Summary

The speaker protests that she has “not been dancing” as suspected (Line 1), even though a spy claimed to have seen all manner of luxurious indulgence. Instead, the speaker and her sisters have been working hard at a range of traditionally female responsibilities around the home. She explains that they’ve been labouring to build a happy life in which they won’t be ruled by any man. Once they’ve accomplished this, they may choose to celebrate their new life by dancing.

Analysis

“The Twelve Working Princesses” establishes its conceit right in the title: it retells a traditional Grimms’ fairy tale, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, with a modern spin. The first line, “We have not been dancing” (Line 1), is an unusual approach in that it introduces a negative value rather than a positive or active one. Instead of telling the reader what is happening...