How Is Cimorene Justified In Dealing With Dragons

The narrative, Dealing with Dragons, written by Patricia C.Wrede, the author discusses how a princess named Cimorene, runs away, or better yet, liberates herself from the torment of the “proper” Medieval society. Certainly, Cimorene is an outrageous character, who just simply does not settle for anything less than perfection. For this reason, she thrives for a better life, full of adventures. Cimorene was justified in ignoring the expected social norms of Medieval society because, it is in her best interest to escape women's’ unequal rights among the society, have the freedom at her own will in the activities and studies she does, and be able to gain knowledge in an unusual field, that many humans do not know about, life with belligerent

For example, Cimorene was told who she would marry, and her input would not be considered when it came down to who the prince would be. Cimorene’s mother states, “‘Proper or not, you will marry Prince Therandil three weeks from Thursday”’(8). This shows that Cimorene, as well as other women, do not have any rights to object in who they will marry. Furthermore, this demonstrates how Cimorene will have to marry the dreaded Therandil, on the day of her father’s choosing, and would not be able to manipulate what happens. Another example of how women are considered to be of a lower status than men is, when Cimorene is told by her parents that no man would want to marry a woman like her. The text explicitly states, “Her parents were quite sure that no prince would want to marry a girl who could look him in the eye instead of gazing up at him through her lashes.” This explains how a man does not want a woman to have as bold of a character as himself. Additionally, this portrays how Cimorene is different from most women, and is just as confident as any man, however, most men or princes do not approve of women being at the same level as them. Plus, Cimorene could even be considered as an advocate for seeking equal rights for women, and eventually help suppress men having domination over women. Overall, it is evident that Cimorene is not

One example of how Cimorene is going to learn while living with the dragons is when she is given her first job of sorting the dragon's treasure. The text states, “She was not going to have to marry Therandil, and sorting a dragon’s treasure sounded far more interesting than dancing and embroidery”(21). This demonstrates how Cimorene is capable of learning more while living with the dragons, than she ever would have back at Linderwall. Not only will she “enjoy” her studies, she will be interested in learning more and more, evidently stretching her mind. Another example of how Cimorene is gaining knowledge is by the way she does not know any magic, but later is able to recite a fireproofing spell. Early in the book, it states, “She was even going to learn some magic!”(21). However, it later states in the book, “...Cimorene got out the spell and the ingredients she had collected, and she and Alianora spent the next hour on various necessary preparations”(124). This indicates that Cimorene, over the time that she has been living with the dragons, she has been able to pursue the studies in which she was not able to learn about at the castle. Moreover, it is obvious that Cimorene has the independence to do what she wants, something she had always long for. Equally