“It Simply Isn’t Done:” Princesses, Agency, and Gender Roles in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles: Par

This is part 3 of an essay about the princess trope and gender roles in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. For part 1 of this essay, go here.

Examining the Text: Other Examples of Gender Role Subversion

In addition to the subversion of the princess trope and gender roles that Wrede has created, she has also used gender role subversion in a number of other ways, continuing to set up the idea that gender roles are not solid, but instead, are changeable. It is just as important, for instance, for male readers to see male characters with characteristics that don’t fall into typical gender roles. Wrede uses gender role subversion outside of Cimorene’s actions throughout the series to show that gender has nothing to do with ability, another nod to readers to follow what they want to do, as opposed to what is expected. The first example of this is gender role in dragon society. Dragons, in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, choose their own gender. Wrede presents this very matter-of-factly in the first interaction between Cimorene and dragons: “Each of the males (there were three) had two short, stubby, sharp-looking horns on either side of their heads; the female dragon had three, one on each side an one in the center of her forehead. The last dragon was apparently still too young to have made up its mind which sex it wanted to be; it didn’t have any horns at all” (15). This sets up the idea that gender has absolutely nothing to do with ability for the dragons. She then shows this over and over again by having Kazul, a female dragon, as a highly respected member of dragon society. Indeed, she eventually becomes the king of the dragons. Before that occurs, Cimorene and Kazul have a lengthy conversation about the job title:

“You mean, if I were the King of the Dragons,” Kazul corrected her. “Queen of the Dragons is a dull job.”

“But you’re a female!” Cimorene sai. “If you’d carried Colin’s Stone from the Ford of Whispering Snakes to the Vanishing Mountain, you’d have had to be a queen, wouldn’t you?”

“No, of course not,” Kazul said. “Queen of the Dragons is a totally different job from King, and it’s not one I’m particularly interested in. Most people aren’t. I think the position’s been vacant since Oraun tore his wing and had to retire.”

“But King Tokoz is a male dragon!” Cimorene said, then frowned. “Isn’t he?”

“Yes, yes, but that has nothing to do with it,” Kazul said a little testily. “’King’ is the name of the job. It doesn’t matter who holds it.” (Dealing 85)

This idea that gender is truly not an issue in dragon society sets up the idea that the person is who is truly important, not their gender. It also explains part of the reason that Kazul is so willing to accept the actions of Cimorene, even though she is a princess and a girl.

Wrede also includes a few examples of men stepping outside of expected gender roles. The first example of this comes in the form of the Stone Prince, a prince who was turned into stone but is still able to move around and talk. Rather than take on the typical male role of action in order to be helpful, the Stone Prince actually hides in a room and stays silent in order to get information on a meeting between two wizards. Rather than charging in and stopping them, the prince takes the passive step of just listening and remembering, which he then delivers to Cimorene. Cimorene, then, is the one who takes the active role instead. Later on, the Stone Prince flings a bucket of soapy water on a friendly witch, Morwen, and an evil wizard in order to melt the wizard. Cimorene expects Morwen to melt, but instead she is perfectly fine, if a little damp. The Stone Prince that “Nobody who lives in a house as clean as yours could possibly melt in a bucket of soap suds” (186). His ability to notice the cleanliness of her house, which would normally be reserved as a more feminine trait, has enabled him to successfully help defeat the wizards.

Another male who defies conventions is the main character in the second book of the series, Searching for Dragons. This book switches perspectives to Mendenbar, the King of the Enchanted Forest. Throughout the book he takes the opposite stance on princesses that he has been given up to that point. Where previously, many of the characters (especially the male characters) expected princesses to act properly, and liked it that way, Mendenbar is not interested in princesses at all because of that expected behavior. In first hearing about Cimorene, his response is not very flattering: “Cimorene must be one of the beautiful, empty-headed, ambitious bores whose only talents were the ability to stare innocently with their blue eyes and a knack for wrapping people—or, in Cimorene’s case, dragons—around their fragile fingers. She was probably too stupid to realize how much trouble her manipulations caused, but if she did notice she probably liked having the power to produce turmoil” (Searching 50). This immediately sets Mendenbar up as not being interested in typical princess or gender behavior. In fact, he shows time and time again that he is much more interested in someone who can take care of themselves than he is in having to protect someone merely because of their gender or role. When he does first do something to help Cimorene, it’s actually something that would be expected to be a typical feminine trait, similar to the Stone Prince’s actions. In this case, he uses his magic sword, which would typically be used in battle, to unclog Cimorene’s sink. When Cimorene insists on going into the Enchanted Forest, he only very reluctantly accompanies her. He has no desire to protect her, yet he also knows that going with her will help him figure out what is wrong with the forest, and who is causing trouble. One of the best examples of how highly Mendenbar thinks of Cimorene’s trope subversion comes once he has gotten to know her a little bit:

Actually, he hadn’t tried any of his usual spells outside of the Enchanted Forest before, for the very good reason that he hadn’t been outside the Enchanted Forest since he’d become King and started working magic, but he didn’t like to mention that in front of Cimorene. He was quite sure that if she had suddenly become the ruler of a magical kingdom, she would have tested all her new spells and powers and abilities immediately, under as many different conditions as she could come up with. (130)

His respect for her curiosity and willingness to try new things flies in the face of the expectation of the genre, which usually values those traits in heroes, but not in heroines.

The final book on the series, Talking to Dragons, leaves Cimorene mostly behind to concentrate on her son, Daystar. Looking at Daystar provides the reader with an example of what happens when men are provided with a princess/girl like Cimorene as a role model in their every day life. While Daystar is frequently surprised by what his mother is capable of, he also has little patience for people of any gender who are unable to take care of themselves. He is respectful of all he meets, whether he needs to get past a sentient bush or speak to a fire witch. Even when the witch asks for his help, he subverts those expectations, saying “I don’t know anything about you. Maybe I don’t want to rescue you” (19). Just by living her life, Cimorene has set the example for her son, just as the books themselves set an example for the reader.

