We probably grew up with the prince rescuing the princess in fairy tales, but is the romantic damsel in distress trope still valid today?

Recently our family sat to watch the 1984 movie classic, Ghostbusters. Unexpectedly, it elicited a horrified response from the teenager in our house. Not about ghosts, but from watching the kick-arse Ripley from Aliens playing the part of the helpless damsel in distress. Didn’t that open a dialogue on the changes that this trope has gone through over the centuries…

What is the meaning of damsel in distress?

A damsel in distress is a woman in danger who has this need to be rescued by a male hero.

Damsel is the shortened version of the French word, mademoiselle, which refers to a noblewoman or lady. Typically, a young unmarried virgin.

The damsel in distress stereotypes

The typical stereotypes of a damsel in distress, as found in stories are:

they scream a lot
a weak character unable to help herself in a sticky situation
she suffers from emotional overwhelm on an hourly basis
has a habit of getting into perilous situations based on dumb judgment
is a magnet for trouble with a capital T
enjoys walking into scary houses, in the dark, on their own, without a flashlight
being pretty is her one and only personality trait, second is her talent for screaming
she’s special to the person rescuing her (typically a love interest, rich, or a royal)
they’re precious, you know, the fragile kind of preciousness
and they’re prone to tripping, especially when trying to run away

Besides being carefully created to make the hero look good, if we’re being honest, those kinds of stories are all about HER! The damsel.

Think about it, the guy’s mission for the entire story is to rescue the girl! It’s the whole plot. Without her distress, the guy wouldn’t be motivated to be the hero.

Pst, it’s not just about grownups either. It’s also a big part of the many teenage stories out there about the geeky loser, who goes through some self-changing journey to become the hero to get the girl — the most popular girl in school.

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Do we blame Disney for damaging the Damsel in Distress archetype?

We could blame Disney for the flooding of fairy tales involving captive damsels in need of rescuing by handsome heroes, but this story plot has been around longer than that.

Remember the woman tied to the train tracks and needs rescuing! In the black and white silent movie?

It goes back even further than that.

This chivalrous trope dates can be traced back to the ancient Greek legend of princess Andromeda, chained to a rock as a human sacrifice to the gods. Facing a mega-scary sea monster, Perseus rescues her when he flies in on his amazingly gorgeous white horse, Pegasus.

But here’s the catch: Perseus will only save her if she promises to marry the guy! How’s that for a first date, huh?

The famous princesses in distress — and those trusty steeds!

The trapped princess trope is well and truly embedded into our culture by the stories we read as children. Perhaps spurred on by Pegasus’s part in rescuing Princess Andromeda, it seems the rescuers have a white horse as a part of their entourage.

Here’s a short list of some stories you may know of, where the hero swoops in to save the damsel, with the help of his white horse:

In the 282-year-old tale, Beauty and the Beast, it has a magical white horse that is also found in the modern version of this story.

Rapunzel, the woman who struggled to see a hairdresser in her many years trapped in a tower, is visited by a prince who struts in on his white horse. I’m not talking about the sassy stallion, Maximus, who stole the show in the modern version of Tangled.

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Sleeping Beauty gets kissed by a stranger, a supposed prince, no less, while sleeping. Which would be creepy these days. But hey, he rode in on a white horse, so he must be the hero.

Snow White is at the mercy of the huntsman and the wicked queen, then rescued by a bunch of dwarfs, until that dude with another white horse arrives.

But it’s not always a white horse…

In Pretty Woman, the ending has the prostitute retreating to her crappy apartment tower But the billionaire gallantly climbs up the balcony to save her from poverty. Cinderella’s prince, who can afford a stable of white horses, uses a limousine as his trusty steed in this story.

Oh, and let’s not forget Tarzan, who is forever rescuing his Jane! Swinging on a vine, or thundering through on the back of an elephant, his means of transport is wildly impressive.

Dead Pool, the movie about the scarred merc with a mouth, in between laughing at his one-liners, it was all a class act about saving his girl. And using a yellow cab as his trusty time-saving means of transport.

What about the feisty Princess Fiona, locked away in her tower, then kidnapped by the dastardly, height-challenged overlord, in Shrek. The ogre, and hero, Shrek, begins his journey to hero-dom with a donkey. At one stage in the story, the donkey is magically changed into a handsome white horse. Only to turn back into a donkey and use his dragon girlfriend to help him out.

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The historic Damsel in Distress cliche we may not know

The princess getting kidnapped is the most used cliche for this trope!

Think about it, they’re supposed to be protected. Surrounded by knights, or armed guards who scored the job of keeping the pretty princess safe in exchange for food and board in a castle.

But it happened.

A lot.

According to history books, kidnapping was quite a terrifying thing for a damsel of means. Especially for wealthy widows, who got kidnapped regularly for their estates, hoping for someone to rescue them. Those who did save the lady ended up marrying them. Or, in some cases, the widows were able to negotiate for their own freedom.

