creepy fascination

 The Tempest starts out with a BANG! You've got everything: crazy storms, magicians, spirits, potential love stories, familial grudges, sounds like a FANTASTICAL story we are about to dive into!






Something interesting to me at least was the character Ariel's imprisonment. It seems like there is a sort of romantic fascination with being OWNED by someone. In one of my favorite Broadway Musicals "Damn Yankees," Lola sells her soul to the Devil to become beautiful, and for most of the play gets great pleasure out of doing his bidding:
with her new sex appeal, she is bound to the devil.



My favorite Disney movie of all time, Hercules, had this same sort of idea (though it ended slightly differently), and I remember as a kid being midly obsessed with the idea of having my soul owned by the devil.
After just writing that, I may have been a sick child... but maybe too there's a sort of grotesque obligation of our human imaginations to play with the idea... Anyone else? Please someone agree so I don't feel creepy.


Shakespeare's Ariel is a spirit, saved by and thus in debted to Prospero. (Who may have parallels with the devil...? from previous examples THAT is so seems to be holding souls hostage..) A storyline we as humans seem intrigued by. Maybe becuase we love our freedom so much? Any thoughts?

p.s. did anyone notice Ariel singing and Ferdinand followin the lovely voice to find his beautiful princess...? just sayin!