We've all grown up off of Disney films, with Disney princesses being our idols or the knight in shining armor being our dream-man. Pocahontas was like my bread and butter as a child. wore Pocahontas outfits, had Pocahontas pajamas and bed sheets. I even carried around a Meeko (Pocahontas's pet raccoon) back pack throughout kindergarten. While it was possibly a disturbed childhood obsession, I still have a love for the story of Pocahontas. She didn't fit the typical Disney-princess-profile of blond hair and huge ball gowns. She wasn't some bashful damsel in distress who needed a man to come rescue her. She was a strong woman, and she protected her people, and her culture. When someone asks, "Carolyn, who's your idol," I don't answer Brittany Spears or Michelle Obama. I proudly answer, "Pocahontas, because her courage and strength helped me become the stubborn , loud-mouthed woman I am today." Perhaps the coolest part of Pocahontas is that she was a real woman, who had indeed fought to keep peace when English colonists settled in her father, Powhatan's, land. They say that the picture shown below is a portrait made of her while she was in England. Whether or not it's the real Pocahontas or not, I like to imagine her as Disney portrayed her in her native garb.
Just so you know my favorite Disney Princess is Ariel and Cinderella. Ariel, because she gave up her voice to find out the life she always dreamed about and Cinderella because shes just one of my favorites! She is the perfect happily ever after story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this. I always loved Pocahontas as a kid, and the true story of her life, not just the Disney version of it, is inspiring.
ReplyDeleteEven though I have always love the traditional Disney princess stories, with my favorite being The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas's story showed me another side of being a great woman. Her courage and strength touched me in a similar way it touched you as a young child. I also had as much Ariel stuff as you had Pocahontas stuff.
ReplyDeletePocahontas would kick anyone's butt! She doesn't need guns and armor, she has awesome skill
ReplyDeletePocahotas's real name was Matoaka and John Smith told the story of his encounter with her 17 years after it happened. She died on March 21, 1617 at the age of 21 and was buried in Gravesend.
ReplyDelete