Sunday, February 24, 2019

Beauty and the Beast



The Frog Prince by Paul Meyerheim                   The Pig King


"The Pig King" and "The Frog Prince, or Iron Heinrich" both have specific animals as the creature of love interest, and both animals are ugly, disgusting creatures. There is similarity between the first two daughters’ reactions to the pig and the princess’s reaction to the frog, as in they all react with disgust. The third daughter in "The Pig King", however, is accepting of her husband’s beastly appearance. This is the reason for the difference in transformation of the beasts—whereas the love of the Pig King’s wife is what frees him from his evil spell, it is only when the princess in "The Frog Prince" hurls the frog against a wall is he turned back into a human. The Frog Prince’s transformation is also different than the Pig King’s because his is instantaneous, and leaves nothing behind. He’s thrown against a wall, turned into a handsome prince, the end. The Pig King, however, changes back into his pig skin the morning after he first sheds it. And so he continues for several days—sleeping as a human each night, then becoming a pig again each morning, until the princess’s parents burn his pig skin, thus completely releasing him from the spell.
I can’t decide which I story I like better. I find it funny that the princess just throws the frog against a wall, and I find it even funnier that this is what breaks the spell he’s under. But I enjoy the fact the youngest daughter in "The Pig King" is completely fine with letting a muddy pig crawl all over her and sleep in her bed. I guess because it goes against the idea that women must be prim and proper.
 

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