Give Me Liberty or Give Me John Smith

The real Pocahontas married an Englishman, converted to Christianity, dressed as an English noblewoman, and had her portrait painted. The Pocahontas archetype can't do that, because she is innocent and free. William Rasmussen saw the same thing in art. "Although she looks English, Christy's Pocahontas seems by no means ready for absorption into English culture, by either conversion or by marriage. No crucifix hangs at the end of the prominent necklace she wears, and she is clearly resisting, perhaps disdainful of, her English suitor. As Daphne could find happiness with neither god nor mortal because she had been smitten by the arrow of Cupid, Christy's Pocahontas could not return the apparent love of her pursuer because to do so would cost this independent young woman her freedom, a vital characteristic to the "Christy Girl." Daphne transformed herself into a tree to avoid Apollo; Christy's Pocahontas seems nearly ready to do the same"(Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend). This whole situation is deeply ironic, because Pocahontas is also a sex symbol for white males, a kind of ultimate virgin. This is why the Disney Pocahontas found herself so conflicted: she must maintain both her purity and a relationship with John Smith.