Episode Overview

Is Rapunzel truly a passive princess waiting around to be rescued, or is there a deeper, richer story hidden inside the tower?

In this episode, Gillian unpacks the classic fairytale through fresh, insightful lenses. From exploring real-world themes of coercive control to taking a psychological look at Mother Gothel’s protective motives, we re-examine what it means to be "trapped". Finally, Gillian offers a transformative reframing: what happens when you step into the story not as the maiden in the tower, but as the Prince searching for his soul song?

• Re-evaluating the "Damsel" Archetype: We trace where the trope of the trapped maiden comes from—examining the dramatic fate of Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott and the conviction of Saint Barbara—to challenge whether Rapunzel is actually pining to be saved.

• Mother Gothel & Protective Walls: A look at how Mother Gothel represents both an external captor and our internal self-protection mechanism. Born from past hurt, she locks away what is precious so it can never be stolen again.

• The Prince as the Seeker: Reimagining the Prince not as an external saviour, but as the part of you searching for truth, purpose, and creative expression—your inner "soul song".

• Reconnecting with Creativity: How past criticism or shame causes us to hide our true gifts in high towers, and how we can learn to climb back up and reclaim them.

Imagine you are the Prince climbing into the room at the top of the tower.

• What is waiting for you there?

• What does the singer of the song want you to remember?

Ready to write your own next chapter? Join Gillian's journaling club for women who are stepping beyond fairytale conditioning.

• Website: beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com

  
  

• Subscribe: Join the newsletter or become a member of The SpeakEasy for deeper weekly discussions and journaling sessions.

Next time on the podcast: "Why did you let the fire go out?"

Until then—follow the song, stay enchanted, and keep out of the witch's garden!

In this episode of the Beyond The Good Girl Podcast, Gillian is joined by purpose coach and Speakeasy Fairy Tale Journaling Club member Gabi Da Gama for an honest, insightful debrief on Snow White.

Together, they unpack:

• The "Passive Princess" trope: Why Snow White’s lack of agency, dependence on men, and idealisation of servitude trigger us as modern women.

• The Evil Queen & Envy: How the mirror dynamic exposes our collective fears around aging, comparison, and female competition.

• The Power of Journaling: How shadow work, creative questions, and group discussions help us shed the "Good Girl" mask and uncover our true identities.

• Fairy Tales as Mirrors: Why these ancient stories hold the keys to understanding our deep-seated societal programming and inner awakening.

Whether you’re looking to break free from comparison, explore shadow work, or re-examine the fairy tales you grew up with, this conversation offers a blend of humour, depth, and practical self-discovery.

✨ Join the Speakeasy Fairy Tale Journaling Club & explore upcoming workshops:beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com

📩 Subscribe to the newsletter for journal prompts & fairy tale breakdowns:beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com

Are you tired of measuring your worth by your usefulness—clearing up after everyone else, or constantly asking the world if you are "doing life right"?

In this episode of Beyond the Good Girl, Gillian re-examines the story of Snow White to show what happens when we stop valuing ourselves as passive heroines and start choosing our own next chapter.

We’re exploring:

• The Mirror’s Trap: Why asking "Am I good enough, smart enough, or productive enough?" keeps us stuck in external validation.

• The Exiled Inner Child: Why the loud, opinionated, sparky part of you gets hidden away to meet socially approved norms.

• The Three Poisoned Gifts: How the corset, the comb, and the apple in Grimm’s original tale represent the ways we stifle our true dreams.

• Reclaiming Your Power: How to stop begging the mirror for validation and use that energy to create a life you actually want.

It’s time to stop listening to the mirror.

📖 Get the Monthly Newsletter & Journal Prompts: Sign up for this month's deep dive into the paradox of the glass coffin and get shadow journaling prompts at beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com.

💬 Connect on Instagram: Follow @fairytalejournalclub to join the conversation, or send a DM to chat about this episode!

Stay Enchanted and Chase Delight.

I've been gone for months. So here's an update. In this mini episode, I ramble about how it turned out it was hard to talk about cancer and how I once wrote a 50K novel to explore my feelings about leaving church and how much I love the SpeakEasy. Also I promise new things for the podcast.

Link to my website

BEYOND THE GOOD GIRL

In this Episode of my audio memoir about when good stopped working, I find a breast lump a couple of weeks after starting a new job in Warsaw. I try to navigate this unknown medical system with very little Polish and the help of Doctor Google.

I just want to go home, but there's a voice in my head that keeps telling me to stay, to not make a fuss. That I can do this. The same voice that makes me attempt to turn up for work when I can't even stand from a serious leg injury. The same voice that doesn't want to let anyone down and puts her own needs to the side. The Good Girl.

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www.beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com

In this episode, the good girl plans the best death ever without any actual evidence she is dying and totally ignoring any emotions she may feel about her impending doom in a frenzy, of lists, research and practices.

BEYOND THE GOOD GIRL

Who is the good girl? She's an overachiever, she's a people pleaser and she hates being out of control.

In 2020 I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and my inner good girl tried to win at chemo!

She tried to manage and control.

She tried to not be a burden.

She tried to avoid conflict and confrontation.

Sometimes it worked but sometimes it didn't.

She also tried to use her powers of prediction to figure out the ending.

This episode is about where my mind went while waiting for a routine test result and the moment I realised I really couldn't control the outcomes of the treatment. Some how I had to find the balance between naive optimism and total catastrophizing.

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at beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com

Gillian Wray welcomes Lea, who helps women "come back to themselves" — work born from her own journey through people-pleasing, self-abandonment, and the search for external validation.

Lea shares her story of leaving home after a painful relationship, initially feeling profound relief from a suffocating environment, only to discover she'd recreated the same patterns abroad. It took hitting rock bottom before she began investing in herself — through the gym, online programs, human design, and past life regression. These tools, particularly hypnosis, helped her access her subconscious, gain perspective, and release deep-seated fears.

The conversation explores inner child work, emotional regulation skills Lea developed while nannying, the particular shame that comes from tying identity to others' perceptions, the necessity of boundaries, using isolation as self-protection, and the practice of consciously curating one's environment — from social media feeds to news consumption.

Find Lea

On instagram @healingmindsetshifts

or Facebook Lea Vuga

Visit beyondthegoodgirlpodcast.com