and independent, just like today’s Disney princesses. Of course, what it means to

be a bold, strong, and independent woman is not a mystery today. Patton writes, “as

adults, we know that what makes a princess, of the Disney or real-life variety, isn’t what

she is wearing or how she looks; whether prince charming sweeps her off her feet or she

carves her own independent path. What makes a princess is who she is and what she

stands for.”16 With the most recent princesses, it is now easier than ever for young girls to

reach this conclusion on their own.

If Rapunzel or Merida is the present day role model, it is safe to say that the

children who look up to them are in good hands. Disney has recognized its influence as a

cultural force and used princess narratives to promote this influence productively. As

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William Powers of the Washington Post states, "Disney's power begins with children for

whom Disney products are so powerful; they teach life lessons (think Pinocchio's nose!)

and they build dreamscapes. Children grow into adults, who are fond of Disney because it

shaped the way they think of the world.”17 If today’s children grow up fond of a world

where a girl can and should be self-aware, have control of her life, and be a fully capable

human being without a prince if she wishes, then Disney may be positively shaping the

lives of a new generation of brave young women. The girls of today can look to Rapunzel

and Merida and emulate the moral messages that they teach. The beauty of Disney films

is that the messages we find present within them are not lost to a single generation of

viewers. They are bound to be shared for generations to come, and to influence the future

“princesses” of society. Through Disney princess films, every girl has the ability to

recognize herself as a princess, capable of any and everything she wishes to achieve.

With role models like Rapunzel, Merida, and soon hopefully Anna and Elsa, young girls

can feel confident in embracing the words, “… I am a princess, long may I reign.”

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 Notes

1
“I Am A Princess,” September 27, 2012, video clip, accessed March 3, 2014, YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qUGnu0gXtn4.
2
Katie Patton, “The Princess Redefined; Long May She Reign.” Hello Giggles. last
modified October 26, 2012, http://hellogiggles.com/the-princess-redefined-long-may-she-
reign.
3
Annalee Ward. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2002), 1.
4
Sharon Downey, “Feminine Empowerment in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,”
Women’s Studies in Communication 19, no. 2 (1996) : 187.
5
See chapter three for the discussion of these elements in the film Tangled (2010).
6
See chapter four for the discussion of these elements in the film Brave (2012).
7
Henry Giroux, “Animating Youth: The Disneyfication of Children’s Culture,” Socialist
Review 24, no. 3 (1994): 24-25.
8
For an account how traditional weddings are perpetuated by the media, see Erika
Engstrom, The Bride Factory: Mass Media Portrayals of Women and Weddings (New
York: Peter Lang, 2012).
9
Sangeeta Rath and Aakankshya Mishra, “Gender-role Perception and Employment
Status in the Self-Efficacy of Women,” European Journal of Sustainable Development 2,
no 3 (2013): 58.
10
This further reinforces the message, “I am kind, even when others are not so generous,”
which appears in the I Am A Princess campaign video.
11
Taken from the song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” performed by Pat Carroll as Ursula,
with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman.
12
Todd Martens, “Oscars 2014: 'Frozen' out by a Disney Princess in Song Category,” Los
Angeles Times. last modified March 3, 2014,
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-oscar-music-
20140303,0,377106.story#axzz2vFukVeO5.
13
Brooks Barnes, “At Disney, A Celebration That Was a Long Time Coming,” New York
Times, last modified March 3, 2014,
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/business/media/at-disney-a-celebration-that-was-a-
long-time-coming.html?_r=0.

135
14
Included in reference to the film’s song of the same name, “For The First Time in
Forever.”
15
Joshua Ostroff, “‘Let It Go’ Wins Oscar For Best Original Song (And Best Speech,
Non-Lupita Edition),” Huffington Post. last modified March 2, 2014,
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/02/oscar-best-song-let-it-go_n_4886525.html.
16
Katie Patton, “The Princess Redefined; Long May She Reign.” Hello Giggles. last
modified October 26, 2012, http://hellogiggles.com/the-princess-redefined-long-may-she-
reign.
17
William Powers, “Eeek? Disney Is Big and Getting Much Bigger. Should We Be
Afraid of the Mouse?,” Washington Post, Aug. 6, 1995.

136
APPENDIX A: Disney Letter of Rejection to Mary Ford, 1938

137
APPENDIX B: Lyrics to song “When Will My Life Begin?

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Performed by Mandy Moore
Produced by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven and Alan Menken
Arranged and Orchestrated by Michael Starobin
Recorded and Mixed by Frank Wolf
Wonderland Music Company, Inc. (BMI)/Walt Disney Music Company (ASCAP)
—
(leaves window of tower)
RAPUNZEL: Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup
Start up the chores and sweep till the floor’s all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it’s, like, seven-fifteen
And so I’ll read a book or maybe two or three
I’ll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I’ll play guitar and knit and cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?

(paints lights in a mural on the wall)

Then after lunch it’s puzzles and darts and baking
Papier-mache, a bit of ballet and chess
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle-making
Then I’ll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress!

And I’ll re-read the books if I have time to spare

I’ll paint the walls some more, I’m sure there’s room somewhere
And then I’ll brush and brush and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I’ve always been
And I’ll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering
When will my life begin?

