Introducing Madame Lucile Manette, the main protagonist in Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," and quite possibly the woman who the Disney Princesses were based on. Beautiful, compassionate, and courageous, are only a few of the numerous adjectives that can describe her. Ms. Manette has an almost perfect if not completely perfect physical appearance. With "golden hair", "blue eyes", and "a short, slight, pretty figure"(29), Ms. Manette truly is the lady of many a man's fantasy. Her physical appearance combined with "a very clear and pleasant young voice"(29), gives the character an aura of perfection that can only be compared to that of one of Walt Disney's princesses. Like most of Disney's princesses, Lucile Manette had a difficult beginning; her father had been missing and presumed dead and her mother had perished when Lucile was only two years old effectively making her an orphan. Ms. Manette had since lived a lonely life "in the ward of [the bank] Tellson's"(32) with "no [friends]"(30). Her tragedy of being orphaned and lonely at a young age is identical to many Disney princesses stories such as Snow White and Cinderella.
Madame Lucile Manette, who is seventeen at the time, is first seen in the coffee room, in a meeting with Mr. Jarvis Lorry, a banker from Tellson's bank. Ms. Manette finds out from Mr. Lorry that her father, who she had presumed dead all these years, is still alive but is in a psychological state of madness, after being imprisoned in the Bastille for many years. Furthermore, Mr Lorry wants Lucile to meet the father, who is a complete stranger to his daughter, in hopes of awakening him from his state of madness. Following another Disney cliche, Lucille momentarily shows her vulnerability when she goes into shock after hearing the news. But like most Disney heroines she recovers from this moment of weakness and ultimately accompanies Mr. Lorry to her father. This leads to Lucille meeting her father and slightly curing his ailment when he sees her golden hair, the same kind of a strand golden hair he kept with him in his years in the Bastille. The first book ends with Lucille successfully accompanying her father back to their home, where "[his] agony is over", and where he will be "at peace and at rest"(53). Overall, the first book could be compared to the prologue of most of Disney's movies. Lucille, the "princess" finds out that her father, who was thought to be dead, was still alive, so she meets him and helps him recover. If this story continues to follow the plot of a Disney film, I predict that a "Prince Charming" will appear and resolve or add conflict to this story. Madame Lucille Manette is identical to Disney's Princesses in every way, she has fantastical beauty, courage that people of her age usually do not have, and a tragic past that scarred her childhood, yet she shows no sign of depression. If I didn't know any better, i would have said Walt Disney based his formula for the Disney Princesses on Lucile Manette.
Hello Rando! (:
ReplyDeleteGoing back to the physical appearance of Lucile, the description of "golden hair", "blue eyes", and "a short, slight, pretty figure" are very stereotypical descriptions of a beautiful woman(29). Do you think that the descriptions would stay true if the book was written in another time period, for example, present day? Also, don't forget that not all of the Disney princesses look similar to Lucile. In fact I think that the Disney princesses vary greatly in their appearances although I agree with the point about them having a pretty voice!
I hope your prediction of a "Prince Charming" appearing does come true! Do you think this "Prince" will fall for her looks or her courage (or maybe both!)?
Personally I cannot really relate to Lucile because I do not have the tragic past of being separated from a loved one. Also, I certainly would not have enough courage to face my long-lost father alone for the very first time!
I look forward to reading more about your novel through your blogs!
Hi Cadia :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your gracious comment. To answer your question, yes I believe that these descriptions would stay ture during present day for most, but not all, present day men find women under this description beautiful. That is not to say that only blonde and blue eyed women are considered beautiful during these present times. Now more than ever, the definition of beauty is quite varried, one does not have to be blond or blue eyed to be beautiful. I also agree with you that not all the Disney princesses look like Lucille, but it is the idea of the "perfect" woman, both physically and in attitude, that they both have in common. As for the prince, I believe that he, like most men during those times (and even in some Disney movies), will fall for her looks. Once again I thank you for your comments and I am glad that I have got you interested in my INS novel.