Rapunzel and the like and of course Rats

Johanna (Sweeney Todd) and Rapunzel. Both two beautiful, delicate blonde girls (not women) that scream chastity and virginity and submissiveness, with their clean uncut hair (is that literally a hymen reference?!) and pale skin, symbolising that they are untouched by the cruelty of the real world.

And why are they seen as symbols of beauty and perfection? Perhaps it is the "possessive alpha male" that wants a woman untouched by any other man (raised only by the Witch, or in Johanna's case: the judge, who intends to keep her for himself) and wholly innocent to the cruelty of the real world. Wanting to love something "perfect", totally separate from the horrors of the world that the other has experienced - the girls offer an escape and alternate reality. Or perhaps (back to the big scary [read:vulnerable] alpha male) it is the girl's total reliance on one other to take care of them (protection, and providing food and shelter) that satisfies the possessive, insecure part of the man/woman. These girls are the naive virgin archetypes. 

And yet, they can be feminist figures too! Past their appearances and "femininity", these girls actually also show how when women are kept as children, kept naive and sheltered, they resort to deep longing and (ultimately) escape and rebellion! These girls are so inspired by their cages that they rip their way out, beaks and feathers plaited into an escape rope. Johanna tries to run away with that blond guy, and obviously Rapunzel has her prince. (Oh hey a pinch of salt to the feminists: it is the men that steal them away, rather than their own individual efforts. But none the less: girls, breaking free of their oppression.)

I was trying to think what these girls would actually look like, if they lived their whole life locked up in a room. 

No sunlight: sickly palor [read: pale as fuck and blotchy skin]. Rickets. Weak bones and teeth. Sensitive, mole-like eyes. Also, depressed as fuck. 

No exercise: (obviously) fat. Inability to sleep. Very low muscle development and a bad circulatory system. Look older. 

All in all, a crazy ugly ill person. I'd love to see a representation of Rapunzel like this, rather than the perfect blonde that they show. It'd be way more interesting to see a rabid girl ensnaring a prince and then hijacking his horse and riding into the distance. I think a lot more people would relate to her that way too.

I bet afterwards she'd become a bandit.