(back to window)
Tomorrow night, the lights will appear
Just like they do on my birthday each year
What is it like out there where they glow?
Now that I’m older, Mother might just let me go…
—

138
APPENDIX C: Lyrics to song “Mother Knows Best”

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Performed by Donna Murphy
Produced by Alan Menken
Arranged and Orchestrated by Michael Starobin
Recorded and Mixed by Frank Wolf
Wonderland Music Company, Inc. (BMI)/Walt Disney Music Company (ASCAP)
—

MOTHER GOTHEL: Mother knows best

Listen to your mother
RAPUNZEL: (Agh!)
MOTHER GOTHEL: It’s a scary world out there
Mother knows best
One way or another
Something will go wrong, I swear
Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand
Cannibals and snakes… The plague!
RAPUNZEL: No!
MOTHER GOTHEL: Yes!
RAPUNZEL: But–
MOTHER GOTHEL: Also large bugs
RAPUNZEL: (Agh!)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Men with pointy teeth, and stop, no more, you’ll just upset me
Mother’s right here, mother will protect you
Darling here’s what I suggest
Skip the drama, stay with mama
Mother knows best
Ah, hahahaha…

Mother knows best

Take it from your mumsy
On your own, you won’t survive
Sloppy, underdressed, immature, clumsy
Please, they’ll eat you up alive
Gullible, naive, positively grubby
Ditzy and a bit, well, hmm vague
Plus, I believe, gettin’ kinda chubby
I’m just saying ’cause I wuv you

Mother understands, mother’s here to help you

All I have is one request
(spoken)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Rapunzel?

139
RAPUNZEL: Yes?
MOTHER GOTHEL: Don’t ever ask to leave this tower again.
RAPUNZEL: Yes, Mother.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Uh, I love you very much, dear.
RAPUNZEL: I love you more.
MOTHER GOTHEL: I love you most. (kisses Rapunzel's forehead)
(sung)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Don’t forget it, you’ll regret it
Mother knows best!
—

140
APPENDIX D: Lyrics to song “Reprise of Mother Knows Best”

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Performed by Donna Murphy
Produced by Alan Menken
Arranged and Orchestrated by Michael Starobin
Recorded and Mixed by Frank Wolf
Wonderland Music Company, Inc. (BMI)/Walt Disney Music Company (ASCAP)
—

MOTHER GOTHEL: Well! I thought he’d never leave!

RAPUNZEL: Mother!
MOTHER GOTHEL: Hello dear.
RAPUNZEL: But I, I, I, I don’t, uh… How did you find me?
MOTHER GOTHEL: Oh, it was easy really. I just listened to the sound of complete and
utter betrayal and followed that.
RAPUNZEL: (sigh) Mother…
MOTHER GOTHEL: We’re going home, Rapunzel. Now.
RAPUNZEL: You, you don’t understand. I’ve been on this incredible journey
and I’ve seen and learned so much. I even met someone.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Yes, the wanted thief, I’m so proud. Come on, Rapunzel.
RAPUNZEL: Mother, wait. I think… I think he likes me.
MOTHER GOTHEL: Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that’s demented.
RAPUNZEL: But mother, I…

(song begins)
MOTHER GOTHEL: This is why you never should have left
(Rapunzel sighs)
MOTHER GOTHEL: Dear, this whole romance that you’ve invented
Just proves you’re too naive to be here
Why would he like you? Come on now, really.
Look at you! You think that he’s impressed?
Don’t be a dummy, come with mummy
Mother…
RAPUNZEL: No!!!
MOTHER GOTHEL: No?! Oh. I see how it is.
Rapunzel knows best
Rapunzel’s so mature now
Such a clever grown-up miss
Rapunzel knows best
Fine, if you’re so sure now
Go ahead, then give him this! (satchel)
RAPUNZEL: How did you…?
MOTHER GOTHEL: This (crown) is why he’s here!
Don’t let him deceive you!

141
 Give it to him, watch, you’ll see!
RAPUNZEL: I will!
MOTHER GOTHEL: Trust me, my dear
That’s how fast he’ll leave you
I won’t say I told you so!
No, Rapunzel knows best!
So if he’s such a dreamboat
Go and put him to the test
RAPUNZEL: Mother, wait–
MOTHER GOTHEL: If he’s lying, don’t come crying,
‘Mother knows best’! (vanishes)
—

142
APPENDIX E: Lyrics to song “Into The Open Air"

Music and Lyrics by Alex Mandel

Performed by Julie Fowlis
Produced by Jim Sutherland with Éamon Doorley and Julie Fowlis
Julie Fowlis and Éamon Doorley appear courtesy of Machair Records
—

This love, it is a distant star

Guiding us home wherever we are
This love, it is a burning sun
Shining light on the things that we've done

I try to speak to you everyday

But each word we spoke, the wind blew away

Could these walls come crumbling down?

I want to feel my feet on the ground
And leave behind this prison we share
Step into the open air

How did we let it come to this?

What we just tasted we somehow still miss

How will it feel when this day is done

And can we keep what we've only begun?

And now these walls come crumbling down

And I can feel my feet on the ground
Can we carry this love that we share
Into the open air?
Into the open air?
Into the open air?

This love, it is a burning sun

—

143
APPENDIX F: Lyrics to song “Learn Me Right"

Written, Arranged and Produced by Mumford & Sons

Performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons
Birdy appears courtesy of Warner Music UK Limited
Mumford & Sons appears courtesy of Gentleman of the Road under exclusive license to
Universal Island Records, Glassnote Entertainment Group, Co-operative Music and Dew
Process Pty Ltd.
—

Though I may speak some tongue of old

Or even spit out some holy word
I have no strength with which to speak
When you sit me down and see I’m weak

We will run and scream

You will dance with me
We’ll fulfill our dreams and we’ll be free

We will run and scream

You will dance with me
We’ll fulfill our dreams and we’ll be free

We will be who we are

And they’ll heal our scars
Sadness will be far away

So I had done wrong but you put me right

My judgment burned in the black of night
When I give less than I take
It is my fault my own mistake

We will run and scream

You will dance with me
We’ll fulfill our dreams and we’ll be free
We will be who we are
And they’ll heal our scars
Sadness will be far away
—

144
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