Not All Princesses Need a Prince

Sorted under books on May 13, 2008

Parents read to their children all the time; in fact, some expectant mothers read to their children while they are still in utero and one of the most popular things that parents read to their children are fairy tales.

One thing you will be slapped in the face with repeatedly while reading any fairy tale is that all fairy princesses find their prince and then live happily ever after. Of course most fairy tales were written so long ago that sure, finding a man and living your life together was the standard; but what you can absorb through watching just one episode of Sex and the City is that finding a man and living “happily ever after” is no longer the standard. Now, women can be without a man and still go on to pursue their careers, own their own home and most of all, be happy with who they are without needing the validation of having a man–And now there’s a fairy tale for the modern day life.

Princess Bubble is the fairy tale story of a princess who sees her friends find their princes, get married and live happily ever after all the while being told that she too must go out and find her prince charming. After searching high and low for the man of her dreams, she finds that she is happy just how she is–She has a career as a flight attendant, she has her very own castle (that is decorated just the way she likes it and she didn’t have to give up an entire room in that castle for her prince to make into a den or a rec room, by the way,) and best of all, she is happy with herself and her life without needing to find a prince.

This story is a must-read for both children and for adult women, in my opinion. It is a cute story and it validates women for the wonderful people that they are–And not because they attracted the attention of the right man. What I also liked about this story is that it did not mention that in order for Princess Bubble to be happy living her life without a man, she had to go out and get a lot of cats. The crazy cat lady stereotype may now be put to rest!



You May Also Enjoy:

  • This is a good article. The stories always have a happy ending and that is not always the case in real life. I understand that it is a book for children and it should have a happy ending but I think that some stories should have an open ended ending. This will accomplish 2 things: 1) letting the children know that not all stories have a happy ending and 2) real life is a little tough sometimes.
  • Great post, I do agree with you. For me it is quite difficult to understand the mindset of people who somehow try to convince women that attracting the right man is the most important thing in their lives. Thanks for the post.
  • I think little girls who read this or have it read to them will like hearing the words Princess and Bubble. The word Bubble makes little girls happy and instills a feeling of happiness that will be correlated to this book and whoever reads it to them. It is a smart marketing ploy. I thought this book sucked and did not have enough of a tension/resolution. It also has underlying tones of ignoring your parents and follow the advice of a fairy godmother. I enjoyed having a special someone reading it to me while falling asleep...however it sucked.
  • While the story does sound cute and all, speaking from experience, I didn't read the fairytales when I was little and think "Oh I have to have a man in my life." I think suggesting that girls get that mentality from reading such books is a little absurd.'

    I don't need a book to tell me that I can be my own person without a man. I had that mentality from a very young age and I read and watched every fairytale out there.
  • That is a great story - it is a good point to make that we don't have to be like everybody else and that it's perfectly okay to just be yourself and independent.
  • Lisa
    Great post!! I don't have any children of my own but I always think about this. I'm quite the cynical child of divorce and I feel lame sharing "fairy tales" like the classics where two people stay together forever. I find that possibility highly unlikely and feel cheap leading little ones to believe that. Although I don't want to berate them with my old bitter, old biddy comments either that there are no such thing as prince charmings :)
blog comments powered by Disqus