"Outside the Palace Walls"

While some Disney films feature casts full of female leads and supporting characters, Aladdin  represents a tendency toward male-heavy casts and one feature princess or “damsel in distress” character. As is common in the Disney animated canon, Princess Jasmine has an absent mother who is assumed to be deceased. Not only does this leave Jasmine without a role model or someone to understand her dreams and dilemmas, but it also leaves her isolated in a world dominated by men. Jasmine cannot escape this environment, as she is essentially kept prisoner in the palace that is her home. Although her father means well, keeping her within the palace and attempting to marry her off in order to ensure that she is protected, Jasmine is not given the chance to explore the world, make friends, or assert her independence. In her father’s eyes, her dreams of freedom and aversion to finding a suitor are unnatural, and he has no idea of how to understand and deal with his daughter because “her mother wasn’t nearly so picky.”

Although Jasmine is not given much freedom over her own life, she has a clear idea of the life she wants to live, and she is able to very accurately observe the injustices in the treatment she receives. When she notes these injustices, she refuses to sit around and be a victim, but rather rebels and asserts her authority over her own life by following her own path to the best of her ability. Unlike earlier Disney films, which often encouraged women to leave action and heroics to the men and merely wait around to be rescued and find romance, the films of the 1990s and 2000s give rise to stronger, more independent women. Certainly, there are flaws in Disney’s refusal to completely abandon traditional gender values in their stories, but these women are much improved over the sleeping princesses who await true love’s first kiss as the highlight of their lives.  When Jasmine recognizes that she is being held back and objectified because of her gender and her status as princess, she openly rebels, putting the offenders in their place and refusing to go along with the plans they’ve made for her.

In the viewer’s first meeting with Princess Jasmine, it is revealed that she has firmly rejected every suitor who has come to ask her hand in marriage. In the most recent case, not only did she turn down the suitor, but she also flipped the balance of power in her favor, giving herself the authority to reject him. The prince is not only frightened by Jasmine’s pet tiger, but he is also humiliated when the tiger rips the seat from his pants, exposing his underwear. Jasmine’s mocking attitude further injures his pride, and he storms off in a huff, no longer intending to seek her hand. This rebellion is a response to her father’s insistence that she marry at a young age in order to ensure her own security and to comply with the laws regarding royal marriages. Princess Jasmine is given no opportunity to leave the palace, meet her own friends or love interests, or find a job. However, because she is a woman, she also has no chance of becoming the Sultan or taking on a position of power within the palace. She is merely a decoration and a tool through which men can lay claim to the throne, qualities that set her up as marriageable material. However, Jasmine is not content to merely marry the first handsome prince who comes along. She wants to choose someone who loves her and who she loves in return, and if she cannot find someone who fills these requirements, she refuses to get married at all. By asserting her will in this situation, Jasmine openly rebels against the traditional roles of her Disney Princess predecessors, refusing to base her life and dreams around the institution of marriage and the role of the wife and mother.

Princess Jasmine takes particular issue with the lack of control she seems to have over her life. When she initially meets Aladdin, she alludes to her unhappiness within the palace walls, where there are always “people telling you where to go and how to dress.” She does not even have these basic freedoms over her own life that average people take for granted. Because she refuses to “just stay here and have my life lived for me,” Jasmine flees the palace, only to find herself in a world she has no knowledge of. Having never left the palace before in her life, Jasmine immediately finds herself in trouble with a vendor who threatens to cut off her hand after she takes an apple without paying. Aladdin is drawn to her, first because of her beauty, and then because he notices that she is in trouble. Despite her attempt at independence, Jasmine’s lack of knowledge of how to function in society places her into the position of victim, and she must be rescued by Aladdin. While Jasmine has been sheltered all her life, Aladdin is a street-wise man who can show her the world, offering her a chance at freedom and adventure. Although Jasmine and Aladdin fall in love according to the film’s narrative, the way she rushes the relationship makes one wonder whether she is truly in love with him, or if she is merely attracted to the freedom and escape he represents.

Throughout the course of the movie, Princess Jasmine also struggles with the objectification with which she is viewed by male characters. Prior to discovering Prince Ali’s true identity as Aladdin, she becomes furious when she discovers him in a conversation with her father about her marriageable status. Jasmine snaps at them for planning her life without her consent, making it clear that she is “not just some prize to be won.” She will not allow herself to be a pretty object in a collection, and she refuses to enter into marriage negotiations with someone who does not care to take the time to get to know her. She shows further disgust at Jafar’s attempts to use her as a pawn in his quest to become Sultan, refusing to marry him despite her father’s (enchanted) orders. Although Aladdin is the hero of the film, ultimately responsible for banishing the villain, saving the princess, and restoring order to the kingdom, Jasmine does her part to contribute to Aladdin’s rescue attempt after Jafar’s hostile takeover. When she realizes that Aladdin is trying to sneak in and retrieve the Genie’s lamp, she uses her sexuality to her advantage, pretending to fall under a love spell and shamelessly complimenting Jafar before finally kissing him and agreeing to become his queen. Even after Jafar notices Aladdin’s presence, Jasmine does not merely give up and leave the men to fight. Instead, she makes her own attempts to steal Jafar’s magical staff and to recover the Genie’s lamp, causing enough trouble for Jafar that he is forced to trap her within a giant hourglass in order to get her out of the way.

While Jasmine is not the hero of the movie, she nonetheless contributes as a character rather than as a plot device. She is not merely the damsel in distress or the love interest with which Aladdin is rewarded in the end. A significant emphasis is placed on the fact that Aladdin is her choice rather than her destined prince, and despite the romantic ending, Jasmine maintains her independence and strength of will throughout the movie. She never accepts Aladdin’s lies about his identity, she refuses to let other people plan her life, and she takes part in the final battle rather than waiting on the sidelines. Although she is not always able to accomplish her goals, Princess Jasmine always puts up a fight, and while she is not a perfect role model, she is effective in her attempts to live outside the gender stereotypes of her society.