hear me out. what if the damsel in distress trope isn’t about needing rescue from a man but about needing to see a man put his life on the line to be worth her time
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Look, it's my emotional support dragon. No, I am not going to "re-home" him. He was here first; he's family. And, yes, he gets to stay in the room whenever.
...interesting, and completely conceivable - after all most of these where based on folk lore and not necessarily collected in a none biased manner...
We all know history is skewed by the writers...
Yup. And as we find out in the sequel, Fairy Godmother stacked the deck so her son would be the one.
Which, that never happens in real life. ::sarcasm::
Don't let us off so easily. Make sure they'll do the dishes and take care of you when you're sick. You might also want to dismiss/insult them in the courting phase, see if they take it in stride or blow up. Also, if they only get mad when no one's around, get them therapy or get the hell outta there
Now that's a nuanced perspective on women agency. Fairytales can use this trope to subvert the understanding of damsel in distress, overall it's an interesting take
YES. At its best, it is a tale about what you need to be willing to do or risk to be worthy of love; not as reward you are entitled to, but just the minimum ante to sit at the table to be considered.
It’s the devotion/competence equivalent of an actual theory in evolutionary biology called truth in advertising in mate selection. The theory suggests things like peacock tails that put survival at risk exist for mate selection-not for aesthetics but because surviving the handicap proves worth.
Of course it's ridiculous, but people do ridiculous things for "love" all the time. It's also a fairly common toxic relationship trait; most just don't have a firebreathing dragon to go along with
That is indeed the appeal. For me at least, it's to reinforce the likability of the man. In the same way sailor moon uses the guy she likes to endear us to her. In games Zelda does the concept best. Cause link doesn't even need a romantic element. Making him more likable cause thats his base line
It actually originates in the idea of chivalry. It was beneficial to stability in a feudal society if you could convince the powerful to protect the weak. The damsel is a metaphor. Only feminists and misogynists insist on taking it literally.
My, damsels, find their own way out of distress. In fact, my damsels tend to make the bad guys need rescuing. That's one reason why I enjoy writing about them so very much.
Its instictual to put yourself between harm and a woman or child, at least for me. Or, I feel it is my duty to sacrifice my own life, man=disposible, to help someone who is less able? This applies to feats of strength and such.
I'd like to see it flipped where after he saves her, she decides he's kind of a douche, gives him her thanks, and finds the guy she'd rather spend her life with.
Well, yes - that’s right. The damsel in distress trope developed as a key part of Arthurian literature in the 12th-13th c. It was the chivalric ideal where men had to prove their worth to a woman. But this has to do with Courtly Love. In those days marriages were arranged & were a matter of 1/
Wealth & Property. Emotion & love were not part of it. Ideas of romantic love emerged in literature but ALL real true love was adulterous. Since a woman was sold in marriage to her husband who obviously could not truly care for as he treated her a property, one could ONLY have real love with a 2/
Man who was not her husband. The Catholic Church ruled all in Europe then so falling in love meant putting your immortal soul on the line via adultery. Thus men really really needed to prove that they were 1) serious 2) committed & 3) worthy of adultery & eternity in Hell. This became the measure 3/
Of love in Tristan & Isolde where Tristan is told that his love for Isolde will be his death, he says “If by my death you mean this agony of love, that is my life. If by my death you mean the punishment that we arc to suffer if discovered, which is namely execution, 4/
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The Hero: She didn't like my craft beer making.
We all know history is skewed by the writers...
Which, that never happens in real life. ::sarcasm::
Love!
LOVE THIS!
And I respect it
Like that?
I think having a power differential over a woman is a more likely explanation.
https://youtu.be/CVw7iulcI98?si=ZnXQhj1PsP3KdwyJ
https://youtu.be/kPa7bsKwL-c?si=0QlX2L6PkLipRLwC
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AFxi5NmqZi4
I’m cackling
only peeped the replies bc i saw it was getting reposted lol
Say it ain't so.
... bringing my hatred for it down to 301% only
I love it
I assumed since we’re talking about tropes, we’re talking fiction and the better option becomes a possibility. I’d like to see that version.
These stories are where our entire idea of romantic love in the Western world comes from.
Neat, huh?
fr tho I don't really trust a man till he risks himself for me. then I know he's a real one.