I used to have a recurrant nightmare as a child about being trapped in a burning building and, subsequently, being rescued. As I got older, this nightmare became less and less until I stopped having it completely. However, after describing this dream to a friend, we began talking about the fantasy each little girl has of being rescued by her "Knight in Shining Armour", her "Prince Charming", like in the fairytales, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc.

Later on, on my own, I started to think about this again, in more detail and it occurred to me that as little girls we do dream of someday being rescued by our "Prince Charming". But, despite what people may claim, as we grow up, we continue to fantasise about being rescued by "Prince Charming" all through life. The only thing that changes is what form Prince Charming takes.

Most feminist women reading this will disagree with me. We're independent, we're strong, we can take care of ourselves. That was the legacy of the Suffragette movement surely? To empower us, as women, to rescue ourselves and never to rely on a man. We've been taught through our mothers and the media to become our own "Prince Charming"; to rescue ourselves. If this is the case, then, why do we secretly wish for a "Knight in Shining Armour" to rescue us and whisk us away into the sunset?

In my opinion it goes back to childhood. We've all been read fairytales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc, where the princess is rescued by her "Prince Charming" after enduring some sort of a horror at the hands of, usually, a wicked witch, a gruesome monster, or an evil stepmother. As little girls, I'm sure we've all played out these stories either on our own, or with friends.

As I've stated already, as we get older, this fantasy remains a constant, although hidden desire. We've been bred to be independent, self sufficient women. This is not a problem and most of us play out this role as best we can. Secretly though, the old childhood dream remains. We may not admit it openly, but we all dream of being rescued by our "Prince Charming".

The only thing about this fantasy which changes as we mature and grow older, is the figure of "Prince Charming" and the circumstances in which we are rescued. As we grow up "Prince Charming" changes from a prince or knight into a realistic person, usually a celebrity some sort of musician or actor we admire perhaps, sometimes, even our own partners or husbands. Instead of being rescued from the throes of death or the clutches of an evil stepmother or wicked witch, or some type of gruesome monster, as in childhood; we dream of simply being rescued from the mundane lives we usually lead.

Prince Charming, in these fantasies, may rescue us from the hours of boredom in a nine to five job, or from life as a house wife, etc, by somehow coming in, sweeping us off our feet and taking us away to his mansion in Los Angeles, to live a rich and lavish lifestyle, wanting for nothing. We don't have to be independent, or self sufficient. We can simply look beautiful and glamorous while Prince Charming takes over, dealing with any troubles or difficulties we have to deal with in real life, before bringing us away, into the sunset in his expensive car.

These fantasies provide some happy daydreaming, an alternate universe which we can play out inside our heads, where we can play the part of the glamorous princess who gets rescued by "Prince Charming", just like in the fairytales we were read as little girls. We can, mentally, take a break from the regularity of real life and partake in some innocent imagination.

Because, afterall, inside every woman, no matter how independent, or self sufficient, lies a little girl who dreams of being rescued by "Prince Charming".