Like a lot of Emilie Autumn lyrics, this reads to me as a feminist critique of old stories.
Tennyson wrote a big old romantic ballad beloved by 13 year old goth girls everywhere (yes, I'm guilty). She was so alone, she gave up everything for her love of this amazing man even though the best she'd ever get from him was "She had a lovely face." While she was given a little agency, in that she looked rather than sitting and pining forever, she was put in a situation where even looking out her window would destroy her life and kill her.
This song, while being a fair literal retelling, is flat-out railing against the idea that these are the only options. The Autumn singing of the character isn't sad or resigned when the curse destroys her life. She's furious. Punishing women's desires like this is a common theme in fairy tales and literature, and "some drama queen's gonna write a song for me" is poor consolation (to the point of insulting) for the person in the situation.
There are a number more interpretations of both the original and the retelling: It's about disassociation (people who suffer from it often describe the sense of viewing the world only through screens), or the transition from being a 13 year old sappy goth girl to someone who's had real romantic and sexual experiences (you can't go back, and your former perspective 'dies'), or it's even an abusive relationship (seriously, Tennyson, you locked her in a room and told her you'd kill her if she went out and met anyone?)
But in any of those cases, Autumn's adding more personal agency and legitimate protest to the situation.
Like a lot of Emilie Autumn lyrics, this reads to me as a feminist critique of old stories.
Tennyson wrote a big old romantic ballad beloved by 13 year old goth girls everywhere (yes, I'm guilty). She was so alone, she gave up everything for her love of this amazing man even though the best she'd ever get from him was "She had a lovely face." While she was given a little agency, in that she looked rather than sitting and pining forever, she was put in a situation where even looking out her window would destroy her life and kill her.
This song, while being a fair literal retelling, is flat-out railing against the idea that these are the only options. The Autumn singing of the character isn't sad or resigned when the curse destroys her life. She's furious. Punishing women's desires like this is a common theme in fairy tales and literature, and "some drama queen's gonna write a song for me" is poor consolation (to the point of insulting) for the person in the situation.
There are a number more interpretations of both the original and the retelling: It's about disassociation (people who suffer from it often describe the sense of viewing the world only through screens), or the transition from being a 13 year old sappy goth girl to someone who's had real romantic and sexual experiences (you can't go back, and your former perspective 'dies'), or it's even an abusive relationship (seriously, Tennyson, you locked her in a room and told her you'd kill her if she went out and met anyone?)
But in any of those cases, Autumn's adding more personal agency and legitimate protest to the situation.