She's a sucker for the performing arts and owns two bookcases full of young adult novels. No, it's just some idiot in spandex." A Damsel is always helpless and in need of rescuing. Arabella Jones is your average American teenage girl, she even lives in one of America's most prosperous cities, Empire City, California. Although the "damsel" in damsel in distress may sound Germanic in origin, it is actually a corruption of the French word demoiselle suggesting a delicate young woman. History and Etymology for damsel Middle English damesel , from Anglo-French dameisele , from Vulgar Latin *domnicella young noblewoman, diminutive of Latin domina lady Keep scrolling … Damsel in Distress Adventure "It's a bird! What does damsel in distress mean? A damsel in distress has been seen throughout history as a common archetype in myth. Arabella Jones is your average American teenage girl, she even lives in one if America's most prosperous cities, Empire City, California. The “Damsel in Distress” trope is far from a misogynistic effort to treat women as prizes and is actually a result of the increased power and influence women were gaining during Eleanor’s reign. The term often refers to a stock character in fiction who is rescued by a male hero. ‘Wray's career has been forever remembered for her screams in King Kong, a damsel in distress in the grasp of a giant gorilla atop the Empire State Builing.’ Origin Middle English from Old French dameisele, damisele, based on Latin domina ‘mistress’. A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. A damsel refers to a young woman, and a damsel in distress is almost always a woman who is physically attractive; this is of course what sparks the interest of her savior. A damsel in distress is a young woman in danger. It's a plane!