[Complete] Glass Ceiling
Sep. 26th, 2010 12:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phoenyTitle: Glass Ceiling
Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Play/Lines:Othello: “In following him, I follow but myself.” –Iago (I.i.61)
Rating & Warnings: T, heavy spoilers for episode 34
Summary: What, exactly, is a fairytale?
Notes: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
10_shakespeare
"Glass Ceiling"
I have a story to tell you, and it is indeed a most wonderful tale.
“Once upon a time,” and before I go on, do you know most fairytales start out with this line? It is just about as cliché as “it was a dark and stormy night”. It also lacks the succinctness of “call me Ishmael”.
But I digress. Let’s continue on.
“Once upon a time, there was a Prince. A very noble Prince, actually, as most royals were…noble. A noble royal. A most noble Prince was searching for his (because Princes are males) Princess (which, undoubtedly, are female). And they (the Princes) search about for their damsels in the most peculiar way. They have to become heroes, rescuers in order to have her hand in marriage.”
(Extra, extra!) That is because it was most convenient for the Prince to be single because he just happens to be and the Princess to be single because she never is able to be otherwise. There’s nothing sexual about it, just the way the fairytale goes.
“In most fairytales, there was a villain, and they were villains because they did something repulsive over the course of our story. So we shall have a villain appearing soon.”
Wait, are you saying I’m giving away the plot of the story? But this is exactly how fairytales are! I have no control over plot; what are you thinking? I only serve to tell tales; they don’t serve me. Moving on!
“In some fairytales, the villain strove to kill the main character. There was one in which a Prince fell in love with a woman, but she turned out to be sea foam. Another was where the Prince was actually a poor man in disguise, yet won the love of a royal Princess. Needless to say, the Princess took care of everything in that particular story. Or how about the Prince who kidnapped his Princess and she thought him a handsome Beast instead? And yet another tale in which the Prince’s father was killed and the Prince was powerless without the help of his subjects. Then he grew up, sang Hakuna Matata and all that jazz, became courageous, and was crowned King. Or how about the one where the Prince was a God, was duped by a mortal woman, yet still fell in love with each other.”
Now what do all these other fairytales have to do with ours? (Do you know, do you know?) That’s easy to answer! Noble figures are tragic characters; such is the fate of a Prince. These fairytales aren’t suited for children, yet they are the best audience! How ironic the situation. Where are we again? Ahh, here:
"Like most fairytales, the Prince have met plenty of damsels-in-distresses, but not THE one. The one Princess that needed to be saved, and live 'happily ever after' with him. It just so happen that he did meet the Princess destined to share his fate. And unlike the other washed-up fairytales, he died."
Yes, the Prince is dead. Why, you say? Because Princesses don't deserve to be saved. What they do deserve is to wallow in their miserable, single lives for the rest of Eternity! The whole concept is just a game. A GAME. Do you know? Do you know I'm tired of repeating myself, of telling audiences (you, the reader) the rules on which a fairytale is structured on? The concept of "a happy ending"? And for whose sake? Certainly not the Prince, because he's fucking dead.
And certainly not the Princess, who is voluntarily helpless. Because she chooses to be. Now that I have your full, undivided attention, let's start over from the beginning.
"There once was a Prince that shined throughout the land. Not just any Prince; he was called the Rose Prince. And he saved Princesses. Except one. For as the sister of a Prince, she was also a Princess. She also happened to be 'his one'. The one to have that 'happily ever after' ending most fairytales sought.""Except it didn't go as well. See, the Prince was afflicted with something, and it made him weak. Yet the cries for help never stopped. So his sister, the Princess took upon every grievance; every roar, echo, tear, hate, tore asunder through her body and she let her Prince rot while she suffered. The End. The biggest mistake was the Prince was shirking on his duties, and what kind of Rose Prince would he be if he let that continue?"
That's easy. He becomes a Man.
(Extra, extra!) So dear reader, as you browse around other people's work of fiction, make sure you pay attention to what's not there and stop letting someone's hand cover your eyes.
