Women, Downton Abbey, and Power

     I am not on the "Classic Princess Crusade".   I rather like the classic princess, even if there is not much "girl power" to them as we see it today.  The way women are perceived in story have changed a lot over the years, from the "Come-Rescue-me" Snow White, princesses "Waiting for their prince to come", to the take-charge Mulan's.  People have been wanting stronger female characters in story for a while now, and I feel as though it is necessary to show what women can do but it doesn't mean we have to cast off the "classic" princess characters.  There is more to the classic princess than we realize.
     I bet when I mention the female characters of older stories you may picture a misogynistic portrayal of a helpless woman so dependent on a male.  Unfortunately, there are such characters in my beloved Chronicles of Narnia, such as Jill Pole  in The Silver Chair who is confined to a chair during the scene with the serpent while the men do all the work.   (Which is sort of funny because Lewis was so capable of making Lucy a strong character, yet he fell back into a man of his time with Pole.  Hmmm... interesting).  At any rate, my point is this: The classic female character had a lot more weight than we may realize.
      Why would the adorable Phillip with the singing voice that makes you m-e-l-t go fight a DRAGON?!  Sure, he had to save the kingdom but he also had to save the stunning, long-blond-haired, tiny-waisted Aurora.
     Why would Mr. Moseley on Downtown Abbey take it upon himself to stand up to the evil under butler, Thomas?  Because there was a WOMAN there watching the whole thing whom he wanted to "help" and impress.

Elizabeth Taylor.  And corsets.  Corsets are a beautiful thing.
My goodness does she even eat?!?!

     Why did Odysseus want so badly to get home?  Homer doesn't really give us that many details, but Penelope had to be really good looking for Ody to leave all those women he met along the way.

     Notice any connection?
     Please don't be annoyed with me, wanting to throw some "Women have Brains!  Women have brawn!" in my face.  Newsflash-- I'm a woman too, and I have no problem with a man finding me so beautiful he finds the strength to do anything in the world.   Each woman has something to use: for some, it's their minds; for others, it's their hair; and for some, it's the Eliabeth Taylor as Cleopatra figure many of us (myself very much included) dream of.  Hey, let's face it-- guys can be easily persuaded.  I am all for the strong female character, and I think it's good for a female character to be balanced. 

I think it's perfectly acceptable for you to create a female character that is aware of her femininity.  No, really, I have a brain and opinions but I have no shame in going to Home Depot in heels and a skirt so that someone comes up to me and asks if I need help-- because quite frankly, I don't know what I'm doing!
     People have gone out of their way to make strong female characters, and that's fantastic!  But please, when writing, don't forget that we are women, and sometimes a meow does more damage than a roar ;)