Dear AMC and other confused readers:

Since there seems to be some misunderstanding about who the Empress is, I thought I would clarify. While the title "Empress" was initially dubbed for an actual person in my sister's life, I came up with the idea of using her as a metaphor for those times in our lives when we cling to our convictions in spite of heavy evidence to the contrary. As a child I didn't really 'get' the Emperor's New Clothes but as an adult I think the parable offers a great lesson in humility by demonstrating how silly we can be while holding tight to our pride, and how quick others are to ally themselves when they feel they are somehow threatened socially. Very much like a person becomes stupid after being told enough times they are stupid, eventually people begin to buy into their own bullshit. Then, when someone they respect or admire calls bullshit on them, all hell breaks loose. Innocent people are subsequently punished, ostrasized, or ridiculed for being in direct conflict with the person making up the rules.

See, there's a reason I'm so fascinated by this story. It's so rich with lessons! When you extend this lesson beyond that to the point where a person allows or wills themselves to be disillusioned, it also becomes a lesson on forgiving and being forgiven, laughing at yourself, admitting imperfection, and asking for and taking second chances. Unfortunately, not unlike deprogramming victims of brainwashing such as in the case of cults or kidnappings, even simple facts can be difficult to accept because this process carries with it immense feelings of shame and stupidity, which usually manifests itself in the form of being outwardly angry or hostile to those who are there to merely help or happen to be standing innocently by. It's at this point where the (Emperor or) Empress must choose to put on the proverbial big girl panties and make amends - with peers, superiors, subordinates, and most importantly self.

Lastly, when the initial 'con' comes from an external source, it's easier to place the bulk of blame outside oneself and move forward to a place of acceptance and healing. But when the initial conviction comes from within yourself it requires a long period of introspection and self-awareness but is prone to more relapses on the road to recovery. Think about what response would be elicited from "the bully" if he were outed for sleeping with a teddy bear? Or in My Fair Lady, how would the language expert react if he knew he had been conned by Professor Higgins into believing that Eliza Doolittle is a Hungarian princess? I wonder how members of Hitler's army or those who bought into his bullshit felt after the fact? How about all of us who wore acid-washed jeans and sported mullets?

I'm sure if we all think long and hard we can come up with one occasion on which we've observed the Empress, and one occasion on which we've emulated the Empress. Perhaps this is why some people make assumptions about who they believe the Empress is, while other are perhaps feeling paranoid when they read the Dear Empress letters. It is because we are able to recognize this very human condition that plagues mankind - from continent to continent, from coast to coast, within ourselves and within others.

Unfortunately there are those who never bother to make amends. They'd sooner cut their own eyes out than admit they might have been wrong. They would sooner sit forever at a table for one than ask for forgiveness. They instead choose to hang on to their foolish pride, bitter and hopeless and angry at the world until the day they die.