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[charliefsem]

Snow-White (psychoanalytic analysis)

Snow White was one of my favorite stories growing up. Looking back, it was definitely just because I thought her dress was pretty and I thought the evil queen was funny for talking to her mirror. All stories of Snow White can be analyzed from a psychoanalytic lens. When people analyze this story, they often look at the evil queen’s ego and her selfish desires, but I wanted to look at the prince.

The Grimm Brothers’ story of Snow-White culminates in the prince buying Snow-White’s body from the dwarves. At this point in the story, she is presumed dead, so he has fallen for a dead body essentially. This explicit necrophiliac desire is not hidden at all. This has a nod to the death drive theory established by Freud.

His ornamental desire for her is showcased through the monetary transaction and the ornate coffin. This desire showcases the id of the prince as this is an instinctual desire with no thought or social consideration. The superego of the prince doesn’t seem to be present as there is no waffling between whether this ‘purchase’ is right or wrong.

Many fairy tales were used to discuss taboo topics with no filter, and that is obviously done in this story. It has been written in a way that allows the reader to not bat an eye at this explicit necrophilia in front of them.

[charliefsem]

"I’ve got to stop pretending to be something I’m not”-Aladdin

Growing up in Florida, my family and I were avid Disney go-ers. We had season tickets and would go for any free weekend that we had. This was partially due to my sister and I’s love for all of the princesses. We LOVED them. We had the autograph books and princess dresses to prove it. Some of my best memories from early childhood were these interactions and experiences at Disney. Also, watching all of the princess movies from our extensive VHS collection. I couldn’t get enough of it all. I think that fantasy and escape are so crucial for children’s imaginations. 

One of my favorite stories was Aladdin. I loved the music and the aesthetic of it. However, the main message of Aladdin is to be yourself.

This is something that I struggled with when I was really young. I was a very creative mind in a house full of math brains. This caused tensions because, as my mom likes to say, “I had my own way of doing things.” However, my mom has always been very supportive of anything I choose to do. Granted, most of my interests were things that she knew nothing about. But, she found people to help me and allowed me to explore everything, including baking, sewing, dance, theater, and the list goes on and on. With her support, like Aladdin’s support from the Genie, I explored and figured out who I was independent of my family or friends. This has allowed me to grow up with a strong sense of self that is not easily influenced. The concept of “being yourself” is complex, but ultimately it has allowed me to distinguish genuine friendships, find true passions and hobbies that make it feel like time is flying by. 

[charliefsem]

tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast is a story that has been adapted over and over through the centuries and has been a place of comfort for young women specifically in comforting them about their fears of arranged marriage. The thought of marrying someone you don’t like and was “beast-like” was a very real and prominent fear. In 1991, Walt Disney adapted this story into an animated film for children with the moral of valuing character as opposed to superficial qualities. This is shown by Beauty falling in love with the Beast despite his beastly appearance. Many of the themes and symbols from the first form of this tale, Cupid and Psyche were restored in this modern adaptation. The soundtrack of Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorites growing up and does a good job bringing insight to the story. 

Track one: Belle 

https://open.spotify.com/track/0Q4a3PdGEME9w8Jgqa0Gf3?si=008de0256ee24b09

In this song, we hear Belle interacting with the locals of the village and how she feels out of place and bored in her “little town.” This town also highlights her isolation with dialogue from the townsfolk deeming her strange. Her love of books is also emphasized which will be important later on in the story. 

This relates to the original tale Cupid and Psyche because Beauty, in both stories, is isolated due to her beauty. In Cupid and Psyche, Beauty is isolated because she is so beautiful, people begin to worship her, so she becomes unattainable. In Beauty and the Beast, the townsfolk gossip and say “it’s no wonder that her name means beauty, her looks have got no parallel,” and Gaston deems her “the most beautiful girl in town.” and that she is the girl he will marry. 

Track two: Belle Reprise

https://open.spotify.com/track/34XWBbHC4hsTBDDbIH8g4g?si=fe2c70d4c99b46f6

In this song, Belle says she “wants much more than this provincial life” and “adventure in the great wide somewhere” and she “wants so much more than they’ve got planned.” This is highly relatable to both time periods because it is normal for a woman to yearn for more than what her life looks like. She is expected to marry who she is told or “fated” to marry and to be quiet and polite and content. 

This is relatable for young girls who are desiring that adventure and unknown in the face of the certain life ahead of them. This is proved through the story Cupid and Psyche because girls are able to put themselves in Psyche’s shoes when she does all of the crazy tasks that Venus has her complete. Girls are able to imagine they are the ones on the adventure. 

Track Three: Gaston

https://open.spotify.com/track/0zstgBrV1t1g6n4jHrUVBY?si=db3118c77bc4472b

Gaston is important because he is supposed to represent the “ideal man.” This is evidence by the lyrics that his sidekick Le Fou sings in this song. He highlights male ideals such as “no one fights like Gaston,” “There’s no man in town half as manly,” “There’s no one as burly and brawny,” and more. Gaston is a caricature of how men view women as objects that are to be owned and saved by men. 

He is the true antagonist as Venus is the antagonist of Cupid and Psyche. This is because of their jealousy. Gaston is determined to have Belle’s hand in marriage and will do anything to get it. Venus is jealous of Psyche’s Beauty and does everything she can to make her miserable. 

Track Four: Be our Guest

https://open.spotify.com/track/6btdYzQ8eZFBrOlUKVHuz0?si=42ac69277372423b

In both stories, Belle/Beauty stumbles upon the castle. While in different ways, they are both astonished with the grandeur of the castle that they find. While in the castle, Beauty is met with unseen voices, “We whose voices you hear are your servants and shall obey all your commands with our utmost care and diligence.” Beauty also hears “music from invisible performers.” In Beauty and the Beast, Belle is met with servants of sorts in the form of enchanted objects such as Lumiere and Mrs. Pots who perform the song, Be our Guest and provide Belle with a grad dinner and show.

Track Five: Something There

https://open.spotify.com/track/6mDxu0xwhv5tn1oMTNUypu?si=9357caeca15a4bc2

This track is important because it shows Belle sort of coming around to the idea of caring for the beast. This song really addresses the idea of an arranged marriage with Lumiere saying, “Who’d have thought they’d come together on their own.” They were pushing for them to be together to break the curse that was put upon the beast, so this reveals that they would have done anything to get them together much like in an arranged marriage. This is also similar to the idea in Cupid and Psyche how she never sees him in the light and they get to know each other without their looks and end up falling for each other because it was fate. 

Track Six: Beauty and the Beast

https://open.spotify.com/track/2rJFFUEl1LURkV0b0OARXx?si=b216f2d0a502437f

Throughout this song, we hear how it may be strange that they are together, but that love is “certain as the sun.” This is seen in Cupid and the Psyche when Psyche is willing to do anything and they end up together as unlikely as their union should be with Venus in the way. The line “Both a little scared, neither one prepared” is important because it notes that both parties were unsure and curious about the other. 

By the time that Belle had come into the Beast’s life, he was certain he was stuck like this forever, and once he accepted his fate, he was met with Belle. In cupid and Psyche, Psyche had accepted her fate but was unexpectedly met with Cupid’s love as she thought she would be stuck married to “a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist.”