Do you? Do you know? Do you even realize?
Fandom: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Play/Lines:Othello: “In following him, I follow but myself.” –Iago (I.i.61)
Rating & Warnings: T, heavy spoilers for episode 34
Summary: What, exactly, is a fairytale?
Notes: For
10_shakespeare"Glass Ceiling"
I have a story to tell you, and it is indeed a most wonderful tale.
“Once upon a time,” and before I go on, do you know most fairytales start out with this line? It is just about as cliché as “it was a dark and stormy night”. It also lacks the succinctness of “call me Ishmael”.
But I digress. Let’s continue on.
“Once upon a time, there was a Prince. A very noble Prince, actually, as most royals were…noble. A noble royal. A most noble Prince was searching for his (because Princes are males) Princess (which, undoubtedly, are female). And they (the Princes) search about for their damsels in the most peculiar way. They have to become heroes, rescuers in order to have her hand in marriage.”
(Extra, extra!) That is because it was most convenient for the Prince to be single because he just happens to be and the Princess to be single because she never is able to be otherwise. There’s nothing sexual about it, just the way the fairytale goes.
“In most fairytales, there was a villain, and they were villains because they did something repulsive over the course of our story. So we shall have a villain appearing soon.”
Wait, are you saying I’m giving away the plot of the story? But this is exactly how fairytales are! I have no control over plot; what are you thinking? I only serve to tell tales; they don’t serve me. Moving on!
“In some fairytales, the villain strove to kill the main character. There was one in which a Prince fell in love with a woman, but she turned out to be sea foam. Another was where the Prince was actually a poor man in disguise, yet won the love of a royal Princess. Needless to say, the Princess took care of everything in that particular story. Or how about the Prince who kidnapped his Princess and she thought him a handsome Beast instead? And yet another tale in which the Prince’s father was killed and the Prince was powerless without the help of his subjects. Then he grew up, sang Hakuna Matata and all that jazz, became courageous, and was crowned King. Or how about the one where the Prince was a God, was duped by a mortal woman, yet still fell in love with each other.”
Now what do all these other fairytales have to do with ours? (Do you know, do you know?) That’s easy to answer! Noble figures are tragic characters; such is the fate of a Prince. These fairytales aren’t suited for children, yet they are the best audience! How ironic the situation. Where are we again? Ahh, here:
"Like most fairytales, the Prince have met plenty of damsels-in-distresses, but not THE one. The one Princess that needed to be saved, and live 'happily ever after' with him. It just so happen that he did meet the Princess destined to share his fate. And unlike the other washed-up fairytales, he died."
Yes, the Prince is dead. Why, you say? Because Princesses don't deserve to be saved. What they do deserve is to wallow in their miserable, single lives for the rest of Eternity! The whole concept is just a game. A GAME. Do you know? Do you know I'm tired of repeating myself, of telling audiences (you, the reader) the rules on which a fairytale is structured on? The concept of "a happy ending"? And for whose sake? Certainly not the Prince, because he's fucking dead.
And certainly not the Princess, who is voluntarily helpless. Because she chooses to be. Now that I have your full, undivided attention, let's start over from the beginning.
"There once was a Prince that shined throughout the land. Not just any Prince; he was called the Rose Prince. And he saved Princesses. Except one. For as the sister of a Prince, she was also a Princess. She also happened to be 'his one'. The one to have that 'happily ever after' ending most fairytales sought.""Except it didn't go as well. See, the Prince was afflicted with something, and it made him weak. Yet the cries for help never stopped. So his sister, the Princess took upon every grievance; every roar, echo, tear, hate, tore asunder through her body and she let her Prince rot while she suffered. The End. The biggest mistake was the Prince was shirking on his duties, and what kind of Rose Prince would he be if he let that continue?"
That's easy. He becomes a Man.
(Extra, extra!) So dear reader, as you browse around other people's work of fiction, make sure you pay attention to what's not there and stop letting someone's hand cover your eyes.
Do you? Do you know? Do you even realize?
