Aladdin Central Messageboard

[AladdinsGenie]

[Meesh]

She did come back also to bring justice to Aladdin.

Which brings up another bunch of questions I've wondered:

1. The guards seemed to have left Jasmine alone after arresting Aladdin. Shouldn't they have ensured a safe return? Or do you think she followed them? Or walked home alone?

2. What did the Sultan think about Jasmine's running away?
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[Cantare]

To AladdinsGenie: nice points about the personal side of Jasmine's running away. True, Belle did run away after agreeing to be the Beast's prisoner. But with Jasmine I am imagining she is spoiled because she reneged on her duty that she was born into, and a duty that is even more important because she's the Sultan's only child. She didn't seem to intend to go back to the palace for any reason other than saving Aladdin after he got arrested. She told him in his hovel that she wasn't going back to where she came from. So I imagine that as she ran away her mindset was pretty narrow, just focused on herself, not her kingdom. If she were thinking about the kingdom, then maybe she would have decided to run away for a little bit just to make her father realize that he needed to change his approach to things, and then she'd go back before too much damage was done. I just got the feeling from her conversation with Aladdin that she was running away for herself only. But to each his own! I think your viewpoint is valid but at this particular point in my life right now I am thinking heavily about personal responsibility and duty, and giving up things I feel like doing for things I need to be doing.

To Meesh:

Your questions are really interesting. I don't think Disney really wanted anyone to focus on how Jasmine returned to the palace without the guards. Maybe they called for backup to escort her home.

I would imagine the Sultan was worried and maybe angry but forgave her quickly. He's a big softie especially when it comes to Jasmine. I think he probably felt bad for her that she was so pained by the law about marriage, but was resigned to the fact that it was the law and he couldn't change it, or make her feel any better. Maybe a resigned mindset of "my poor daughter...but she'll grow out of it hopefully." This was probably before he realized he could change the law.
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[AladdinsGenie]

But I still don't understand how that makes her spoiled . I guess our definitions are different because If I have some issues with a part of my life that I was born into, that will affect me for the rest of my life and pretty much be who I am, it makes me spoiled because I'm choosing not to just succumb without any questioning of it and without going "hey, hi, remember me? I am the one going through this. Don't I get some say in my life?" She knows she has a duty. I'd hope that was something that was brought up long before the week of her birthday , but I think she came to a crossroads where it came down to continue to have people make all your decisions and marry just anyone even if she didn't love the guy just to carry out her duty, or start taking control of her own life no matter what--including if she even wants to get married--and she felt the only way to do that was to completely leave that life. It may not have been the best of decisions, but she made it and I can't call her spoiled for that. Maybe a bit irrational, but you do that when you're upset . She wasn't planning on going back, yes, but I reeeeeally doubt she would have made it far without being found after they realized she was gone. So it was a nice try, but I think somewhere deep inside she knew she was going back; she was just boasting in front of Aladdin .

I completely agree she was running away for herself, but I can't help but feel there's more to it than just that. If that was the case, that she did it because she was doing it just for herself and nothing else, I think she would have reacted to that a while ago because that seems to be an issue that has been going on for a long time. For a rich teenager that's the only child to the heir of the throne of the entire city, she has managed to not end up being a pretentious snob, probably because she rejected a lot of that pampered life that comes with the title and seems really annoyed with people who really indulge in it. She's not crazy about it, but she put up with it. To me, she doesn't seem to really get that push that finally causes her to go over the edge until after Sultan's chat with her reminding her the law really doesn't care about her feelings or personal needs.

She's said so herself that she was raised a princess and the needs of the people outweigh her own, and while I don't think she was fully wanting to accept that responsibility in the beginning (she can't even take care of her own needs for herself as a person, how is she suppose to take responsibilties for being a princess that includes herself and other people's needs? Talk about pressure ), I have a hard time thinking that responsibility is something she completely ignored all her life. I think she learned more about what it meant as she was able to take more control of her life and actually be among the people she's going to one day rule over, but I guess I am looking at the personal aspect of it and you're looking at the technical side, which was the conflict in the movie to begin with

[Cantare]

Haha, well I guess we can agree to disagree on this point. I guess I've been thinking heavily in cultural context, where most princesses never get to make decisions for their lives, and I imagine women in the middle east had it especially bad.

Maybe part of this is because I have an Asian upbringing. I remember when I watched the Little Mermaid for the first time at age 4, I was really shocked at Ariel's rebellion, and I didn't like her from the start. She never listened to her father and even argued with him. Being the obedient little kid I was, I never questioned my parents' authority until at least age 13. Never even spoke back to them. In Aladdin, I didn't have such strong hostility toward Jasmine probably because I was older when I watched it. But I remember when my mom watched it with me, she walked out of the room because she was so offended by how none of the characters followed the rules and their proper duty. Haha. Plus there was some innuendo spread throughout the balcony scene, but whatever.