The modern cliché examples of a damsel in distress used in entertainment:

Besides the woman walking into a dark house alone, how many horror scenes involve a woman getting wet, be it in the shower, bath, or swimming?

It’s a tactic to show how beautiful and vulnerable these victims are, right before the monster, mad scientist, or dastardly villain attacks her. It’s one of the most popular, generic scenes found in most horror movies.

Then there are:

the sword-swinging dudes in pirate movies,
the gun-slingers in cowboy movies,
the shiny knights in armor in princess movies,
and nearly all of the superhero stories, like Spiderman and Superman.

How many damsels did these costume-clad characters save over the millennia?

via GIPHY

What is the male version of a damsel in distress?

To call a man in a sticky situation, and in need of help from their female partners, wife, girlfriend, or even sisters is more common than you think.

Sponge Bob is always needing rescuing by Patrick or Squidward.
Wonder Woman, has Chris Pine playing the part of the dude in distress.
Peeta in Hunger Games when he’s injured and in need of medicine.

These men in need of rescuing are referred to as a: Dude in distress, or distressed dude.

Flipping the damsel in distress trope to involve all parties

In the Netflix series, Stranger Things, you’ll find a caring, fragile, single mother rescues her children and her lover in another foreign country when many others think she’s bonkers. But with her help and all those involved, they save their small town. For a little while…

Charlie Bradbury, from Supernatural, starts out as the tech-nerd who became a cos-playing queen in the series.

What about the cultishly beloved psychopath Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad? A big part of the movie is all about rescuing a damsel in distress (being the boss everyone loves to hate). And in movie II, she’s thought to be the damsel in distress, but instead saves herself.

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In the Star Wars Saga, we have Princess Leia going from the damsel in distress, who fights for her freedom to become a major part of the rebellion.

Sarah Connor in Terminator, we have a time-traveling soldier sent to protect her, to then become a ripped robot hunter in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Elizabeth Swann, in the Pirates of the Caribbean, goes from a pouty damsel in distress to becoming a captain with her own crew.

Then there are the many female characters in A Game of Thrones, who save themselves—with help from friends, horses (even a white one), and dragons. We watch them go from damsels in distress to becoming queens!

The latest funny flip of this trope is the movie The Lost City, starring Sandra Bullock. She plays the part of a kidnapped romance writer, as her cover model tries to rescue her. Oh, they even have a scene with a white horse too!

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What you may not realize about the Damsel in Distress:

The damsel in distress is changing. Today it shows a woman can help herself out of a situation by any means necessary. They don’t need a man to rescue them, but to help them, and aid them as they both move forward like a team in the story.

Besides being a well-used story plot, there is also the romantic connection to the hero (male or female) who will risk everything to save the person in distress. That’s magic. When done right.

But what many don’t realize is that there is another reason why this trope is so popular in stories. It’s when the woman openly displays her vulnerability. Her distress. Her pain and trauma tap into her soul in such a way that many can empathize with her.

Seemingly a sexist trope, as depicted in many old-fashioned fairy tales, yet some do share that feminine fragility as part of the story itself. If you look closer, you’ll see their inner strength to survive, along with the many rich layers within their lives in the stories they lead. These damsels show mercy, compassion, and incredible mental resilience to want to escape, to continue, and not surrender. They show incredible inner strength to work through their pain to push through the bad times, hoping for a better future.

Distress is deeper than you can imagine

Besides the common link of involving a decent cat-and-mouse chase to save someone in these types of stories, if you took a step back and reanalyzed this trope, you’ll soon spot the other levels of distress a woman goes through to make it to the end. And we get to become a part of their powerful journeys, to celebrate their self-sufficiency and those moments when they look inward for the courage that forces them to keep going as they face their fears.

Some of these damsels in distress stories show us it’s okay to be vulnerable, and it’s okay to ask for help.

They also could put more emphasis on saving everyone out of love, care, and friendship in the chase for that happily ever after.

And hey, don’t we all need a bit of rescuing sometimes in our lives?

The modern damsel and her many distresses

Maybe, the overuse of the damsel being saved by the man is boring, and we’re bored with it. I’ll admit to rolling my eyes at this trope, especially after hearing my daughter’s comments on the helpless damsel(s) in the Ghostbuster movie.

But there is something that makes this trope so magical to last these thousands of years… It’s when there is a romantic connection to the hero (male or female) who will risk everything to save the person in distress. No matter the situation.

But it’s even better when a damsel is smart enough to seek help to resolve those situations that may be beyond her control. And having a handsome hero at her side helps, like in these modern takes on this trope that was in dire need of an update:

Rolled in Dust—a sassy single mother escaping her past.

Written in Dust—an independent loner get involves in an outback treasure hunt.

Unplanned Party—when an uninvited guest decides to crash.

Run Beautiful Run—is about a shy woman on the run, all because of a promise.