Implications for Writers

While Wrede has made a point that she did not intentionally write a feminist series of books with The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, she does admit that it can be read that way: “And I’m not going to deny that there’s a whole bunch of feminist subtext that can be read into that book. What bothers me is the assumption that I had some kind of feminist agenda, and made all those decisions consciously and deliberately in sevice of it.” (“Assumptions”) Looking at the books themselves, there are clearly ways that it can be read as feminist in its construction. Time after time, the characters defy the conventions of expected gender behavior, despite the Wrede insisting that it wasn’t purposeful. The question then becomes, what can be learned from Wrede’s process, and what can other authors learn from Cimorene and how she interacts with her world? Perhaps the answer to that question is that those authors wishing to write female characters who break out of the mold, whether they are princesses or not, should look to Wrede as an example. They should look to the women in their lives who don’t care what the world thinks they can do. As Wrede says of her characters, “what shapes them most is the interaction between their own personality and the attitude of the culture they grow up in toward their particular traits, because that pretty much determines both the way the characters think of themselves (and others) and the ways they expect other people to think and behave” (Wrede “Dragons and Gender”). In other words, think about the story and the characters, make them interesting, and the rest will follow. Writing consciously about feminism might actually make for a less interesting story, but following Wrede’s process can make for an interesting story that happens to have characters taking actions that can be seen as feminist.

Implications for Readers

I would also argue that as much as it is important for authors to write those female characters that break stereotypes, it is just as important for readers of children’s literature to understand how to examine what they read and identify those characters, whether they were written intentionally or not. It is imperative that both girls and boys can read books and recognize when characters are being stereotyped by gender. This ability will help those young readers to reject those stereotypes. Parents need should be pointing out the stereotypical images to their children when they read together, and should be asking questions as they read. They can think through the process of questioning the text out loud to set an example. They can encourage their children to read varied images of different types of girls and boys. That might not immediately bring about more characters like Cimorene, but it will encourage young readers to support the authors that write those characters more, and might create the authors who subvert gender expectation in the future.

Implications for the Future of Gender and the Princess in Children’s Literature

When it comes to the princess characters the stereotypical princess image has already changed a lot since Wrede first published these books. In the intervening years we’ve had Disney princesses who can take care of themselves by riding horses, wielding swords, hitting people with fry pans, and more. If readers begin to expect their princesses to be more active and count less on the prince to come and rescue them, then they will be less likely to accept the out-of-date princess trope. With that expectation, the princess books to come will have to adopt and evolve. Characters like Cimorene will no longer have to be accidental feminists, as readers will expect action, wit, and curiosity from their princesses. The literary world has not reached that point yet. For every Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, there is a “Sad Puppy/Rabid Puppy” campaign to stop progressivism at the Hugo Awards. For every Hermione from Harry Potter, there is a male-led campaign to make the new female-led Ghostbusters movie bomb at the box office. There is still work to do to reach a ‘happily ever after’ that is appropriate for a new generation. As Cimorene considers her own happily ever after at the end of her first adventure in a different way, so must we reconsider what ‘happily ever after’ can actually mean:

Happily ever after? Cimorene wasn’t sure about that, though she was certainly hoping to enjoy herself. She was positive, however, that life with the dragons would be interesting and busy, and in Cimorene’s opinion that would go a long way toward making her happy.

“Happily ever after? I don’t think it’s quite what you meant, Alianora,” Cimorene murmured to the empty tunnel, “but one way or another, I rather think I will.” (208)

Once we start making our own happily ever after, as Cimorene has decided to, it no longer matters that the stereotypical fairy tale ending is included. We can teach young readers that they can have the happy ending that will make them happy instead of the happy ending that is expected.

Works Cited

Dale, Lourdes P., Brittany E. Higgins, Nick Pinkerton, Michelle Couto, Victoria Mansolillo, Nica Weisinger, and Marci Flores. “Princess Picture Books: Content and Messages.” Journal of Research in Childhood Education 30.2 (2016): 185-199. Print.

Evans, Janet. “’Princesses are not into war ‘n things, they always scream and run off’: Exploring gender stereotypes in picture books.” Reading 32.3 (1998): 5-11. Print.

Hooks, Bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000. Print.

Kirkscey, Russell. “The Cycle of Omission: Oppressive and Oppressed Gender Roles in Recent Children’s Literature.” Texas Speech Communication Journal 36.1 (2011): 94-107. Print.

Marshall, Elizabeth. “Stripping for the Wolf: Rethinking Representations of Gender in Children’s Literature.” Reading Research Quarterly 39.3 (2004): 256-270. Print.

Miller, E. Ce. “8 Often Forgotten YA Novels That Should Totally Make a Comeback.” Bustle. Web. 23 June 2016.

Trendacosta, Katherine. “If You’ve Never Read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, What’s Wrong With You?” io9. Gawker Media, New York. 30 March 2016. Web. 23 June 2016.

Tsao, Ya-Lun. “Gender Issues in Young Children’s Literature.” Reading Improvement 45.3 (2008): 108-114. Print.

Wrede, Patricia C. “Check Your Assumptions…At the Door.” Patricia C. Wrede’s Blog. Web. 23 June 2016.

---. Dealing with Dragons. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print.

---. “Dragons and Gender Bias…huh?” Patricia C. Wrede’s Blog. Web. 23 June 2016.

---. Searching for Dragons. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. Print.

---. Talking to Dragons. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Print.

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