Popular Culture Review 29.2
can eventually land the princess and everything that she represents .” Beyond this , it should also be noted that the villain that Mario is most often rescuing this princess from is also royalty , King Koopa , more popularly known as Bowser . Not only is Mario a lower-class man able to mix with the elite , but he also proves himself superior to one of their ilk . Bowser , too , is a fire-breathing half-dragon , framing Mario then in the mythic tradition of monster-slayers whose valorous deeds earn them a position of royalty , in the tradition of Theseus or Perseus and their respective beasts .
In his first appearance in Donkey Kong , Mario doesn ’ t save a princess , but Pauline ’ s presence may still speak to the idea of saving a damsel in distress , as this notion may relate to social climbing . Pauline appears that she may be working class , special to Mario , a pretty girl in a dress , but not necessarily nobility . She may be from a higher class than Mario , however , as the appearance of her fancy hat , parasol , and handbag might indicate on later levels . However , if one assumes that the premise of Donkey Kong is much inspired by the plot of the 1933 film King Kong in its borrowing of the love triangle between man , woman , and ape , then Pauline ’ s similarity to the Anne Darrow character played by Fay Wray may also suggest a lower-class background for Pauline as well . In the film , the character Carl Denham , a filmmaker , is seeking an actress in New York City . He finds an impoverished Darrow and offers her the part that will eventually take them all to Skull Island , the home of Kong . Once again , if there is a parallel between these characters , this indicates that Pauline and Darrow , like Mario , are working class , people who have to strive to endure as Mario must . Mario then is working to save someone of his own station or of a slightly higher class , not a princess , but , nevertheless , one way or the other , he is “ rising ” in order to do so . Thinking about Pauline ’ s social status is interesting as
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