"I want to become the angel you love in the fairy tale, spreading my wings to protect you."
-Light Liang, Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, Light Liang's song "Fairy Tale" became popular all over the country. This song expressed the desire of young girls to be protected by their loved ones, and perfectly interpreted the longing for fairy tale-like love of young boys and girls. It deeply touched the hearts of young girls and expressed their princess-like dreams.
Every girl has had a "princess dream" at some point, hoping to be loved and cherished like a princess. Of course, this "princess dream" refers to a dream, not a real dream, representing the longing for happiness in girls. In general, when they are young, they hope to cuddle in their parents' arms like a little princess; as they grow up, they like to wear beautiful dresses, crystal shoes, and jewelry; and when they start to develop romantic feelings, they long to meet their own prince charming. As they grow older, the "princess dream" will also undergo different changes.
This article will discuss the elements, definition, and significance of the "princess dream" dream.
I. Elements of the "Princess Dream" at Different Stages#
In terms of the specific elements of the "princess dream" dream (since fairy tales and myths themselves have many similarities with dreams, and some fairy tales and myths are derived from dreams, some elements in this article are interpreted through fairy tale images):
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For young girls, who are still children, they see themselves as "little princesses" with the general characteristics of being "cute, brave, and lucky." In their dreams, there are many images of animals, elves, dolls, and other humanoid figures spinning around the little princess. In the dream, "fairy tale elements" are used to replace real people and things, and simple good and bad, beauty and ugliness are used to represent likes and dislikes. Similar images can be found in fairy tales like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," such as the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, and Caterpillar.
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As girls grow up and become teenagers, the image of themselves in their dreams also transforms into a "beautiful princess" with characteristics such as "beauty, intelligence, wisdom, and uniqueness." Similar to fairy tale characters like "The Little Mermaid," "Cinderella," and "Snow White," they also long for the appearance of a prince.
3. In the dreams of teenage girls who are experiencing their first love, the "princess and prince" archetype of "fairy tales" appears more frequently. In addition to princes, various other characters also appear. As they grow older and mature, some elements of the "fairy tale dream" gradually develop into myths (which can be considered as adult fairy tales), with the appearance of guardian gods and guardian angels, and the characters become more concrete. If a woman has a strong aggressive nature, she may turn her "princess dream" into a "queen dream," summoning a large number of loyal soldiers and knights to protect her in her dreams.
II. Definition of the "Princess Dream"#
Based on the elements mentioned above, the dream that can be defined as a "princess dream" (including variations like the "queen dream") generally includes the following three characteristics:
1. H (heroine), the main female character dreamed by the female dreamer;
2. H&C (halo and good characteristic), this character has a certain halo (core status) and possesses one or more good characteristics, such as beauty, intelligence, bravery, dominance, savior, magic, luck, charm, likability, uniqueness, etc.;
3. G&L (Guard and Loyal), this character displays a certain degree of dominance and has at least one guardian or loyal follower (including protectors, loyal friends, loyal companions, kind-hearted people, friendly animals, etc.).
III. Significance (Effect) of the "Princess Dream"#
The "princess dream" generally has the following meanings:
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Placebo effect. Simply put, it provides what is lacking in the dreamer's life, giving them a sense of spiritual comfort. If they lack toys, they receive toys in their dreams; if they lack a boyfriend, they dream of having a boyfriend, and so on.
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Provides a sense of security. In most "princess dreams," the dreamer is protected and cherished by others, filling the void of security caused by a lack of love or other reasons.
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Provides uniqueness. In reality, many people go with the flow and lose their individuality, but the "princess dream" provides uniqueness, allowing the dreamer to fulfill their desire to be special and different. The variation of the "queen dream" provides a sense of dominance, satisfying the dreamer's desire for control.
IV. Analysis of a "Princess Dream" Example#
Dreamer: Little T, a relatively innocent teenage girl with above-average grades and a harmonious family.
Little T's Dream: Dreamed of an explosion, where a group of people wanted to open a door, and on the other side of the door was a bomb that would explode when opened. I was also nearby when the explosion happened.
I ran to the second floor and prepared to jump out of the window to escape. Then, I jumped out of the window with a man, and there was snow on the ground below. There was a doorman at the bottom, who was a little mouse. The mouse helped us and asked me, "Where do you live?" I thought about it and realized that the mouse might not know the place where I live since I live in the city, so I answered, "In a very faraway place." The little mouse sighed disappointedly, as if she thought I was lying to her. Then I said something else to her, but I forgot what it was, and the little mouse became happy.
After we drove away, I saw a big fat green caterpillar in the sky, seemingly enjoying itself. I took a detour because of it, but unexpectedly, there was another caterpillar in the sky, and the distance we traveled happened to revive it. The two caterpillars then came down to attack me. They had snakes wrapped around their necks. I injured them both, and they turned into snakes cut into several pieces but still alive. I stepped on them, and they died.
After waking up for a while, I fell asleep again and had another dream. I turned into a god, and several guardian gods stood on a chain. The devil wanted to control them, but at the critical moment, a boy saved the gods and repelled the devil. Then the boy was invited back home and saw the two snakes that I had stepped on before, which had been revived by the devil. I asked the boy who he was, and he said he was the little mouse.
Dream Analysis:
This dream belongs to the "princess dream" category and reenacts some school situations and relationships, as well as expressing a longing for love. Of course, there are also some elements of sexual dreams related to adolescence.
The world inside the door represents the school, and outside the door represents freedom. You want to escape, but if you open the door, there will be an explosion because the school rules do not allow you to leave freely.
The interpretation of the characters: The man who escapes with you is similar to a companion (guardian, companion, or even yourself); the little mouse is like someone who secretly admires you and treats you well, but you only have a sensory appreciation for them (feeling that they are a good person, even feeling pity for them); the two caterpillars wrapped in snakes may represent female classmates with whom you have had conflicts or disagreements, and they are annoying to you. The snakes represent their cunning and aggressive nature.
In the second part of the dream, the contradiction escalates, and the boy who appears represents the image of your prince charming.
From the dream, there are some weak characters who are nice to you (possibly existing in reality), and you think they are good, but what you want is someone strong, heroic, masculine, and capable of protecting you. This explains your longing for love and your perspective on it.
Feedback and Corrections: ① Little T asked if sexual dreams imply something dirty. Sexual dreams are a normal physiological phenomenon and should not be a cause for concern or self-condemnation. ② Little T's feedback and interpretations are all consistent. One question is why the little mouse's appearance changed from female to male. On one hand, it may be because Little T has started to differentiate between genders. On the other hand, dreams often overlap people with similar characteristics.
Epilogue: In Little T's dream, she is the main character, with a halo (luck, charm), and has G&L (the little mouse's help, guardian gods, and the boy's protection). Therefore, it can be defined as a "princess dream."
Moreover, this dream is quite typical. In the first half of the dream, it is packaged in the form of a fairy tale, with many characters appearing as animals. In the second half of the dream, it transforms into a myth-like story, with characters appearing as gods, demons, and monsters. It vividly portrays the subconscious activities of a growing teenage girl.