"Sonatina"

When I read Ruben Dario’s “Sonatina,” I was instantly reminded of my childhood when I would spend countless hours watching Disney movies. I remember I was wanted to be one of the beautiful princesses that the movies depicted. They depicted these princesses as beautiful and melodious, but the most important thing (in my five-year-old-self’s opinion) was that in the end of the movie her prince charming would come and they would have true love’s first kiss and she would always end the movie happy. I wanted that happy ending then, but now that I am older, I see that happy ending for what it is: sexist. Disney depicted these women as weak and dependent upon men for a happy and safe ending (not all Disney movies do this, just the ones that I loved the most). People never really question Disney’s methods when movies such as these are made, they just let it be and negatively influence their children; however, Dario did question the formation for how most fairytales are constructed, or he sort of did at least.  In “Sonatina,” the princess is described as the typical fairytale-princess. That is, she is unhappy with her surroundings, so she weeps, and people try to console her, but she is under the impression that only her prince charming can come and save her from her misery. In the end, however, Dario writes, “‘Hush, Princess, hush,’ says her fairy godmother; / ‘the joyous knight who adores you unseen / is riding this way on his winged horse, /  a sword at his waist and a hawk on his wrist, / and comes from far off, having conquered Death, / to kindle your lips with a kiss of true love!’” (43-48). These lines may appear to be the happy ending that Sonatina would wish to hear, but the way it sounds in the context of the poem is almost mocking and patronizing. Thus, mocking the typical fairytale formation of writing. I like this poem because even though I loved Disney movies as a little girl, I wish (now that I am older) that they would have created a few more movies like Mulan, in which the heroine is not dependent on a prince to complete her happiness, and I think that Dario does a good job at making this notion almost seen absurd and ridiculous to expect in the first place.