Ariel
is an independent, inquisitive, slightly impetious teenager with firm grip on what she wants. Her mother was killed by humans when Ariel was very young. She has since been raised by a very strict father who tries very hard to keep his daughters sheltered from the outside world. Ariel has a strong curiosity and desire for knowledge of more of the world than what surrounds her. She explores, she asks questions, she accepts help - sometimes a good thing and sometimes not - she takes opportunity when and where she can. Ariel leaves home to find her heart's deepest desire and have the opportunity to explore the world she has been dreaming of her whole life. Along the way she finds love, makes new friends, learns new things and finds everything she is looking for. Honestly, when thinking about Ariel my first thought was that she is a stubborn, headstrong teenager who ran away from home and her father REWARDED her!!!! She is FIFTEEN!!!! She is still a baby! Too young to be married. What is this craziness? But as I was talking about her with Mike I realized that actually she has plenty to teach. To start with she is a good reminder to parents that teenagers do know what they are talking about sometimes - really all of our kids do. They deserve to be listened to. Which also means she can teach my daughter about the value of standing your ground. While I don't think she should run off and have some kind of major plastic surgery done by a back alley doctor who will take her voice as payment my daughter can learn to make sure that I always hear her. She can learn from Ariel that no matter what I, or her father, think we know about the situation we do not know everything without knowing what she has to say.
Ariel also teaches a good lesson about wanting to learn about the world. Ariel is fascinated by the things she finds from the "human world." She collects them, she studies them, she asks questions (although, she may want to find a better source than Skuttle - after all I rarely use my dinglehopper to comb my hair). My daughter can learn the importance of learning about other cultures, other lands, other worlds. Whether it is learning about another country, or another planet my daughter can see Ariel of an example that you just never know what wonders you are going to find if you keep looking. If Ariel were human she would have been an archeologist exploring the dirt for remnants of long lost civilization as opposed to swimming through sunken ships. That's one heck of an endorsement for scienc.
My daughter can also learn not to judge someone by what they look like or where they come from. Triton does not like Eric simply because he is human. Triton rejects all humans and does not want his daughter to be anywhere near them. In all fairness humans killed his wife and whenever humans are in the water they pose a threat to the fish and the merfolks. However, if we put that in human terms it becomes a lesson. If you lived in an area with a gang of (insert any race that is different than our own) who had killed your wife and the gang was generally trouble it might make sense for you to be cautious of someone else of that race. However, we would praise anyone who was able to see beyond their experiences and get to know an individual before judging them. Someone who was able to see that a person's race does not make them bad. Ariel does that. Ariel can teach my daughter the value in getting to know someone and not judging them based on any experience you had with someone else - similar or not similar to that person.
So, in the end. I suppose Ariel has plenty to teach. If I look past the teenager that she is and look at the ideals and the courage and the strength that she has I find that, once again, a Disney princess has taught my daughter many valuable lessons. Ariel is also the only princess that is a mom. In The Little Mermaid II Ariel and Eric have a daughter, Melody. They are the only ones that we get to see grown and with a child. That is also a wonderful lesson. Marriage, family, children, love are all wonderful things to aspire too. Although, I'm not allowing my daughter to get married at fifteen. :)
has plenty to teach. If I look past the teenager that she is and look at the ideals and the courage and the strength that she has I find that, once again, a Disney princess has taught my daughter many valuable lessons. Ariel is also the only princess that is a mom. In The Little Mermaid II Ariel and Eric have a daughter, Melody. They are the only ones that we get to see grown and with a child. That is also a wonderful lesson. Marriage, family, children, love are all wonderful things to aspire too. Although, I'm not allowing my daughter to get married at fifteen. :) 
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Maybe you (well not just you but all parents) can learn from Ariel that sometimes we actually need to listen to our children and what we think are crazy ideas of theirs. If Ariel's father had spent some time listening to her, she might not have had to run off. We need to show our children that we are always there for them - and we will always listen to their ideas and not just have our pre-conceived notions about things! - Sharonah
ReplyDeleteI'm with you 100%. I imagine that it's hard sometimes, because we feel so sure that we are right - after all, we HAVE lived longer and have made some of the same mistakes that we are going to have to watch our own children make; all we want is to save our kids from hurt and pain, when possible. But if we don't listen, we are making it that much more difficult for them to have their own successes.
DeleteYou're so right! I think too often we assume we know better and don't give our children enough credit. We think that because we are older we know better and sometimes we do but it doesn't matter if we don't listen to them. I read somewhere to listen to the little things when your kids are small so that they will tell you the big things when they are older. I try to always remember that. :)
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