Nothing is gained unless we give up something of equal value in return. But, are we willing to pay the price required by our goals?
Often, we get blinded by our ambitions that we forget about the people that set us on our path to fulfillment. When that happens, we need to be reminded of those left in our wake because if the cost of achieving a goal is loneliness, then what have we gained?
Merida, the princess of her kingdom didn’t want to marry, she just wanted to hold onto her freedom for a little bit longer. Her mother (Elinor) was in a rush to marry her off to ensure peace and help give Merida a good life. Both of these are noble goals, but their process on obtaining them didn’t consider the person effected.
At the Archery Contest, on Merida’s final shot, the shot that hurt her and her mother the most, her arrow cut her cheek. Merida’s blind ambition cut her just as much as it did Elinor. Merida lost sight of her mother. Instead, seeing her mother as an obstacle, as the queen.
Elinor didn’t see Merida as her daughter, but rather, as a pawn to be manipulated. The lessons, preparation and the games moved Merida in the way Elinor found pleasing. That special bond between mother and daughter had been long shattered and then went up in flames as Elinor threw Merida’s bow into the fire.
After fishing, Elinor left her crown in the woods, the crown she couldn’t leave as she was under siege. At this moment, Elinor stopped being the queen. She became something more. She became Merida’s mother.
Merida fought her way into the castle and even her dad (twice) to save her mother. Her language even changed as she more often refereed to Elinor as her mother instead of as the queen. At the climax, we got to see Merida and Elinor fight for each other and come together as mother and daughter.
The blind pursuit of their goals blinded them to everything that matters, but this journey forced them to open their eyes and find that which they sorely missed—each other.