Original artwork, not a still
I am Merida, and I’ll be shooting for my own hand.
— Brave
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the film in miniature: a princess uses the letter of the old rules against the people who wrote them. Merida does not refuse marriage by running away but by out-shooting the men offered to her, which is exactly what makes the moment land as a declaration of independence. It is also the act that triggers all her trouble with her mother.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BraveShow the scene
At the Highland games in Brave, the clans' firstborn sons line up to shoot at targets, each competing for Princess Merida's hand in marriage. When the last suitor has shot, Merida strides out in her tight formal dress, announces herself as the firstborn descendant of Clan DunBroch, and declares she will shoot for her own hand. Under the rules she is just as entitled to compete as they are. She easily beats her suitors, which shames her mother, Queen Elinor, and leads to the mother-daughter fight that sets the story moving.
Sources (2)
- Brave (2012) script, Springfield! Springfield!archery contest sequenceReference checked
- Wikipedia: Brave (2012 film), plotPlotReference checked
Context reviewed
