If you were are a fairy tale character and creature, which would you be? Choose from any canon, but please identify which one. I'll start!
Growing up, I felt trapped in my home. I was expected to perform in a proper, feminine way. I was to grow up and marry a man from my parent's country. I was not allowed to indulge my interests in the culture I lived in (American), and was redirected to items, interests and objects from the culture I was expected to marry into and further.
When I saw Disney's The Little Mermaid for the first time, I knew that telling of her story was mine. She was the character I most identified with nearly until I was out of my home as an adult. I still sing "Part of Your World" as a way to calm myself.
Would I have given up my voice to an evil sea witch to escape my family? Yes, absolutely. I had no voice at home anyway. I was constantly silenced when I expressed my interests and wishes and had learned to express myself through writing or find friends in books.
But what about the prince part of the equation? Well, I never bought the whole "someday my prince will come" spiel. I'm a believer that we have to rescue ourselves. I became that way watching my mother repeatedly almost change our situation.
She could have done it--removed us from abuse, but she was very much Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She always saw potential in place of reality and kept herself bound to my father based on what he could one day be rather than what he daily was. I'm not saying Belle has Battered Woman Syndrome, but that is one reading of her character. Like my mother, she is also highly intelligent, positive, stubborn and loves books. At least in the Disney telling.
Another fairy tale creature I identify with is a nymph. Google defines "nymph" as:a mythological spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations.
In writing, nymphs tend to gather in groups and be content in their own beauty. While body love has been a challenge for me, and I'm not wonderfully social, I am still very drawn to these creatures as a metaphor of self-expression.