Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sally, the ragdoll girl, supplied the caution and wisdom that Jack lacked. However, she was too timid to thrust herself out into the world. She repeatedly poisoned her captor, Doctor Finkelstein, yet she repeatedly went back to him, lacking Jack’s bold and impetuous nature. She eventually declared her independence by declaring her love for Jack, who represented the qualities she lacked and needed. She accepted those qualities symbolically by declaring her love and marrying him.

Despite having embraced the qualities she lacked, Sally has not yet established her own identity separate from her circumstances—a lifetime of captivity equating to an enforced childhood. In a typical fairy tale, Sally would establish that identity before marrying, with marriage symbolizing the completion of the quest and elevation to her new role. In Sally’s story, the wedding comes first; rather than going on a quest to seek her fortune (come of age), she finds herself thrust into a role for which he is not ready. Adulthood catches up with everyone, whether they are prepared for it or not. Circumstances compel Sally to set aside everyone and everything else to find out how she fits into her new role and how to shape the role to fit her.