Anyway, I guess given how I was raised and how I am viewing my life now, I'm thinking about how yeah, it's important to pursue what you want to do and what you feel is best for your life. At the same time, duty calls. Maybe Jasmine's duty was unfair, overbearing, and crushed her free will. Am I callous when I just shrug in response to that? Yeah I suppose I'm pretty callous. But in the place I'm living right now, I see a lot of poor people who are living out their duties to family and circumstance faithfully because they understand that their own wants can't always trump others. Jasmine was a rich princess, but in some ways it is even more important for the people at the top to hold to their given place in life.

I liked the episode Bad Mood Rising because it depicted Jasmine as a princess who finally understood that her needs were secondary to her people's.

This is an interesting issue that I've kinda been exploring in my writing. This thread has given me a lot of food for thought.
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[Syera]

I'm more in agreement with AladdinsGenie. Her hypothesis fits with Jasmine's character throughout the series better. I don't know if you've ever watched the entire series, but Jasmine is usually very duty-oriented throughout. If anything, what happened in the first movie is explained very easily by a bout of sudden irrational behavior - Jasmine acting on her "fight or flight" instinct.

I don't think the events of Bad Mood Rising necessarily reflect Jasmine learning to put the needs of her people before her own. She was being held in Quirkistan against her will. She had a darned good reason for not liking the idea.
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[Calluna]

Let me just put it this way: by the standards of her time, Jasmine would definitely be considered by everyone around her to be a brat. In any country where arranged marriage is the norm marrying for love is considered selfish, and in a time where most women were married off as soon as they could have children marrying by age 16 doesn't sound so extreme. I am not from any society like that, though, so I don't think that what she did was wrong. She could have dealt with the situation in a more mature way than running off on her own without any money, and she was pretty whiny when she was arguing with Sultan about it, but she is very young and sheltered and had no idea at all how much trouble she was getting into.

I'll probably have a lot more to say on this subject later, I just need some time to collect my thoughts.
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"If only I could believe you. Perhaps I can! After all... you do bear the name of a flower." -- Arbutus

[AladdinsGenie]

Oh, they can consider her to be a brat all they want...that doesn't make her one, though . She's a person with feelings, too, not just a baby machine . I guess I just don't see people thinking you are something = you are that, even for thinking about her in her context because I'm from a different culture and even time period. Although hers doesn't really exist, so it's even more biased because I'm basing it off mythical standards in which she's even able to reject these guys

[Calluna]

Hey hey, I'm on your side! (I think...) I think she had the right to choose who she married, and the fact that she was standing up for herself when no one would have been on her side makes her more admirable, not less. And later on, in the series, when she gives up her freedom or her life for her kingdom, that means a lot more coming from someone who clearly values her freedom very highly, IMO.

This is my theory about Jasmine right now: Jasmine was taught that she should put the needs of the people before her own, but the way she was supposed to do this was basically by doing what she was told, marrying someone appropriate, having lots of kids, and not making trouble. She rejected that, and rightfully so. It was the experience of running away and actually seeing what life outside the palace was like that made her realize that it was important to help the people -- but by actually using her power to change the situation, not just by blindly obeying others. I think she's probably helping the kingdom a lot more now than if she'd just married a prince as was expected, and that wouldn't have happened if she hadn't put herself first by running away. Neat, huh?
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"If only I could believe you. Perhaps I can! After all... you do bear the name of a flower." -- Arbutus

[Cantare]

Calluna you convinced me. One of the things I love about Jasmine is that we do get to see her grow into a more mature, more responsible person, and that she sacrifices for her kingdom in the TV series. Popping out babies for a snoot like Prince Achmed definitely wouldn't have helped her kingdom. This has been such an interesting discussion...I love digging deep into characters.
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[Calluna]

Hey, you don't have to agree with me, I'm not one of those kind of admins! I like to argue!
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"If only I could believe you. Perhaps I can! After all... you do bear the name of a flower." -- Arbutus

[Cantare]

Lol, I understand. But I also do know when to own up to my oversights. I still think of Jasmine as a sheltered brat at the beginning of the Aladdin movie, but yeah she does change a lot and show her responsible, compassionate side as the movie and the TV series progress. I really liked her in KoT actually because she was so understanding of Aladdin. And in the TV series she was usually assertive and responsible but not overbearing. In some episodes though the writers really made her go to extremes. Like the one where she gets turned into a rat, and in the Vapor Chase (is that the one where Abis Mal sets all those smoke things loose). She is unnecessarily overbearing in both of those, easily offended and overly sensitive. But maybe that's the writers' fault, not hers.

Anyway, she would make a good ruler. I just wonder how good of a sultan Aladdin would be beside her (another thing I'm exploring in writing).
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[guest]

It would be nice if they tripped over a rock and fell from the 'window'

xD

[Syera]

[Princess of Agrabah]