9 Truths hidden behind the myths of Disney princesses

Disney princesses are so considered for three different reasons: (1) birth (they were born princesses), marriage (they married princes) or because of their heroism – their achievements made them worthy of being princesses. Some of the characters have their origins in legends and ancient fairy tales. And, in general, these legends are much more tragic than the stories that come to us through the movies.

Today, we invite you to travel with us through the hidden stories behind nine Disney princesses.

Rapunzel’s story is based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. In the original version, when the witch discovers that Rapunzel knows the prince, she cuts her own hair and hangs it outside. When the prince decides to face her, he jumps out the window, falls on thorns and is blinded. In the end, he finds Rapunzel and she heals him with her tears.

It is interesting to note that, in the first version of the story, Rapunzel is the one who innocently betrays the prince when he admits to the witch that her clothes are becoming too tight (which indicates that she is pregnant).

The character of Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic, The Mermaid’s Tale. In the story, the mermaid saves the prince from drowning, falls in love with him and exchanges her siren tail for human legs. But this all comes at a price, as with each step she feels excruciating pain.

The prince marries another woman who he thinks is the one who saved him. The mermaid returns to the sea and turns into foam.

Moana is a completely fictional character. The author’s original idea was to make a film about Maui, but after visiting Polynesia, the production team and the author felt inspired by the beautiful and strong women of the island (as seen in the photo on the right). They learned a lot about navigation and that’s how the character of Moana was born. The film is full of references to Polynesian culture myths according to which the islands were created by a demigod. Unlike the movie, Maui appears as a thin man.

The story of Mulan originates from the ‘ballad’ of Mulan, which talked about a warrior who goes to war and after 10 years of fighting refuses all military honors and returns home where her family welcomes her with happiness. However, in one version of the legend, Mulan returns home to find that her father is dead and her family is destroyed. Feeling lonely and miserable, she decides to kill herself.

In this Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the Evil Queen arrives at Snow White’s wedding to Prince Charming and is forced to wear hot iron shoes and dance until she dies.

the queen of frozen is based on the character of the Snow Queen from the fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. She is the queen of Snowflakes and lives in a frozen palace, kidnaps a boy and casts a spell on him with a kiss. Gerda, the boy’s friend, saves him from the castle years later.

The story of Beauty and the Beast was written by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve and published in 1740. It is said that it was inspired by a real couple: Pedro and Catherine Gonsalvus. Pedro suffered from a rare genetic condition that left his body covered in hair, hypertrichosis. Furthermore, it is said that Catherine had not seen the groom until her wedding day. Although he didn’t grow into a handsome prince, they did have 7 children.

In the French literary text Perceforest, which is an early version of Sleeping Beauty and was written in the 16th century, Princess Zellandine falls in love with Troylus. While Troylus doesn’t come, Zellandine falls under a spell and falls asleep. When he finds her, he gets her pregnant anyway.

When the baby is born, the spell is undone, she finds out who the father is and marries him.

Pocahontas (her birth name was Matoaka) was born in 1595 and was the daughter of Powhatan, chief of the tribe. In 1607, John Smith, an English soldier and explorer, was captured by Powhatan warriors. According to him, Matoaka threw himself in front of him to protect him from execution at Powhatan’s hands. But there is no evidence that this actually happened.

Matoaka was kidnapped by English settlers and forced to save English prisoners who were in her father’s hands. During her capture, tobacco planter John Rolfe promised her freedom if she agreed to marry him. She died at just 21 years old.

What did you think of these versions? Did you know them? Do you know others? Share your opinion in the comments.