"Enchanted" - a Call to the Feminine

The movie "Enchanted" is a fairytale with that famous feel-good ending where the prince and princess conquer the dragon and live happily ever after - at first glance. However, if we dig deeper, there is so much more to uncover. In this story, it is the woman who saves the man and that is the start of my discussion. There are so many spiritual meanings to look at. I will take a look at a few to make my point.

In the beginning of the story, after being pushed into the well in Andalasia by her evil step-mother to be, innocent Giselle lands in brash and callous present day New York City wearing her wedding gown. She is wandering around trying to find her way back to the castle, terribly lost. She believes in the goodness of people and innocently asks for directions - with no success. She ends up on top of a billboard that looks like a castle trying to find her way back. However, there is no going back at this point.

Robert, a single father, is riding with his daughter in a taxi cab that happens to stop near the billboard. The little girl notices that there is a princess on top of the billboard and wonders why. Being an inquisitive and carefree child, she jumps out of the taxi to help the princess. Her father reluctantly follows admonishing her for leaving the safety of the taxi. They end up offering refuge to Giselle for the night not realizing that their lives are about to change. In her vulnerability and openness, Giselle has already inched her way into their hearts.

The next morning, Giselle awakes and realizes how messy their apartment is - "this will never do" she says. She begins calling on her nature friends to help clean things up while singing a song to lighten the task. She is beginning the transformation process - cleaning up and giving clarity - softening the rough male edges. Enter in Nancy (dressed in a typical neutral office attire with slacks - more masculine looking than feminine), his fiance who immediately notices the clean apartment and is not too happy that he has allowed a woman to spend the night when she has been barred from this privilege. Giselle, tells Robert that his fiance is lovely as she has no need or desire to compete.

Giselle goes to the office with Robert in a dress she made from his curtains, which is very feminine, flowing and fresh - (not sleazy or provocative) and also out of character with the straight lines of the New York business world. The flow of her gown represents her conscious state - she is in the flow with universal energy. She meets a couple he is helping to get divorced and immediately dissolves into tears at the news of the end of their relationship. No one can believe she is crying - people get divorced every day. They try to remove her from the conversation. She tells the woman how her eyes sparkle and that she can't believe her husband would not want to be with her. The couple appear dumbfounded.

Next, Robert takes Giselle for a walk in the park. She is shocked to find out that it has taken him 5 years to propose to Nancy and comments, "no wonder she is angry". She teaches him how to show a woman that you love her with a song. He is embarrassed that she is singing and tells her to stop, but others in the park begin to join her song. Robert is amazed. Her nurturing, caring, loving presences is inspiring and energizing - people are attracted to her. She encourages Robert to send flowers to Nancy with an invitation to a ball - a woman's secret dream. His rift with Nancy is instantly repaired.

Giselle knows without a doubt that Edward, her prince is coming for her. She is steadfast in her belief and trust. When Robert tells her that she is crazy and wrong for believing this - she stands up to him, getting angry. She will not back down. She knows that commitment is possible and she doesn't need to do anything, but radiate and be herself and Edward will come for her. This is the nature of the active masculine seeking the passive feminine (I don't mean passive in a negative way). Yet, she is starting to have feelings for Robert - he needs her. She has polished his rough edges and uncovered what is underneath - he is coming to life. She realizes he may be the one she has been looking for.

Edward does indeed come the next morning. He sings his devotion to Giselle and is ready to protect her. Once again Robert is amazed at the singing. This kind of devotion seems corny and ridiculous to him - it can't be real. Giselle goes off with Edward - even though she is not sure she feels the same way about him. Robert and his daughter are sad - this feminine presence that ignited a spark in them has left.

