Disney Princess Twosome

Daughter and I have been watching our way through Jane Austin. Starting with 6 hours of Pride and Prejudice, followed by Emma, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility and finally Northanger Abbey.

In every case our heroine gets loves true dream. She gets the right man, her true love, and often accompanied by enough money to be financially secure too.

I'm starting to worry that these fairy tale dreams of how life can be, will affect her when finding footings in her first relationships. Life, in these stories, for the patient, good hearted, always beautiful heroine will always come good.

Disney follow the same story mill. And whilst more modern heroines are feisty and more assertive, they still settle down with man and babies.

I've recently been reading Singled Out about 2 million 'spare' women after World War 1, trying to make it on their own without the opportunity of marriage. How being brought up to believe happiness through marriage was the ultimate goal and dealing with the reality as a failure.

What do tales like Cinderella, Snow White, Shrek teach our girls apart from a princess has an impossibly small Barbie waist and perfect hair?

Where is the story that ends with Cinderella saying "dream on Charming, I'm not spending the rest of my life slaving over you, I'm off to New York to shack up with Belle"

But even our many threaded personalities,split into different characters by Sex in the City, ultimately are seeking love and male validation.

I suppose you just can't fight nature, but maybe I should try to find a film for tonight that won't leave her believing that life always comes good? Maybe Little Women...I have always wanted Jo to marry Laurie! Or Wuthering Heights? Yes the Brontes tended to throw in a sad twist into the plot.