“For a while, I thought I was the dragon. I guess I can tell you that now. And, for a while, I thought I was the princess,” (Siken, Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out) shows the development of Princess Benevolence, better known as Princess Ben, as she is forced to become a queen after her parents’ assassination. In the novel, Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, the self-titled character Princess Ben is obligated to acquire the proper manners to be a queen despite her unwillingness to leave the life she once had before her parents’ deaths and turns to witchcraft for comfort.
The theme of the text is the coming of age and that determination produces growth which is shown when Princess Ben escapes her position as a prisoner of war and returns to the castle, transforming into a proper queen of Montagne instead of the spoiled brat she originally was. Princess Ben’s capability to become a queen was questioned throughout the novel due to her incompliance to learn proper etiquette. Being that she becomes queen of Drachensbett and royal majesty of Montagne in the future, this scene pushes Princess Ben to try harder in her lessons so she may become queen and not lose her land.
It shows how she was disliked and many thought she was an unreliable princess at the beginning before she transitions into the queen she is. “Her apathy, languor, and gluttony, her patent disregard for all obligations of her rank and future position – all of which she displayed at the winter festivities in a manner unforgettable to observers – these liabilities lead to one conclusion: that the ancient nation of Montagne will suffer grievously, and perhaps perish altogether, should she rule. ” (Murdock, Princess Ben, pg 241)
An ambassador of Drachensbett, Montagne’s neighbor who wants the land, discusses this to the queen regent of Montagne, Sophia, so that Drachensbett can use the Claim of Benevolent Succession to gain Montagne without war. The Claim of Benevolent Succession occurs when many are concerned about the heir and if no other heir exists, then the neighboring land may absorb the land. This occurs after Princess Ben returns after she was kidnapped as a prisoner of war while her magicmade twin awakes from her coma.
After her coma, she decides to change her attitude so she can keep her land. “We must confess, Benevolence, that our esteem of you waxes with each passing day. ” Queen Sophia says this to Princess Ben after she scares away Drachenbett’s spies with her knowledge of dragons and how Drachenbett’s believes there’s a dragon in Montagne’s most important mountain. She uses the information she had gotten from Drachenbett’s camp where they held her captive when she was taken as prisoner to scare the spies away.
Due to the terror the spies felt, they released all the information they knew about Drachenbett’s war plans which allow them to have extra time to prepare. This shows the increasing intelligence of Princess Ben and how she’s become more cunning and diplomatic, good qualities of any politician. Queen Sophia’s opinion of Princess Ben only becomes better every day. The kingdom’s faith of Princess Ben only stems for her quick and great growth as their leader.
Through Princess Ben’s humble behavior of healing her citizens through herbs and participating in court, she has won over her citizens’ favor and this is proven when Queen Sophia would allow there to be a risk of war between Montagne and Drachenbett to allow Princess Ben to prove herself after the disastrous winter ball. “However… we make one small request. As you so clearly delineated when you first approached our court, the faults of the princess are legion.
Yet of late she had applied herself with commendable diligence,” “Your Majesty – and I mean this as no insult to your efforts – observed her with my own eyes,” the ambassador uttered coldly. “As have all we. But we, when our maladies permit, have also witnessed a transformation, and we cannot but believe, should the girl’s enthusiasm continue, that she may yet develop – with the proper mate, of course – into an acceptable ruler. ” This occurs 4 months after the ambassador came to Queen Sophia’s court and declared the threat of the Claim of lent Succession.
The ambassador comes back to retrieve an answer, however, Queen Sophia demands that Princess Ben be given another chance due to her immense improvement in the past months. It shows Princess Ben’s enormous growth as a politician to the point, Queen Sophia is willing to jeopardize her country because she believes that Princess Ben will be revered as an excellent queen. Therefore, Princess Ben truly went zero to hero even when she was in times of distress. And she saved her future husband from the danger of a dragon even though earlier in the novel, she flung mud on him and knocked him off of his horse.
The transformation between a spoiled, over-eating, and sassy teenager to an intelligent, remarkable, and kind young woman was an extreme change that took many hardships to learn. The evidence listed above are all compliments regarding Princess Ben except for the first quote, added to show where Princess Ben had originally started. The quotes are in a tone of disbelief because it’s quite shocking how Princess Ben had changed so quickly, some had thought it was an enchantment. Clearly, Princess Ben had grown into a powerful woman, and grew up to understand the world she lived in to become the queen she is.
