‘Encanto’ and Isabela

The Golden Child is more of a curse than encouragement

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘the perfect golden child’ and while it might seem like encouragement and a compliment, it comes with a weight that you will never shake off because whether you are successful or a failure, people will remind you of it until you die.

I am an only child and between the ages of 9 and 14, I excelled at everythingI did. I was a good girl who did as she was told, I cooked, cleaned, took care of my cousins. I tutored and babysat without pay, I acted as a nurse for an elderly neighbor, I would make tea for my abuela and her friends. I did well in school and read every book that I could find.

I never complained and I was dubbed that golden child.

Then one of my cousins started middle school and everything changed.

He was the top of his class with the first month and he held it. He went to a agricultu based school and quickly excelled.

I was very proud of him.

Until my aunt called him a golden child and told me I had been replaced.

I thought she was just teasing me.

I’d get straight A’s and no one paid attention, not even my own mother. My cousin got straight A+’s and letters of recommendation from all his teachers, which I didn’t even realize was a thing.

Then, I got a C in a science class and everyone in my family judged me. They called me a gold-plated child.

“What happened to her?”

“It’s just a science class, is she really that smart?”

“It might as well have been an F, what happened to her?”

I spiraled very quickly.

My family wrote me off and replaced me and I just broke down.

I can't imagine the pressure Isabela is put under to make her think that marrying a man she doesn't love is the right thing to do for her family.

First, what does Mariano offer that Abuela wants to bring him into the family? It doesn't seem like Julieta and Pepa would forced to marry Felix or Agustin, both of those couples seems very happy together and

Is he the Mayors son? Is he super talented at something? Is he the cutest guy in the village?

WHAT IS THE APPEAL?

I might be reading too much into that but the point remains that this man was enough for Abuela to force Isabela into agreeing to marry him and Abuela didn't even blink when Dolores said he wanted five kids.

Dude. NO.

I dated a guy that my family expected me to marry but they didn't order me to and I ran so fast and far; how did Isabela keep still?

Also, what changed from Abuela letting her children choose when and whom to marry but when she gets grandkids she wants them to marry someone specific?

Maybe it has to do with Mirabel not getting a gift and Abuela thought that if another generation came along it would solidify their claim to the encanto.

I couldn't maintain perfection when my family didn't expect it, I can't imagine what Isabela must have gone through to be perfect every single day with her entire family living in the same house watching her every move and pretending to make it look effortless.

It's probably why she picked on Mirabel so much, not just sister-rivalry bullying but to the point where Isabela might point out when Mirabel made a mistake to make herself look better. Which, let's be honest, must have happened a lot because Mirabel had been trying so hard for years to prove to her family that she was special even without a magical gift and going above and beyond her capabilities to do something. So when she failed in their eyes, it would be amplified because she tried even though she didn't have a gift to help her.

So when Isabela and Mirabel manage to understand each other in the song 'What Else Can I Do' personally I get a little emotional, just imagining what Mirabel had to forgive all those years of bullying and Isabela not only accepting Mirabel for who she is but accepting herself for not being perfect. We learned that Isabela didn't want to marry Mariano but she wanted to make it perfect to please her family. Pressure that Mirabel would never have to deal with, honestly at that point in the story Abuela would have never approved of anyone marrying Mirabel because she probably thought Mirabel wouldn't have children with gifts either.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.