Friday, April 28, 2006

Prince Charming? How about Awkward Pauper?

I just read The Silver Chair (4th in the Chronicles of Narnia) and it got me thinking about princes and chivalry and charm... that stuff is dying if not dead, and I haven't decided if that's a bad thing.

My mom used to sing Snow White's famous lines "Someday my Prince Will Come" when I was younger. Half jokingly, usually, when she was annoyed with my dad. But I think a part of her really wanted a prince, some man of extraordinary charm to sweep her off her feet and carry her away from the drab of her ordinary life.

Lately, I've been wondering if I could be a prince to someone. Do I have the passion for such a performance? Is that a fair way to describe it, as a performance? Part of me wants to believe in the possibility of a romantic fairytale, boy meets girl and it's magical, ending happily ever after. Part of me, the realist, says that's crap. Life is hard, people misinterpret the meaning behind actions and words, and things aren't asked, doubts foster fears, risks aren't taken. Fairytales don't exist because there is no work to be done in the relationship, the magic is written in. There is no fighting for the girl except from conveniently evil, predictable villians. Relationships takes work, hard work with tough conversations.

Why can't there be more poison apples? I think I could handle poison apples. It's those cryptic comments, conflicting schedules and vast spans of silence that cripple my character.

I should write a modern day fairy tale romance, crap and all. Perhaps it wouldn't sell, though, since it wouldn't resemble the classic template. Perhaps it would, because it would remind them of their own experiences. Now that I think about it, it would sell, for it's already been done successfully in Garden State. Their lives are screwed up, and they fight through it. I don't know. Perhaps I'm full of it.

To be a modern prince, does it mean to be annoyingly aggressive? Or is that just... annoying? I am pretty sure he would be confident in what he wants. The problem seems to be with what is assumed with the word Prince. Who would turn down a Prince? But a normal guy? People do without them all the time. I don't feel very princely most times.

But I do sometimes... feel like a prince. I am a Prince, for I am a brother of the Almighty King, co-heir of Christ's Kingdom. I believe that whole-heartedly... sometimes. Okay, rarely, but it's true and I should hold onto that truth for dear life. The Flip-side of that is true as well. There are breath-taking princesses out there, worthy of the most respect and tender-hearted love one can muster.

So what does it mean to love a daughter of God? How does one respect her wishes while battling the cravings of one's heart, desires for more than the platonic? How do you make the fairy tale play itself out without completely upsetting the flow of normal life, without seeming like a selfish ass?

I don't want to be a selfish ass, but I want more. I want to try to be the prince. Is the prince even charming? Will a Awkward Pauper do?

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