The Fairy Tale as the False Reality 

A lurker and an introvert with tons of things to say, but rarely do I.

I enjoy studying the symbolism and psychology of Once Upon A Time and how it often relates to Regina & Emma\'s relationship.

Snow White & Prince Charming represent the epitome of a fairy tale and a fairy tale can be seen as a false version of reality.

Emma was sent to a land without magic (reality/the real world) where despite her circumstances, she became a strong person. Eventually, Henry found her and brought her to Storybrooke where he began to convince her that the fairy tales were true and that she was a part of it.

When the curse was broken, Emma was suddenly living the fairy tale (the false reality…for her at least). Although it took her a moment to warm up to them, she suddenly had the parents/family she always wanted. The more time she spent with them and the other fairy tale characters, the more she integrated, getting farther and father away from her reality and loosing some (most) of herself in the process. Hence, the version of Emma we are seeing now.

It looks like the Charmings are sacrificing Emma in this picture. They want her to have what they have, but what they represent, traditionally speaking, is a false reality. 

The Charmings want the version of Emma that they would have raised or, in other words, a traditional fairy tale princess…

…instead of the strong independent woman she became without them. In other words, the opposite of the traditional princess who always needs to be saved.

Emma used to represent a person who was their own knight in shining armor and really, isn’t that a better moral, to become strong enough to save yourself rather than waiting on a prince or a knight a.k.a. the fairy tale a.k.a. the false reality? 

In real life, little girls were/are often told these tales about a knight in shining armor who would come and sweep them off their feet and they would live together happily ever after. Think of the mental conflict this causes when the girls grow up to find out that life isn’t at all like their mother’s told them it would be.

It causes an imbalance (cognitive dissonance) when such an idea is pounded into your head. You are trying to do what your parents/society taught you because it’s the “right” thing or the expected thing versus wanting to do what comes naturally or instinctively to you based on your own thoughts and ideas.

They are being prepped to look for something that doesn’t even exist…perfection.

What is perceived as perfect is different for everyone, meaning that there is no prototype for it. There is no one thing to use as a measurement for perfection, but is this the mistake Emma is making with her parents, believing them to be perfect and therefore trying to replicate what they have and achieve something that she won’t be able to because it doesn’t exist.

In 6x19 we saw Hook asking Henry to be his best man and we also see Henry holding the book, which seems odd, but considering Henry was a large part of convincing Emma that the fairy tales were true when she first came to Storybrooke, maybe he, along with the Charmings (who are the prime example of the fairy tale/false reality) represent pushing Emma toward a false reality with Hook.

Everything is happening backwards for Emma. Her childhood was spent dealing with things that no child should have to and her adulthood has morphed into a fairy tale. It’s actually easy to see why Emma would be susceptible to the fairy tale, considering it was something she never thought she would have, but if you have to ignore certain behaviors from your significant other to make that dream happen then it is a false reality and has no real foundation.

Even though it is yet to be determined whether or not Regina has a role in the wedding, we know that she is the only one who hasn’t pushed Emma toward a false reality. She even saved her from one! 

And this makes sense when we think about Regina splitting herself. The Evil Queen (the fairy tale part of Regina) was born out of Cora and Snow’s actions, forcing her into a life she didn’t want, a false reality. The

real Regina was repressed and her life became full of hate and violence. Regina eventually became a different person and the Evil Queen was no longer a part of her reality, hence, the split.

So, of the core group, Regina is the only one that represents a clear reality. 

I actually forgot about the fact that Emma said…

So maybe Regina isn’t her savior, but will she be a beacon for Emma to finally wake up and save herself?

Tagged: #swan queen #ouat meta #dumb positivity #anti cs #anti charmings #emma swan #regina mills

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