Veronica of Zerestria is such an interesting depiction of The Burden of Royalty because that trope usually infuriates me, but her version is so much more interesting.
Veronica is beautiful, passionate, charismatic but bad at social cues. She's jealous of men's access to politics, while her job is simply to marry. She has the perfect recipe to be a Rebellious Princess(tm).
But she's not rebellious. She's dutiful to the point that she has to be coached into expressing that she has any preferences whatsoever. She is sincere about her duty to marry. She does her best to live up to her station. (and! the extra chapter 'a quiet day in the castle' actually bothers to make it clear the author actually thought about what that work is!)
I think the best example is a side story where a maid is frustrated because no matter how hard she works on Veronica's appearance, Veronica never seems excited. She praises the maid's skill and hard work, but never expresses her own opinions.
When Veronica overhears the maids insecurity, she explains the misunderstanding. Veronica is aware the maids, the perfumes, the clothing, come from tax money. She is not made beautiful for herself, her beauty is invested in as an asset, a symbol of the kingdom and a tool to secure a more powerful marriage. She puts it less coldly than this, but it is clear Veronica has separate herself as a person from herself as an asset to her country. To get excited about her appearance would be mistaking the protection of an asset for a personal favor.
This trope is usually so frustrating because the princess is complaining about having to wear uncomfortable dresses bought with tax money of people who barely have enough to eat. But authors don't usually think of the wealth of royalty as coming from the pockets and labor of the common people, or what it means to eat well while others starve.
Veronica does not complain about how hard her life is because she knows it's not. She has almost no agency, but neither do most people in her world. When what she wants conflicts with her duties, she gives it up without a fight. She does not play in the snow, she does not consider romantic love, she does not share her frustration and insecurity out-loud.
romaincrisis
dededos
blakekathryn
germansingergirl
turnnoffyourmind
andulkaphoto