Giselle requests a "date" with Edward before they leave for Anastasia. She and Edward attend the same ball as Robert and Nancy. Giselle and Robert dance together - something he never does and he ends up singing to her. His transformation is complete - she has inspired his devotion. Yet he is not completely sure that this is possible in just a few days - still stuck in his old belief system. She leaves the ball with Edward - yet she is sad about leaving Robert. On their way out, the wicked Queen dressed as the old hag finds Giselle alone and convinces her to take a bite of an apple to end her sadness. She is poisoned and falls unconscious.

Edward discovers her and yells for help. Robert comes to her side. The Queen's assistant explains that Giselle has been poisoned. Edward doesn't know what to do. It is Robert that reminds him that "true love's kiss" will revive her - the most powerful thing in the world. Edward kisses her, but she does not wake up. He realizes that Robert is her true love and tells Robert that he must kiss her and Nancy agrees. Robert argues that he can't possibly be in love with her this quickly - yet he realizes that he is. Realizing he needs her, he asks her not to leave him and kisses her. She awakes telling him that she knew it was him. The feminine is brought back to life. Ah, but the story doesn't end here.

The evil Queen then morphs into a dragon wanting revenge because she has been discovered and will loose her thrown. She is going to kill Giselle, but Robert stands ready to protect her. The dragon scoops up Robert and Giselle follows with a sword. Her friend, Pip, the chipmunk is finally released and together - Pip and Giselle save Robert and kill the dragon. Nancy re-discovers her feminine nature - she and Edward fall in love and return to Andalasia. They all live happily ever after.

What is this story telling us? I believe many things. It is Robert that is saved by Giselle. She refines his rough edges, brings creativity and color to his life and helps him to be a gentleman. He realizes he needs her to inspire him and love him. The masculine essence without the feminine is rough, brash and sloppy. It needs the feminine to soften, nurture and inspire. Giselle is not afraid to be a soft, gentle, loving woman - the feminine essence. She is in harmony with nature and receives its assistance. She dresses feminine, but dignified and classy. She doesn't need to be provocative or sleazy to capture attention - that would degrade her.

Giselle cries about the divorcing couple - the end of a relationship. The other characters are astonished at this. It seems we have become so callous and cold in our society. We have forgotten the sacredness of relationship. Divorces are commonplace. In addition, grieving about divorce is not encouraged, even though it is clearly the death of a relationship. People are expected to buck up and move on. I realize that in many cases divorce is the right action - especially where abuse and addiction are involved. My own divorce was the result of abuse. Yet it is too easy in some cases, used as a way to blame someone else for our shortcomings. 74% of divorces are instigated by women who say they are tired of being treated without respect or adoration. Are we as women willing to take a stand and raise our expectations? Are we willing to inspire men and hold them accountable to our needs? The couple Giselle encounters in the story end up rethinking their divorce - realizing that relationships are hard work and theirs is worth fighting for. How many relationships could be saved with this kind of paradigm shift - how many marriages would never happen?

In the story, Nancy, Robert's finance, was content with the status quo. She dressed in neutral, masculine-type clothing - fitting in with the masculine world rather than uniquely standing out in her feminine authenticity. She let Robert be - without expecting the best from him. She did not use her feminine instincts to inspire him or teach him how to be a gentleman - I don't think she knew how. Many women today do not know how to inspire a man with their wisdom - they are content to let men decide what makes a woman desirable. That is why women are constantly degraded in television shows, movies, pornagraphic material, etc. The masculine influence has gone unchecked.

Back to the story. In the end, Giselle finds her inner warrior and carries the sword to slay the dragon. It is essentially nature (Pip, the chipmunk) that brings down the dragon as the masculine and feminine are once again in balance. The tyrannical queen is destroyed because she has forgotten her nurturing, loving side and seeks outer power rather than power from within.

To sum up, I believe our society needs the feminine now more than ever to balance the dominant masculine that has been running the show for centuries. We are living in a chaotic time caused by this imbalance. We, as women need to stand up for ourselves and reclaim our wisdom and powerful presence. We need to start now before it is too late.



P.S. Do you want to reprint this article? You may as long as the article remains intact and you include my bio.