Also, she has no problem with the idea of a prince rescuing her and is much more romantic and well spoken than Cimorene. She enjoys wearing fancy clothes and crowns, and doesn’t mind sewing and learning about etiquette. In what ways is Alianora like the other ‘normal’ princesses? In what ways is she like Cimorene?Īlianora’s personality is somewhere in between Cimorene’s and that of a typical princess.

In addition, in the beginning she mostly relies on herself but by the end she has learned the value of working with others and allowing them to help her out.

She is also more confident, and surer about who she is and what she wants to do with her life. She ran away from her parents in the beginning, but at the end is able to face up to and defeat the evil wizards. In the end of the book Cimorene has learned to face her problems rather than avoiding them. How does Cimorene change throughout the book? Also, the whole novel is based on things that just don’t happen in fairy tales, like princesses who do magic, dragons who drink tea and wizards who melt. Cimorene is a princess who doesn’t do things the way she should, who enjoys being different and trying new experiences. What one thing do people tell Cimorene over and over? Why is this phrase so important?Įveryone is always telling Cimorene that what she does or wants to do “just isn’t done.” This is repeated many times because it says a lot about her character and the book as a whole. In short, this novel includes all the usual elements of a fairy tale but changes most of them, drawing attention to those changes. A lot of magic is used, and there are talking frogs and genies in bottles and other mythical creatures. At the same time, this novel still follows the format of a fairy tale, since it is about a character who must go on a quest to stop evil. Cimorene is very different from your average princess, and the dragons are not at all evil. It talks about typical fairy tale events as though they are everyday occurrences-like parents wanting their daughter to have a curse placed on her to make her a proper princess. In what ways is this book similar to a traditional fairy tale? In what ways is it different?ĭealing with Dragons pokes fun at a lot of ordinary fairy tales. Note: These questions cover material from all parts of the novel, and so contain spoilers for those who haven’t read the book. Sample answers are provided to get you thinking, but these are not the only ‘right answers.’ These discussion questions are meant to help you think through the novel Dealing with Dragons and better understand its most important themes.

Dealing with dragons