Damsel in distress
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The subject of the damsel in distress or persecuted maiden is a classic trope in world literature, art and film. She is almost inevitably a young, nubile woman, who has been placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue. She has became a stock character of fiction, particularly of melodrama.
The term "damsel", similar to French Mademoiselle - a completely archaic term, not used in contemporary English except for effect or in expressions such as this - testifies to its origin with the knight errant of Medieval songs and tales, who regarded the saving of such women an essential part of his raison d'etre.
Some claim the popularity of the damsel in distress is perhaps in large measure because her predicaments sometimes contain hints of BDSM fantasy. The helplessness of the damsel in distress, who can be portrayed as foolish and ineffectual to the point of naïvete, along with her need for others to rescue her, has made the stereotype the target of feminist criticism.
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