Does a frog really turn into a prince charming as you're kissing it ?
Everybody knows the story of the princess and the frog … The grateful princess, to
reward her valiant firend, gives an ugly frog a kiss, and suddenly, the warts covered,
transforms into a handsome Prince Charming. The story is a nice one… But sorry girls, based
on scientific facts, a frog cannot turn into a Prince, nevermind a Prince Charming... But what
is a prince charming ? Why did we choose a frog to represent him ? What is hidden behind
such symbolism ?
How can we define a Prince Charming ?
According to wikipedia, « A Prince Charming is a stock character who appears in a number of fairy tales. He is the prince who comes to rescue of the “damsel in distress” , and stereotypically, must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, including the famous Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. » These characters are often handsome and romantic, a foil to the heroine, and are seldom deeply characterized. According to the young
girls the prince charming is either Prince Harry or «The One», in other words, your soulmate. Finding your soulmate is the dream of millions of young girls who dream of being treated like a Princess by their man ... This is why we called it a Prince. But what does a frog represent ? Why have we chosen frogs to represent the future charming princes by a « Prince Charming » ?
What do frogs represent ?
A Little bit of History … In many cultures the primary symbolic meaning of frogs is fertility. People noticed that frogs laid a lot of eggs, and so defined them as symbol of fertility. In Egypt, we can find a frog-headed goddess called Heqet who is the goddess of birth.
In the celtic culture, frogs used to be well seen. Due to their link with water and cleansing rains, Celts thought that frogs were able to cure and to heal diseases, In the christian religion, the frog is a symbol of resurrection because it has different development stages, and it seems to reborn, as it passes from one stage to another :
from the egg stage to the tadpole stage and from the tadpole stage to the definitive frog form.
In China, frogs represent the “yin energy”, and are a symbol of good luck and serenity, This is why they recommend to put a frog picture in Feng shui's practices. In Japan, frogs are representative of good luck,
especially for travelers. People usually pack a frog statue, or asked for the blessing of frogs, to protect
the travelers during long trips by boats, as the reptile is linked with water, and so assures their safety while crossing rivers and seas.
What does the frog transformation mean ?
In Fairytales, the frog represents transformation. The transformation of the young Princess who turns into a powerful and mature woman for having gone further than the appearances to find her man... And also the
transformation of the frog who will bring to the foreground, what the man has best in himself to turn into a Man, and to deserve his princess. However, behind the « If you kiss a frog it will turn into a Prince Charming metaphor, we can also find a real message being sent to all the children. This myth obviously says that « You need to kiss a lot of frogs to get to your prince », meaning that you may need to kiss a lot of duds in order to find the person that you are supposed to be with. It also says that you have to go beyond the appearances to find that person who will bring you the love you've been looking for, possibly for years. To conclude, we can say that beyond each myth or fairy tale, we can find moral, a lesson in life, which will allow us grow up and become more mature.
What do princesses think about the frog myth ?
What do they think about frogs turning into prince charming ?
We had the honor to interview the most prestigious of the Princess … the lovely Princess D. R., and her best friend, Hello Kitty.
Do you think that a frog can turn into a Prince ?
ONCE UPON A TIME…No, but I do think a Prince can turn into a frog!
According to you, what does the “If you kiss a frog, it will turn into a Prince Charming “ myth mean?
Look beyond appearances. Just like in Beauty and the Beast: learn to love a person for who they are on
the inside, regardless of their appearance. Don’t be superficial. Also, I recall the famous saying « you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. » : this is used to encourage those who still seek true love. It is a simple yet meaningful metaphor about hope and love The frog is, historically, a charged and varied symbol: the devil, wart sharer in Europe, but also a symbol of life and fertility in Egypt.
Does a girl «have to be a Princess » to find her prince ?
Every girl is a princess !
Would fairytales have the same impact without any Prince/ Princess metaphor ?
Definitely not, they make children dream, and are classic characters in the genre. We identify with these heroic characters, sometimes “regular” people who become royalty…
According to you, are fairytales written just to entertain the youngest children, or are they written to TEACH something to the children ?
What would children learn from such famous fairytales ?
BOTH! Even though, originally, fairy tales were NOT intended for children at all, as very young children, we discover these magical, enchanting stories and enjoy the characters, the exciting events, talking animals and swashbuckling adventure, along with the very moment of storytelling with a family member but then as we get older, we grow up, we learn to read between the lines, and above all, to think for ourselves. This enables us to understand fairy tales at a deeper level, progressively grasping the author’s intentions and thinking about the message.
Fairy tales are usually quite predictable, so now that I am a grown up, I enjoy parodies, such as Thurber’s or e.e. cummings’exquisite texts. I think it’s fair to say that fairy tales intend to teach children the difference between good and evil, a good deed deserves its good end, etc…Also, children would learn new words and develop their imaginations. Also,
· Be true to yourself
· Be a good person
· See the beauty in a person, even a monster, who may take various forms, and love one’s inner beauty.
However, fairy tales are also full of negative stereotypes, messages, and images…. I reckon they often show women as merely pretty, passive, submissive and powerless ( Cinderella, Snow White…) , depending on a male helper, a prince charming to save her…Stepmother portrayals don’t really show women in a positive light either…There are not many feminist fairy tales out there! I wish they could be more rebellious and subversive at times.
Every princess has her favorite fairy tales. What are Yours ?
Miss R.’s favorites:
Alice in Wonderland The Little Match Girl
Little Red Riding Hood Rumpelstiksin and Frau Holle (That my
Grandma would tell me in Alsatian by her
stove)
Snow White Native American Creation stories
Cinderella Dr Seuss
The Little Mermaid Rapunzel (Tangled )
Gothic fairytales by Poe ( A princess can be a Rock’n Roll Princess too ! )
As each Princess, I have a Archetypal Princess’ Icon !
Here’s her Identity card :
Name : Hello Kitty
Date and Place of birth : 1st November 1947 in London’s suburbs
Size and weight : 5 apples high and 3 apples weight
Astrologic signs : Scorpio, and Tiger
Favourite food : Mama’s apple pies
Favourite word : “ Friendship”
Favourite subjects : English, Music and Visual Arts
Collections : Every tiny and sweet things like candies, twinkling little stars, gold fishes, hair accessories (especially bows and tiaras)
To conclude, we can say that reading fairytales about frogs and princess, is way of
opening children’s mind . To develop their critical minds, fairytales are a good
alternative. However we could also accuse fairytale of making the child more naive
then they already are, with their “all is well that ends well “ conclusions. Even the
most mind opening fairytales have also their limits … That is, the frogs are almost
always white, handsome, strong males. Recently a black princess joined the
ranks, but we’ve not seen a handicapped or homosexual protagonist yet… And will
we ever see a Princess kissing a frog… And the frog turning in a Princess
charming ?
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