A Character Study: Brave

The characters in the movie Brave are well written and change throughout the movie. While it is easy to say Merida was all in the wrong or Queen Elinor was all in the wrong that is not what the actual movie was about, to begin with. Here is a character study that will give you a deeper understanding of Merida and Queen Elinor.

Our starting point is explaining the plot. If you've watched this movie you know the plot, but I'm banking on the fact some of you haven't. Put simply and in a few words, Merida and Queen Elinor have a disagreement over Merida getting married to the winner of the archery contest (which Merida secretly entered herself and won her own hand). There are some hurtful words on both ends, Merida runs into a witch, and it all leads to Queen Elinor turning into a bear unless they "mend the bond torn by pride", which takes both mother and daughter to do. There is more detail, but I'm not here to analyze the whole plot, just two characters.

Merida

From the beginning, we see that she feels smothered by her expectations, her role as a princess, and 

how her mother has planned out her entire life. This has, no doubt, caused more tension in the mother-daughter relationship over time than the two ever spoke about. She favors her father because her father allows her freedom. Her mother looks at her personal accomplishments that she is proud of as if she was not doing something worthwhile (because none of it was ladylike), so she doesn't feel appreciated by her mother. 

Another problem is that Merida doesn't listen to her mother because her mother doesn't listen to what she wants, but instead forces her into a social box she doesn't fit in. Merida doesn't feel loved by the instruction that Elinor is giving out of love, but instead feels smothered by it. From the first few scenes, we already see a wall between the two women. She doesn't want the role her mother has. The blowup that rips the tapestry and burns the bow was inevitable. Because Merida isn't tied to tradition, she doesn't feel her breaking of tradition is that important. Frankly, she would have actually done better in that society if she'd been born a boy, given her temperament and will for freedom (because we know men didn't have to be lady-like).

Merida, not realizing her mother would become a bear after the spell took effect, is convinced it wasn't her fault. On her end, "pride" is defined as not trying to understand her mother and thinking only of herself with no regard to the kingdom or her mother's intentions. With the threat of permanent bear-hood comes the fact she could lose her mother and that she really did love her mother.

As for the scene where Merida is forced to step into the Queen's role of stopping a war in the throne room, she learns quite quickly what her mother was trying to teach her. The skills that she learned suddenly became important. And she apologizes to the entire kingdom. She was prepared to say yes to the betrothal at this part until Elinor stops her. Merida has finally been given some freedom and her joy is evident.

In the end, Merida is fully aware that her mother's near-death and bear transformation was her fault,  especially when her father misunderstands and thinks the bear (Elinor) killed Elinor. She takes back her rash words when she almost loses her mother to bear-hood forever.

Queen Elinor

This woman came from nothing and now she is trying to give her daughter everything. Her instruction comes from love, but she has pulled the reigns too tight, so her daughter has decided that she is not proud of her and she is a nuisance. Elinor has spent years preparing her daughter for queenship. She sees this as a great gift and doesn't feel appreciated by her daughter. At this point, she has taken some of the pants in the marriage relationship (given she does most of the public speaking), though her husband is still known as manly and masculine. 

From Elinor's perspective, we see that Merida's breaking of tradition highly insults her and makes her feel that Merida targeted her when really, Merida was trying to take control of her own life and avoid the arranged marriage. Elinor thinks highly of tradition. She has devoted herself to her children.

After becoming a bear she is, rightly, angry. On her end, "pride" is defined as not trying to understand her daughter and trying to make Merida what she wanted her to be. Queen Elinor, partially a bear, almost hurts her own child (and later her husband), which scares her beyond anything. Elinor changes her mind about the betrothal. Why? Because she now understands that Merida was not ready. The happiness on her daughter's face has not been seen for a whole movie, with exception of the flashbacks and her alone-time with her bow. Upon seeing this she is changed even further.

Elinor is nearly killed by her own husband, who thinks she is just a bear. She defends her whole family from Mordu, which actually releases the king trapped inside Mordu from the bear body. She even creates a new tapestry with her daughter later.

For Parents Who Claim Merida Is Not A Role Model

I'm going to tell you that she is not a static character. Don't portray her as a defiant teen purposely thrashing her mother. This is a storyline of a mother-daughter relationship that changes over time. Watch the entire movie. Try to understand the characters. Please don't make a character that is three-dimensional into a character that has no depth. Yes, she made mistakes, but she changed. She humbled herself and so did her mother. It is a complex storyline. While it isn't Game of Thrones, I'd say every character was full of depth. Take a look at these fictional people and try to understand their motives, not just judge their actions. Step outside yourself, even while watching Disney. If you still say she was a troublemaker with no redeeming qualities you are likely not empathizing. Our world needs empathy. Teach your children empathy. I am no parent, but I know enough parents to know that it isn't easy raising small humans to adulthood. Please, respectfully, hear me out. 

Also, Brave has no real villain. It has antagonists (which go against the protagonist, Merida), but not every act can be traced to just one character. Merida bought a spell, but Elinor also pulled the reigns too tight before that. We are looking at chain reactions and dominoes falling. Even the bear Mordu was explained and released from his bear prison at the end. You can't say there is a villain here, because no one was a saint. Which is realistic to the world around us. Disney has become more reality-oriented in the world of princesses and I feel refreshed by this. If you really want to criticize a Disney princess movie, go look at the oldest ones and tell me what you think of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Old Disney was actually kind of dark.

Sources:

Fanpop

Holly Jolly Holidays

The Washington Post