Happily Ever aAfter and The Royal Wedding
Happily Ever After...What does that mean to different people? In my book Princess Bubble, she learns that true happiness comes from loving God, helping others and liking who you are already. But, what to people expect when they think about someone or themselves living, "Happily Ever After"
Do people believe William and Kate to live "Happily Ever After?"
What do we expect happened to Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast....? Do we expect them to live blissful every day with no money troubles, in-law issues, fertility problems, loss of jobs, government shut downs, wars or the issues of every day life?
And could "Happily Ever After" just be the fact that they are no longer hidden in a dungeon or feed a poison apple?
The Brothers Grimm originally wrote the stories with more reality and less Disney. Here is an excerpt of the original Cinderella.
"The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect thee, and I will look down on thee from heaven and be near thee." Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden went out to her mother's grave, and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread a white sheet over the grave, and when the spring sun had drawn it off again, the man had taken another wife.
The woman had brought two daughters into the house with her, who were beautiful and fair of face, but vile and black of heart. Now began a bad time for the poor step-child. "Is the stupid goose to sit in the parlour with us?" said they. "He who wants to eat bread must earn it; out with the kitchen-wench." They took her pretty clothes away from her, put an old grey bedgown on her, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess, how decked out she is!" they cried, and laughed, and led her into the kitchen. There she had to do hard work from morning till night, get up before daybreak, carry water, light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the sisters did her every imaginable injury -- they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she was forced to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked till she was weary she had no bed to go to, but had to sleep by the fireside in the ashes. And as on that account she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella. It happened that the father was once going to the fair, and he asked his two step-daughters what he should bring back for them. "Beautiful dresses," said one, "Pearls and jewels," said the second. "And thou, Cinderella," said he, "what wilt thou have?" "Father, break off for me the first branch which knocks against your hat on your way home." So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for his two step-daughters, and on his way home, as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the branch and took it with him. When he reached home he gave his step-daughters the things which they had wished for, and to Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel-bush. Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave and planted the branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it and watered it. And it grew, however, and became a handsome tree. Thrice a day Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and wept and prayed, and a little white bird always came on the tree, and if Cinderella expressed a wish, the bird threw down to her what she had wished for."
Cinderella was so unhappy life could only get better for her getting out of that household! And The Brothers Grimm did not even end the story with the focus on Cinderella's good fortune and life of happiness. No the story ended, "
"Afterwards as they (the stepsisters) came back, the elder was at the left, and the younger at the right, and then the pigeons pecked out the other eye of each. And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as they lived." This story ended with evil being punished.
As far as I can tell, all the story end with the heroine content and evil villain repaid for his actions.
I don't think we really expect Kate Middleton to live "Happily Ever After" in the fairy tale sense that she will never have another problem. We saw Diane struggle with feeling unloved and eating issues. I believe we are all rooting for Kate to have a wonderful marriage and getting to do and see things that we can only dream of doing because of her position. But, we know she will also pay the price of living under a microscope, being judged by strangers and human faults being magnetized when they are revealed. William is probably the luckiest in this situation. His life is not changing for the most part and yet he get a gorgeous bride that seems to genuinely adore him and has stood by his side for many years already. Maybe his reward for losing his mother at a young age and having a father that cheated.
If we don't expect William and Kate to live "Happily Ever After" how can we expect anyone to have that? I believe most of can and do live "Happily Ever After" it is just a matter of recognizing it and enjoying what you have, loving the life you are given. Sometimes we end up with ugly step sisters or locked away in a dungeon or expected to spin straw in to gold. But, most times these situations pass and you are more likely to recognize you are in the "Happily Ever After" part of the story having lived through the evil villain part and having made it out!
I believe every girl is a princess and in the end good will win and evil will be repaid. I am excited for Kate Middleton and the life she has ahead of her. I hope she has as much love in her life with her prince as I do with mine. If she has even half as much love in her life- she is sure to live (one last time) Happily Ever After!!
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