Abigail Gurvich

Prof. Hach

Writing and Rhetoric

September 5, 2019

A Strong Woman

Why is it that you all choose to follow me? Is it because of love? Because of compassion? No, you follow me because of something else. Power. The power that you hear in my very name, Maleficent.

It’s not very common for a woman to be strong. Most people in this world feel threatened by a powerful woman, so much so that we are often seen as evil. While those innocent, obedient little princesses are the embodiment of goodness.

In this world, power and strength are practically the same thing, and yet women have a hard time holding on to either. While the kings and princes go off and earn glory on the battlefield, a queen or a princess is expected to stay home, tend to the children, and make nothing of herself.

If the only way for us to forge our names into history is through evil, then so be it. A life of being feared and hated is far better than a life of quiet obedience and catering to a man’s every whim. Independence and power are more important than the love of a husband. Women can do just as much as men when they are on their own.

Simply look at the so called Evil Queen if you wish for an example. A wise and financially smart woman who, if not for attempting to kill her stepdaughter Snow White, would certainly gone down in history as an incredible ruler. But no, she is an evil villain, and nothing good could ever come from her.

I do not need to submit to the authority of a king, nor do I answer to those three so called good fairies who were invited to the Princess Aurora’s christening. I am Maleficent, embodiment of Evil, and I answer to no one’s authority but my own.

You most likely doubt yourself, and I cannot blame you. You were most likely raised to be a good little girl, quiet and obedient and utterly dependent on men. You want to make a name for yourself but are afraid to take that step.

Being a villain is most likely not what you dreamed of when you were a little girl. You most likely were afraid of the very thing you now wish to become, a powerful and strong woman who answers to only herself. While you might not wish to be evil. What other path is there for a woman to gain independence?

I never set out to be the mistress of evil, I simply wished to be free from what the world sees as an acceptable path for a woman. I see myself in you, and in me you should see what you can become.

This world is cruel and unkind to those who stand out from the norm, who chose to forge their own path rather than follow the one set out in front of them. Fighting for your independence is difficult, but oh so worth it.

You are unknown as you are, but someday your name shall strike fear into the hearts of those who try to bring you down. Just as my name, Maleficent, makes every last soul in this kingdom tremble in fear, fear of what they tried to keep contained but failed to bring down.

 

Works Cited

Tatar, Maria. The Classic Fairy Tales. W. W. Norton & Company, 2017.

“The Secret History of Malefcent.” The Secret History of Maleficent: Murder, Rape, and Women-Hating in Sleeping Beauty, Sivan, http://www.revivingherstory.com/rhblog/2014/11/3/the-secret-history-of-maleficent-murder-rape-and-woman-hating-in-sleeping-beauty.