7:46 PM

In fairytales monsters gather energy from fear. Monsters are weak; that’s why they’re cruel, but they’re manipulative and predatory, they know where to strike in order to extract all the strength from their prey. Their victims are strong; draining a powerful woman is satisfying.

In these tales, what a woman must do to regain the strength that has been stolen from her is fight back while simultaneously releasing her captor. She must look the monster in the eye and declare, “You have no power over me.” She must tell the villain, “You are weak. I take back the energy I supplied you. You have no hold on me. I belong only to me.” She must meet his gaze, shrug, and declare, “That’s it.” Then she must turn her back and allow the monster to disappear.