Been thinking a lot recently about a few mythical themes and how they relate to our expectations about life. The Fairy Tales that we have been brought up on, have a serious impact on our expectations about the way life is supposed to happen in the granting of our wishes and relationships.
Lets take the example of the “Rescue me from my life” theme, which pervades through many stories that we tell our little girls. Look at the themes in Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. All female characters, all living a life of transgression, all waiting for someone else to rescue them from their restrictive lives and take them to a happy place. This is the “Rescue Me” theme. The ability to escape from your current situation lies in the hand of someone else, the “Prince Charming” someone with the capability to remove the heroine from her enslaved situation, and carry her off to somewhere where life is all dandy and roses, and where she would find happiness forever and ever.
Notice though, that for little girls, the rescuer or “Prince Charming” is someone else. In no instance does the female main character rescue herself. She never seems to be able to rise above her circumstance, ans be her own Prince Charming.
This is a direct contrast with fairy tales and legends which have male main characters. In all of these, the male main character comes from a lowly, or less than perfect background, but the ability to transcend this position in life rests solely on his shoulders, with a little help from a few friends (Robin Hood and his Merry Men) or with the help of a mentor (King Arthur and Merlin.)
The messages we send to our daughters through these stories? You are too helpless to transcend yourself, you need a man to assist you and to improve your life. Which explains the way a lot of women I know think. The expectation of marriage or serious relationship at a certain age, the pause in plans for themselves until “Prince Charming” comes around. And, there are even some instances that I see, where, if the relationship does not work out, the search for another Prince Charming begins, and life is almost placed on hold while the mind searches for another rescuer. This is even further reinforced by the behaviour of older women in the family when daughters and neices are not “settled” by a certain age, or when marriages and relationships fail. The failure of the previous generation to create a realistic picture of relationship models, has women “ponging themselves” when marriages do not work out, or they perpetuate the lies of perfection by keeping quiet and disintergating in spiritual spark internally.
Add to this the same theme which pervades throughout the Christian Mythos, and many other religions. A saviour in some form or fashion is coming to rescue you from your earthly horrors. Which is probably why there are so many women in Church.
I think somewhere along the line the stories, which were meant to give hope to those who were in less than perfect circumstances, that something or someone will come along and their circumstances would change. However, the end point has been missed. You are your own Prince Charming, you have to find a way to rise above yourself and remove yourself from the situation. You have to reach in and find your inner Saviour and yank HER out to save yourself from whatever is closing you off from reaching where you want to be.
This is why I like Magick, and esoteric themes. The Christos, the Divine Spark, the Prince Charming character if you will; resides in you. You have to sift through your own psyche and find what it is saying to you. Drag it out from its slumber; have it rise from where it is buried; and resurect yourself.
Your Prince lies within you.
