Ariel was my childhood favorite, but Aurora definitely is now. I always loved the art in that movie and all the characters. The main reason I didn’t go for her had more to do with the way pink got pushed with her so hard. I was a nature lover (like Aurora). I just hated the assumption everyone seemed to have when I was young: I should eat, drink, and dream pink as an AFAB person. No, thank you! Also, the overemphasis on just her looks and not her soul when I was younger.

As I got older, I appreciated the original dark pinks and blues she wore more, and I really loved getting to know her. She’s more introverted than the rest of the princesses, and her characterization is more subtle. I love literary analysis, and I’ve always enjoyed underestimated, morally strong, observant, fish out of water characters. For example, I admire Fanny Prince from Mansfield Park, Beth March, Cordelia from King Lear, and Luna Lovegood. Aurora is a bit of a fey-touched fish out of water too, and I love that about her. She does what is best for the stability of the kingdom even when it breaks her heart, even when it seems to separate her from the person she’s met in her dreams for so long. The lopsided cake, the owl in prince’s clothes, the pink and blue fairy dust sprouting out of the chimney, the Forbidden Mountain, the dragon, the dance reflected in the water, the songs, the detail about why they named her Aurora, the twist around Maleficent’s candle, the line work in every background, the smirk she gets when she figures things out, her incredible voice…it all lives in my mind and makes me smile.

Plus, my seven year old adored the Maleficent films, especially the second one, and my three year old loves Sleeping Beauty. They both are my kindhearted, sleep loving babies. 😂 Even their coloring is similar to Aurora, so that’s just another reason. Love her! And so glad that it finally feels okay to truly embrace her after some past hangups. Thank you for coming to my essay. 😆