I think you can tell a lot about yourself by which made-up characters you identify with. I had a dear friend whose favorite anybody was Disney's Cinderella. She was an adult woman who loved buying Cinderella ornaments for her tree, etc. I finally realized why she loved Cinderella so much: my friend had a horrific stepmother and jerky stepsisters. In a way she identified with Cinderella--never the bell of the ball at home, but destined for happy things one day. I asked her about it and she said, yes, that was why she loved buying themed items. It helped her cope with a bad situation (that she fortunately moved away from). She had no fairy godmother to help her out, but she did have friends who tried to watch out for her, and her stepmother eventually passed away. Now she never needs to see those girls with whom she was never related! And she got married and has a child of her own that she cherishes. So, in way, she got a happy ending. For those of you who are married with children, you may now belly laugh until you cry.
I love Into the Woods and I'm very excited that it's coming to film. I just hope the wolf isn't anatomically correct! I love it because the "happy endings" appear in the first act and real life happens in the second when the (spoiler alert) narrator gets eaten by a giant and no one knows what to do anymore. The last time I saw the play I think half the audience left at intermission. They didn't want the fantasy to end, I guess. I also like the quote from the second half when Prince Charming says he's raised to be charming, not sincere. I can't tell you how true this has seemed on many an occasion. My mother used to say that if a man can sweep you off your feet, he's had practice. And the most charming boys I've known have never truly been honest. They were overly charming, though. I do know some very dear people who are simply charming and sincere. I think they're fabulous.
But back to me. I've pondered quite a bit recently about which fictional characters I identify with, and it's not a pretty picture. For example, I am always Eponine, never Cosette. This has happened oh, so many times. I thought the guy liked me, but really he liked my friend or I liked a guy and thought he might like me someday, but he thought of me as a little sister - repeated ad nauseam.
I am very fond of The Muppets. Who do I identify with? The Great Gonzo. I am weird, odd, and misunderstood and I never do anything the normal way. And in Winnie the Pooh? Pooh Bear. I am often hungry, looking for something snackish, and have a roundish shape. I've also been known to hum with happiness while eating something particularly tasty.
No, I don't see myself in anyone glamorous. I'm that girl in the back, the one that's mainly ignored by everyone. Now I know that's not exactly true anymore. I'm quick witted and I love to laugh, so I'm great at parties. And somehow people have gotten the idea that I dress trendy and with good taste (I'm still not quite believing that one). And I have the type of open personality that readily invites friendship in. No matter where I go I make friends (keeping in touch with them is a different matter, but that's all on my forgetful end when I only think of them far away from any communication device).
Ooh! I could be The Ordinary Princess whose sisters are so beautiful and she is very plain. However, my über fabulous younger sister has only recently told me that not only does she think I'm beautiful, too, but that I'm JUST AS beautiful as my sisters. I'm still wrapping my head around that. Could that really be possible? But they all got married young and didn't have over a decade of extreme awkwardness (and very buck teeth) or ever had a lack of understanding about what clothes did and did not flatter them. And were so beautiful that men fell at their feet. It seems that the only times men have fallen at my feet were if they tripped in their haste to run away. But that could have been my needy, co-dependent personality and not as much my looks (but I thought it was my looks at the time--and to some my looks may still make me ineligible [but we don't want those ones, do we]).
I don't know if I'll ever get to the point of believing myself worthy of patterning after an Elizabeth Bennet or an Anne Shirley (though I really would love my own Gilbert Blythe), but what I am doing is trying to be myself and not what I think might make me seem more attractive to the opposite sex. That is why in public I now embrace my geekiness. I don't want to pretend that I don't love science fiction in the hopes that some guy might like me. What, I'm going to admit it after marriage when I try to name our house after something silly like Bag End or the Kobayashi Maru (the latter has a certain subtext that wouldn't actually be good for a marriage...so maybe not that one)? "Oh, by the way darling, I'd love to attend Comic Con someday. I hope you still love me and aren't devastated that you didn't know this MONTHS ago."
And yes, I'm totally geeking out about the new Lego video game based on Marvel characters. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal! Pardon me while I drool with anticipation. It's not coming out for months!!! Must pre-order to get extra characters for the game (imagine that in a hypnotized-type voice).
So when you think about who you identify with, is it someone who is just like you or is it someone you'd like to be? I think I'll mentally chew on that for a while.
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