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

dragons.
Cimorene was justified in ignoring the norms of a Medieval Society because, women, in the basis of a normal society, were not given equal rights.

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

treated at the same standard as men, and will never have the rights of her own will in the large kingdom of Linderwall.
In addition to women not having equal rights, by escaping the Medieval society, Cimorene will be able to have free will in choosing the activities and studies she wants to pursue. One example is how Cimorene wants to take fencing lessons, something that most princesses are not interested in. In the book, it states “As she got older, she found her regular lessons more and more boring. Consequently, the fencing lessons became more and more frequent”(2). This emphasizes how Cimorene finds no excitement in doing princess activities, and focuses on how she would rather do activities that reflect what men desire to do. Moreover, this focuses on how Cimorene wants to learn more about enjoyable activities in which she concentrates on, rather than the studies that bore her. Another example of how Cimorene is bored, is by the way the author gives the reader incite to Cimorene’s mind, which shows how all of her studies at the castle are recurring.The author states, “The same thing happened over the Latin lessons from the court philosopher, the cooking lessons from the castle chef, the economics lesson from the court treasurer, and the juggling lessons from the court minstrel. Cimorene began to grow rather tired of the whole business”(4). This demonstrates how all of the studies that Cimorene is doing in the castle is forced upon her, irrelevant at the time, and in general, just boring. Also, Cimorene is exhausted by what is expected of her to learn, and believes that her curriculum is a waste of time.

To push the purpose of how Cimorene is ethical in leaving the castle is because she will also have the opportunity to gain knowledge of an unusual field that most humans would not have interest in, Dragon livelihood.

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

important, Cimorene has developed a love for the dragons, which has made her more astute in everything she does.Nevertheless, Cimorene will even be able to learn about dragon history. The text states, “It helped that she found the book fascinating. Dragon history was not a subject commonly taught to princesses”(75). This shows that Cimorene is learning upon a different collection of studies that most princesses are not taught about. Moreover, there is no better way for Cimorene to excel in learning about dragons, considering that she is living with them. In all, Cimorene is going to advance through her studies with the dragons, more than she ever would at Linderwall.
In sharp contrast, others believe that Cimorene should have followed proper princess guidelines, such as, staying in the large kingdom of Linderwall. This is controversial because, if anything, Cimorene would be required to accept all of the normal Medieval society rules. This is not a fair claim, due to Cimorene,’s aspirations to do more than an average princess. Furthermore, no princess would accept the low standard in which Cimorene was treated at the castle, and how she was always told what she could and could not do. Proper or not, Cimorene
always had a side that was different than normal princesses. For this reason, Linderwall did not support her needs.
As a final point, Cimorene has the utmost right to leave the kingdom of Linderwall and ignore the expected social norms of the Medieval society based upon her extraordinary personality, likings, and abnormal character traits. Besides, it is apparent throughout the story that Cimorene is an outgoing, tomboyish character who simply wants to live her own life. She is confident in all of her actions, whether they are or are not proper. Cimorene simply does not care about what others portray her as, and has no problem that she is considered to not be a normal princess. If anything, Cimorene takes fun of ignoring what is expected to her, and insists on her way. Altogether, Cimorene is not proper in the setting at the kingdom of Linderwall, but finds her true home while living with the dragons.