La Princesse Lointaine

In this blog entry, I will tribute the princesse lointaine dimension within myself.
The princesse lointaine is an ethereally beautiful lady of ideal character in medieval romance whom the protagonist knight is lovestruck upon at first glance and embarks on painstaking quests to attain. The main characteristic of the princesse lointaine is her unattainability. The translation of "la princesse lointaine" is the distant princess.
In addition to her beauty, the princesse lointaine is a perfectionist, striving for perfection in every aspect. She aims to get straight A+'s in school. She implements extreme conservative behavior--not ever even tasting alcohol, aiming for marriage rather than dates (it goes without saying that she will remain a virgin until marriage). I mentioned this trope during Lipstick Lunch, and someone had said that the princesse lointaine would also be a vegetarian, something which I liked very much! A princesse lointaine is very hard to come by...
As I mentioned in my last post, I like it very much when the princesse lointaine is linked with the ingénue. I like how the TV tropes website mentions that the Princess Classic is "innocence personified" and that her singing voice is a soprano, like that of an ingénue. When I was working on my La Princesse Lointaine monologue, a classmate told me that I exuded innocence and wonderment as the ingénue character.
Examples of the princesse lointaine in literature & theatre include the signature character--Melissinde in La Princesse Lointaine, Guinevere in Le Morte d'Arthur & Camelot, Maid Marian in Robin Hood, numerous damsels-in-distress in medieval romances, the title character, Gloriana in The Faerie Queene, numerous characters in fairy tales, Emelye in The Knight's Tale in The Canterbury Tales, Princess Padmini in The Three Princes of Serendip, and Princess Ozma in the Oz series.

Sarah Bernhardt enacting the role of Melissinde, a role that was written for her

The Fairy Queen, Gloriana

L. Frank Baum's description of Princess Ozma of the fairyland of Oz falls in line with the TV Trope website's description of the Princess Classic, which states that the beauty of the Princess Classic is so great that it challenges the greatest poets; that she is so perfect that the sparkles dance. In one of the Oz books, it said that one cannot describe the beauty of the Princess Ozma of Oz, that the greatest writers have failed in capturing her beauty. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, there is the following passage: "Her eyes sparkled as two diamonds, and her lips were tinted like a tourmaline. All adown her back floated tresses of ruddy gold, with a slender jeweled circlet confining them at the brow." I cannot help but wonder whether the TV Tropes website took its description from Baum's description of Ozma.

Princess Ozma of Oz

Examples of the princesse lointaine in real life include Hodierna of Tripoli (whom La Princesse Lointaine is based upon), Rani Padmini, and the Bollywood actresses Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai (also a Miss World). Jaufré Rudel fell in love with Hodierna of Tripoli from just hearing descriptions of the legend that was Hodierna. Alauddin Khilji fell in love with Rani Padmini from seeing her face in the mirror.

  Jaufré Rudel dying in the arms of Hodierna of Tripoli

Alauddin falling in love with Rani Padmini

Aishwarya Rai as Miss World

With two Padminis as princesse lointaine ahead of me, I feel like I was destined to be a princesse lointaine. I will end this blog with a beautiful poem excerpted from The Three Princes of Serendip on the Princess Padmini:

 

PANTOUM FOR THE PRINCESS PADMINI
by Elizabeth Jamison Hodges

Let trumpets in delirium sound
Where boars are wilder than the gales.
Our precious Padmini is found
More beautiful than fairy tales.

Where boars are wilder than gales
Upon a Persian mountainside
More beautiful than fairy tales,
Three princes to her rescue ride.

Upon a Persian mountainside
Our precious Padmini is found
Three princes to her rescue ride;
Let trumpets in delirium ride.