Jasmine, Gem of the Palace

(Image via Wikipeda.org)

            In 1992, Disney Produced Aladdin, and audiences fell in love with a cast of new memorable characters. Among their ranks were of course Aladdin, and his love interest, the Princess Jasmine. She was the sixth Disney Princess to appear, even though the movie did not focus on her as the lead protagonist. Nonetheless, she was a breakthrough as a female character: to begin with, she was of Middle Eastern descent, the first non-white princess.

            Like Belle and Ariel, Jasmine’s mother is not in the picture. More like Belle and less like Ariel, she gets along with her father: to an extent. They have very different perspectives on the world; but Jasmine also isn’t afraid to speak to her father about what bothers her in life. She has an interesting affinity with animals, her best friend a tiger and releasing her pet birds to fly away when her own freedom is question. She has grown up in the palace as a princess, has never done anything for herself, and she resents that fact. She lives in a society that doesn’t give women much power, and what she wants more then anything is the freedom to make her own choices.

(Image from disney.wikia.com)

            Her enemy is Jafar, and he’s a dangerous figure. He is her father’s advisor, but he is corrupt, and has the power to hypnotize the sultan. His fatal flaws are that he underestimates people and desires even more power. Unfortunately, he’s also rather good at talking people until doing his bidding, and appears to be a master of disguise. Through the course of the movie he proves to be deceptive, cruel, a bit sadistic, and simply doesn’t care what happens to other people as long as he gets what he wants. That is the opponent Jasmine must help defeat.

            As mentioned, the focus of Aladdin is not Jasmine herself but, well, Aladdin. However, she does act as the catalyst of what occurs. Seeking freedom, she risks everything and runs away from home for a chance of freedom. Unfortunately, as she fears, her lack of knowledge of the world combined with a kind heart gets her in trouble. This is how she meets Aladdin-he saves her from losing her hand in the market, and leads her to a safe place. There they spent time bonding, connecting, and learning they were really kindred spirits, trapped by circumstances. It’s a memorable experience for both of them, and it was that encounter that Jafar would use to persuade Aladdin to go to the cave of Wonders; thus, if Aladdin and Jasmine had never met, the rest of the movie would not have played out as it did.

            Jasmine proves herself to be clever and able to think on her feet. When Aladdin returns in disguise as “Prince Ali” she notices his mannerisms, and gives him several chances to come clean. When he continues to avoid doing so, she brings up something Aladdin would know about, but Ali would not-and so proves to herself they are the same person. Naturally she reacts angrily when she finds out he’s been trying to deceive her, but the fact is they are kindred and understand each other well. Later when Aladdin is attempting to stop Jafar once and for all, she is quick to improvise in order to help him. She also does not appear to be afraid of Jafar, confronting him early in the movie, and daring to cross him at the end.

            The main flaw is that Jasmine’s story is not her own; she is the second fiddle to Aladdin in the course of the movie. This however, is no fault of her own. She is also, unfortunately, a little ignorant of how things work, having no sense of the economy or trading money for goods. Yet she is a quick learner and this helps her survive. She longs for the freedom to make her own choices and find her own loves, and she resents when she is objectified. When danger comes to her land and loves ones, she shows bravery. I’d say she’s a pretty good role model to expose little girls to, even if she has some flaws.