PART TWO: BETTY AND ARABELLA

Betty: a story of a high school romance between Betty and James, two characters that Swift created to delve into storytelling from a passive perspective, rather than writing about her own romances and playing an active role herself. This is something Swift openly spoke about during 'The Eras Tour' and something I find quite interesting. It is almost as if she created these characters as pawns in her album, to follow and manipulate accordingly, so she could explore her writing in a different dimension.

For those unfamiliar, the story goes that Betty and James were in a relationship: James cheated on Betty over summer, yet appears to regret his decision, thinking only of how he can get Betty back and predicting her probable reactions to him, culminating in James standing in front of Betty confessing his affection for her.

Taylor Swift is very much still rooted in high school relationships, and many of her songs I can see reflected in the classic American coming of age films. However, Alex Turner's relationship nods are from a different perspective. One in particular is Arabella, who is portrayed as a strong willed woman that has Turner wrapped round her little finger.

Two different characters, at different stages in life: What would Arabella say to Betty?

I believe Arabella would tell Betty that men are like elastic bands. If you keep them at just the right distance, they will either come pinging back to you or snap. If they snap, they clearly aren't the man for you: find a stronger elastic band. She would tell her that no matter how much James comes begging, there is no excuse for cheating: that he lost what could have been the best thing that ever happened to him, and that Betty should hold her head high and focus on finding her inner power and strength. Arabella is a woman that knows her own worth, and would tell Betty she reminds her of her younger self, but that this heartbreak is only the start of her journey of self appreciation, even looking ahead to later Swift tracks such as 'Vigilante Shit' as an example of her future self.