An Analysis of Legally Blonde as a Heroine’s Journey (Schmidtt)
One of the most clearly represented steps of Schmidtt’s model of the heroine's journey is the illusion of the perfect world. The film represents this stage of the Heroine's Journey both explicitly, with the musical lyrics in the opening saying: “Nothing's standing in my way; On this perfect day. When nothing can go wrong; It's the perfect day.”, and visually, as the main character, Elle Woods, goes about her morning routine with a joyful expression on her face. Elle believes that it’s the perfect day and that she lives a perfect life because she believes that her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, is going to propose to her later that evening. Here she exemplifies the “Cinderella” coping strategy outlined in Schmidtt’s Heroine’s Journey, the belief that men, in this case, Warner, will take care of her, and that he would become her husband. This illusion is shattered when Warner reveals to Elle that he is breaking up with her, and she is heartbroken. In her awakening/...