Princess Diana Tragic Hero

Although tragic heroes are meant for the literary world, they can also be applied to reality. For example, Princess Diana(Diana Spencer), is a modern-day tragic hero. She was born Diana Spencer and soon became Lady Diana Spencer when her father inherited the title Earl Spencer. She later married to the British throne, had two children, divorced, started to date Dodi Fayed, then died in a car crash in a tunnel trying to get away from the paparazzi. Diana was born into one of Great Britain’s oldest and most important families-the Spencers-making her an elevated character from the start. When she marries Prince Charles, Diana gets a chance to show her noble character. She helped many people in need and became very loved around Great Britain.

This made life at home not as enjoyable as it should have been. Diana’s parents divorced in 1969 and her father, Johnnie was given full custody (Mattern 9). This is when her noble character began to grow. When Diana’s parents were divorced, she was put into a boarding school, where, “she quickly developed a reputation as a kind girl who especially liked helping the younger children” (Mattern 12). The students who went to Riddlesworth-the boarding school- were allowed to have pets and Diana “won prizes for taking the best care of her[s],” (Mattern 13). Where she struggled with academics she made up in her athletics. Diana played many sports in her tall and agile state, some of which included tennis, netball, and field hockey (Mattern 13). As a Kindergarten teacher she continuously worked with children, “‘Sje was very good at getting down to the children’s level both physically and mentally’” (Mattern 20). The children are said to respond extremely well to Diana (Mattern 21). Not only did her Noble character show around children, and all the work Diana did for them but also in charity. After the divorce between her and Prince Charles, “she supported from more than one hundred to five: the National AIDS Trust, a charity for the homeless called Centrepoint, the Leprosy Mission, the

Wanting to be viewed as “...warm, caring, [and] compassionate...” Diana started participating in many social causes, compared to Prince Charles, “..whom she thought cold, [and] distant…” only participating in “...scholarly and spiritual subjects…” along with “...horses and polo…” (Mattern 64). After she lost her royal title Diana did everything in her power to civilly gain her rightful place in public. She went out of her way to do what others didn’t have the courage to do, she shook hands with AIDS patients, changing “public perception on this dreaded disease” (Mattern 59). “She went to New York as part of her first solo tour abroad” (Mattern 60). While there Diana visited Henry Street Shelter on the lower east side of New York. “Frances Drayton [the manager of the shelter] was used to celebrities stopping by to get their pictures taken, but she felt but most of them didn’t really care about the people or the issues at hand” (Mattern 61). Drayton anticipated that Diana would just stop in to meet the directors and individuals of the city council. However, Diana’s representatives made it clear that she wanted to meet the younger clients, the children. She also asked to accompany one of the shelter's families (Mattern 61). Diana impressed everyone with her kindness and genuine interest in the people living in the