Merida

Before Disney, there was no Merida, no fairy tale,

no myth, no folklore, just Scotland and its own legends,

monsters and unicorns, shapeshifters, the wee-folk, witches,

and the willow-o’-the wisps luring us off our course;

but there was a mother and a strong-willed daughter,

argumentative, vying for power, clashing

with tradition, desiring her independence.  And so,

Merida was born, dropped into Scotland, DunBroch,

refusing to marry the prince who would win her hand,

arrows shot, the best marksman winning, she besting

them all in this Disney tale of breaking with convention,

no prince to rescue her, for she must rescue herself, setting free

her mother, too – trapped inside herself – from the bear she had become:

 

a new princess, a modern princess, breaking the mold

set by Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, rescued,

a modern woman, bravely, now, setting herself free.