'The princess and the pea-brain'

strangecosmos.com

   Much to my horror I was recently introduced to the "classic" fairy tale, "The Princess and the Pea," and I am nearly apoplectic.
   The premise of the tale is that men, or should I say princes, desire a woman that is soooo sensitive that she can have her evening's sleep ruined by a single pea buried 20 mattresses deep. Only a "true" princess is able to sense discomfort at that level because she has such sensitive skin. This is a somehow considered a virtue.
   This pearl of wisdom is deftly hidden by two other virtues mentioned in the story such as politeness to one and all and kindness to rich and poor.
   But the story is not entitled, The Princes and Her Good Nature, no, the true test of her princess-worthiness was her keen grasp of a tiny vegetable* and bedding.
   And the prince {sheesh} is (s)mothered to death by the overbearing queen and apparently unable to think for himself, so this pusillanimous ponce actually buys into the principle that an untalented, hypersensitive female is the most desired creature on Earth and to have her will make him complete ... as in complete idiot.
   I've always had trouble with "happily ever after" scenarios as I believe they set up children to be disappointed once they become adults.
   Much better to have the crap scared out of them by a gnarly old witch who will stuff them into an oven if they don't stay on the path. It's far more realistic and if it doesn't occur in the child's life she can always consider herself fortunate and happy just to be alive.

* my wife advises me that a pea is a legume and not a vegetable