Disney Princesses and their sins

After the article about Disney villains and their virtues, that you should definitely read if you haven't already, I thought it would be just fair to write something from the opposite point of view: Disney Princesses and their sins. But with a twist!

Everyone loves a pretty Disney Princess. I, too, would put my Disneyland Princesses autograph book as one of my most prised possessions. Then something happens, maybe rebellious teenage years, or the real life equivalent of that, which is adulting, and the appeal of pouffy gowns and shiny crowns decreases. Villains are all the rave. They are way cooler, more powerful, never need rescuing and have awesome songs.

Villains may or may not sometimes end up slightly dead, but that's just life. 

After all, you gotta be realistic.

Therefore, I am here to discuss the possibility, that turned out to be very much reality, that Disney Princesses are not that innocent. As the ideal counterpart of virtues that I have found in Disney villains, here's a list of deadly sins our Princesses are guilty of.

• Lust: The first princess gifted with any sort of sexual appeal is Jasmine. Remember in the 'red light' scene, when she turns 'slave Leia' with a high ponytail? Undeniably lustful. But a single scene doesn't make the sin, and the crown goes to Megara! Not really a princess, but definitely the sassiest of them all. From her very first appearance we see Meg using her body and wit to trick questionable creatures, and she's not afraid to show 'Wonderboy' her ponytail flick. I sense a pattern here.

• Gluttony: You would expect to see Snow White here, wouldn't you? The princess that eats the apple. Such a cliche'. That's why I'm going with Alice. After all that 'eat me' and 'drink me', getting smaller, and then bigger, I really think she deserves the position of Glutton Princess. It's almost like none of her adventures would have taken place without some edible aid. And that's how the 70's interpreted her story.

• Greed: This is a typically villain characteristic, because when a princess wants to gain something it's always for her people, see Moana; or it's books, so it doesn't count. Right, Belle? The only princess that actively seeks wealth, and her ultimate goal is a personal material achievement, is Tiana. All her life choices are based around money, and wealth is one of the main topics in the cartoon. She ultimately wants to open a restaurant, she is not saving her family or experiencing any moral growth. 

• Sloth: Which iconic Disney female figure did absolutely nothing? I will exclude the ones that obviously did nothing as they were 'asleep', Snow White and Aurora, and focus on Duchess, from the Aristocats. She lived the easy life of an indoors cat and she didn't even have a hobby like her kittens did. Despite having saved energy for all her life, she still needed rescuing from minute one in the wilderness.

• Wrath: There are two kinds of wrath, one is directed towards others, the other is self-inflicted. As for the latter, I would name Elsa, whereas the 'original' kind of wrath, the one with rebellion, anger, violence, denial, and so forth, belongs to Mulan. She is angry because of the role reserved for girls in her culture, because she doesn't fit in, because she wants to speak up but no one is listening, so she chops her hair off and kills all the Huns.

• Envy: This is a tough one, considering how intensely Tinkerbell feels envy towards Wendy, but that's nothing compared to Ariel. Her envy for humankind is total and includes objects she doesn't know the use of, and body parts she never saw before. Borderline greedy as well. On top of that, she turns her back to her loving family and friendly sea creatures to feel part of our world. I am speechless too.

• Pride: Let's talk about Pocahontas for a second. She is indeed very proud of her culture, heritage, land, etc. It comes as no surprise that she, in the best Disney song ever, sings about how 'the white men' will never know any better with their ways, and only her people could paint with all the colours of the wind. Yet, she is a rebel for her own tribe: she doesn't want to follow any established path, nor live a tranquil life, nor get married. And she ends up alone in London. Spoiler alert.

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