Princess of Cups
Onward we go discovering the Princesses!….with a splash of horror. This character is what inspired me to write the Pages as Princesses of horror this week. Ever since I saw this movie, I cannot get her out of my head. Who is this indomitable force clinging to my heart and mind? None other than Pearl. Played by Mia Goth, this 2022 horror film was directed by Ti West and they co-wrote the script with Mia Goth and it is the second installment to a three part series. No, I have not seen the first movie X, but I am definitely going to watch it. MaXXXine is the third movie in the series featuring this character. But I specifically want to talk about Pearl.
Pearl is stuck in rural Texas in 1918 living with her German immigrant parents while her husband is in WW1. It kinda seems like they got married really quickly and then he was gone just as quick. However like I said, I have not seen the first installment, so I may be missing some backstory on their relationship. Nevertheless, Pearl, our main character is a very charismatic young woman that dreams of a life more thrilling than what she has been dealt. She helps her dour and soured mom out on the farm and then also has to help take care of her dad. We assume he has the Spanish Flu and can no longer care for himself, or speak.
We see Pearl living through her imagination as she yearns for a sweeter existence. It’s almost as if she was dropped into her life from a different realm. A realm of happy fairies with an entirely different motivation than the humans of the twentieth century. She does not understand why life has to be so hard and she refuses to accept this, why? Because she’s a star dammit! And she feels very deeply! She knows that something out there, some dream life of gargantuan proportions is just around the corner. If only she could just find her way out.
And boom, an audition! An audition for dancers comes to town and Pearl jumps right at the opportunity. She knows she can get in, she’s talented, she’s engaging and there’s no other way. In the midst of this audition news, Pearl has found a guy in town to crush on. Which is what leads me to believe that her and her husband probably didn’t know each other very long to really cement their bond, and they’re probably so young, their depth of love is just absent in this movie. So she falls for the hot projectionist, who is also kind of a slimeball in my opinion. Giving a very “well actually I did have a mustache tattoo on my finger and I did actually love Mumford and Sons,” and will give you pubic lice and blame it on a toilet kind of vibes. But Pearl doesn’t know any better and she’s bored out of her mind. So she’s banging an artsy guy and she’s getting ready for her audition that will take her away to be a star once and for all! This is her Princess of Cups chance, her moment!
We get our hopes up just as much as she does, because shit is bleak for our screen queen. But brace yourself, if you have no watched this movie, stop now, spoilers are coming hard and fast as it relates heavy to the tarot card. I’m warning you, turn back now, you’ll blow it.
Alright, so, Pearl does not get the part in the dance company, she also kills everyone. The end. I told you, the spoilers were coming hard and fast. Just like this movie, it honestly keeps you on your toes the whole time. Yearning and hoping and then being horrified. Pearl is the perfect personification for the Page of Cups. She is intuitive, creative and emotional. We know that she has the talent and the drive to be the star she proclaims to be, but life isn’t fair. And those of us that have walked the NYC subway can tell you that the most talented musicians in the world are down there playing for dollars. Life is not fair. And this movie is a gut punch.
But we also know that Pearl, in all her charisma and drive, she is also a total maniac. That is the reversal of this card. Someone that is emotionally immature and acting way out of pocket. You didn’t get your part? So you kill people? Of course. Now this is an extreme point of view, but when you pull this card and it’s reversed and it is in relation to you asking about a fight with a lover, one of you needs to grow up a little bit. Or if you were criticized at work, maybe your boss is a weiner, or you need to step it up and stop blaming everyone else for your shortcomings. Wow, I am not trying to attack anyone here, see, this movie gets me in my feelings. How very “cups” of me.
Pages are associated with emotional maturity, and I think that is the part of our human evolution. I do not believe that we are in a spiritual war, as New Agers and Christians say, that’s not how I see it, we are fighting for empathy and the freedom to express a full range of emotion. And to understand what we are expressing rather than finding ourselves through projections. As Maya Angelou said,
“I am convinced that most people do not grow up. We find parking spaces and honor our credit cards. We marry and dare to have children and call that growing up. I think what we do is mostly grow old. We carry accumulation of years in our bodies and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are still innocent and shy as magnolias.
We may act sophisticated and worldly but I believe we feel safest when we go inside ourselves and find home, a place where we belong and maybe the only place we really do.”
And on that note, I leave you with this. Yearning is a bitch, but I think to deny our true will is a betrayal to our spirit. And that’s why I made a huge pan of Pad kee mao, and I will indulge in a noodle fantasia. Blessed be darlings.