So after finishing “The Secret Diary of Raven Queen,” I figured the time was right.
So I am here sitting reading the “not really a diary but we are calling it a diary” of “The Secret Diary of Raven Queen,” that came out this week, when I took notice of somethings.
In the story, in one single sentence, they mention Ramona once and then wrote her out of the story, not even inthe main story mind you, but one of the exert pages of Raven’s diary. Then they proceed to ignore the very fact going onward. Weird, but okay.
They go on to proceed as Raven makes a comparison of Cerise to her parents that she is just like both of them in one being. “What does that make Ramona?” I can hear a voice ask, “Ramona who?” another answered.
Then the weirdest part is that they go on to reference the book “The Unfairest of them all” which is the second Ever After High book, as it had a story segment dealing with Cerise’s family. As it heavily reflects Cerise’s family, and that this proceeded WAY before the rebranding, this story was when Cerise was written as an only child and Ramona didn’t exist.
Enough of a reason for me to overanalyise
Before we begin, let’s look at Ramona and the meaning of her name, and from what I have found I have seen:
“Wise Protector”
“Protecting hands”
“One who protects”
As we now know this, let’s continue.
In the world of Ever After High, we know two major things. Emotions and words both have powers over this world. As we have seen:
Magical being’s uses their words for magical chants that can change things at their will.
Narrators, whose words can manipulate a world, We have seen Brooke Page easily abuse this power.
Then we have Maddie, whose emotions unrepressed that ripped open holes not only into the world of Wonderland, but assumingly our world as well.
2 of these three things we have learned are as that the “Narrative” in Ever After High and its world can and will be subjective to the change of manipulation. Not because of weakness, but because that at these times, emotions and our words are the strongest….it’s a mind game if you will.
Now, let’s take a look at the character Cerise Hood. She, like many others did not grow up under normal circumstances. In fact, we could see that amongst them, she probably had one of the worst.
While she grew up under the name of “Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood,” but of course, she couldn’t live a “normal life.” As her burden of the family secret weighs down on her, there was no way that she could ever have a normal childhood. Just her secret alone meant that she couldn’t get close to other children as that would mean that it would leave the threat that a secret like that would ruin it – meaning she couldn’t have anyone that she could have called a “true friend” – probably meaning she didn’t get to know others until that day when she confided to Raven.
So for what we assume her entire life, a piece of her mind has hammered into her that she is a type of “freak” and that according to her heritage, she shouldn’t exist; and that no one needs to know that “she” exists. I’m not a psychiatrist, but last I checked, this would leave a person emotionally unstable and probably stunted.
Now, lets take a look at this from another perspective. Let’s take this person, whom has lived this life for about 15 years with this life style and hit it with a shock that could and will shatter the world she thought was normal into a million pieces.
Though as we do that, we need to go back to “Wonderlandiful World” the 3rd Ever After High book. The story itself revolves around Cedar Wood and Wonderlandians, but that is not what we are going to focus on, but rather the Jabberwocky. The Jabberwocky was an interesting villain to the story, it’s body left the world of Ever After to turn into a type of “new” wonderland with it’s very appearance causing a change.
With the Jabberwocky’s “oh curses” we find out that its mere presence causes the students body (hah) to change. A curse that forces those to turn into their “namesake,” Raven turns into a Raven and Apple turns into an apple.
This is actually where we first get our first hint that Daring Charming is actually “The Beast” instead of “Snow White’s Prince Charming.” We see him turn into a beast (animal/monkey) instead of say…something horse related *best thing SWPC I could think of.
So what did that turn “Cerise Hood the Daughter of little red riding hood,” well, if we go by her literal namesake, she would turn into either a literally red hood because of her name or that she would turn into a picnic basket as too relation with her destiny. What happens to her?
She turns in a dog. What does that mean? The girl room was raised to be the next “Little Red Riding Hood” is actually the next “Big Bad Wolf.” Meaning that Cerise was raised as one thing but is completely something else.
Is this new to Ever After high? No. We have already two different examples of this. The Charming Siblings has this case pretty bad because of the very unstable culture that is regarding the family name; Daring himself as mentioned before was raised as “Snow White’s charming” but is now “Beauty’s Beast.” To a lesser extreme, the O’hair twins also have to deal with this, with Poppy the one to actually have a destiny instead of Holly.
So at this point, we know that Cerise hood, whom was raised as “Little Red Riding Hood” and the fact that she was (unintentionally) hammered with the thought that being born of bestiality is “not normal,” actually turns out to be the wolf. Whoops.
Lets move forward and head into Way Too Wonderland.
At the end of this special, Raven herself destroyed the “Story Book of Legends” and in doing so causes the pages themselves to become one with their chosen. As for what kind of damage that could lead up, well that’s a story for another time.
Then, canonically, Ramona Badwolf appears; and with her existence we can see the narrative start to fall apart.
Do you see the connection?
This story that is going on is about a girl, raised to be one thing, where apart of what makes her “her” is told that it is something that she needs to keep a secret, because she is created from a love that should not have existed – that in the world that she lives in, sees as a mistake. Though she loves her family, a piece of her was hammered into her to “reject” what she truly is; not because it was what she thought was right, but a piece of her thought it was wrong.
Then comes the shock, a real page opener if you will. As the truth is thrust upon her (Way too wonderland). In this one instant, her entire outlook on the world would be ruined – everything she thought would have destroyed her as it all was re-written in an instant. Everything would be broken in an instant…unless her own mind protected her.
This is where Ramona comes in.
Her world in danger of falling apart, Cerise’s story in jeopardy; a part of her created something. In order to protect her “narrative” a piece of Cerise created something to protect her, to protect the idea that everything is, and always is the same. It’s rushed, messy, and convoluted, but if it protects the young girl, it will until she is ready.
Cerise’s narrative created a coping mechanism, thrusted upon her world to protect her from a mental break.
An emotion so strong to protect her, it reflects on the fairy tale world and leaves a metaphysical effect on the world around her trying as the narrative tries to keep it intact.
Ramona Badwolf is that coping mechanism. One on a grand of scale, that affects the very world that Cerise lives in and affects those around her (from her perspective, her life is her own story, she is her own narrator…she can make any changes as she sees fit.) Ramona is an algomation of what Cerise believes of “wearing your legacy” on her shoulder is.
An idea alone created to help for Cerise to “push” away the truth, at least until she is ready to accept the truth.
Lets look at Ramona’s name again.
“The Wise protector.”
We know that, “With Wisedom comes with age.”
In Ever After High, to accept your destiny means you have “come of age.”
Meaning, that until Cerise comes of age, Ramona will protect her.
Ramona will be there, until her story is complete, until Cerise accepts whom she is.