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00:00What is a Damsel in Distress?
00:03One of the oldest themes in literature and drama is the damsel in distress, in which a young and
00:08presumably innocent woman is held captive against her will by an evildoer, or cannot free herself
00:14from a curse or some other psychological captivity. The only person capable of rescuing the damsel
00:21is an altruistic hero figure, typically a knight in shining armour in medieval literature.
00:27The roots of the archetype, however, can be traced back as far as Greek tragedies
00:32involving young female mortals and their harrowing encounters with gods and demigods.
00:38Although the damsel in damsel in distress may sound Germanic in origin, it is actually a
00:44corruption of the French word demoiselle, suggesting a delicate young woman. In a literary
00:50context, a damsel would often be interpreted as a naive woman-child with few natural survival
00:56instincts or real-world experience, perhaps a sheltered member of a royal family or an
01:02untravelled country maiden. A girl such as Rapunzel, however, might use her wiles to
01:07assist her eventual rescuer, or lull her captor into a false sense of security.
01:13One of the essential parts of the scenario is the heroic effort to rescue her. In many tales
01:20of damsels in distress, several would-be rescuers fail because they have ulterior
01:25motives of sexual conquest, or otherwise lack the moral fortitude of a true knight in shining
01:31armour. The moral of many of these stories is not strictly about the rescuing process,
01:37but the altruistic reasons for the rescue. Evil must be defeated before the damsel can
01:43be released from its grip, and only the most heroic and purest of heart would have the
01:48power to succeed. The concept of a dependent and helpless female relying on the largesse
01:53of a dominant or heroic male figure has become more controversial in recent times.
02:00Many women now consider the damsel-in-distress dynamic between men and women to be a polarising
02:05remnant of a male-dominated society. As long as men continue to view women as submissive
02:12creatures in constant need of rescue and protection, true equality between the sexes
02:17may be a difficult thing to achieve. Perpetuating the classic theme may work
02:23well in romance novels and movies, but it may not work as well in the real world.
02:29For more clear, concise answers to common and not-so-common questions,
02:33visit the Conjecture Corporation website.