Princess Rosette

Last updated

Princess Rosette (French : La Princesse Rosette) is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. [1] Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book . [2]

Contents

Italo Calvino included an orally collected tale, The King of the Peacocks, in his Italian Folktales , but observed in the notes that it was clearly a variant on Princess Rosette. [3]

Synopsis

The queen and her ladies-in-waiting consult with the hermit. Madame d'Aulnoy - John Gilbert - Princess Rosette.jpg
The queen and her ladies-in-waiting consult with the hermit.

A king and queen, who had two sons, had a daughter as well. All the fairies came to the christening. When the queen pressed them to predict Rosette's future, they said that she might cause great misfortune to her brothers, and even their deaths. The king and queen consulted with a hermit, who advised them to lock Rosette in a tower. They did so, but one day they died, and their sons instantly freed her from it. She marveled at everything, but in particular, at a peacock. When she heard that people sometimes ate them, she declared that she would never marry anyone except the King of the Peacocks, and then she would protect her subjects.

Her brothers, the new king and the prince, set out to find the King of the Peacocks, and at last were directed there by the King of the Mayflies. There, they showed the king Rosette's portrait. He said he would marry her if she was as beautiful, but kill them both if she was not.

When the news came, Princess Rosette set out with her nurse. The nurse bribed the boatman to throw the princess, bed and all, with her little dog, into the sea in the middle of the night. The bed was made of Phoenix feathers and floated, but the nurse put her own daughter in the princess's place. The outraged king was about to execute her brothers, who persuaded him to give them seven days to prove their innocence.

The extravagant carriage driven by the peacocks. Illustration from Andrew Lang's The Red Fairy Book (1890). The Red Fairy Book-094.jpg
The extravagant carriage driven by the peacocks. Illustration from Andrew Lang's The Red Fairy Book (1890).

When the princess woke, she was convinced that the king had decided not to marry her after all, and so had her thrown into the sea. An old man saw her on the shore and brought her to shelter, but saw by her possessions that she was a great lady, and he could only give her meager fare. The princess sent her dog to the best kitchen in town, and the dog stole all the food being cooked for the King of the Peacocks. This happened for several days, until the Prime Minister spied on the kitchen, saw the dog, and followed it. He told the king, and they went to the hut and seized Rosette and the old man. The old man begged for mercy and told the story, and the king realized that this was his bride. He freed her brothers and married her.

Legacy

A late 18th century translation of the tale titles it The Princess Rosetta. [4] Later publications by Clara de Chatelain (1852), [5] and illustrator Katherine Pyle (1920) kept the name as Princess Rosetta. [6]

The tale was one of many from d'Aulnoy's pen to be adapted to the stage by James Planché, as part of his Fairy Extravaganza. [7] [8] [9] He used the tale as basis for his play The King of the Peacocks. [10] [11]

It was retold in German by Johann August Apel as "König Pfau" and included in the first volume of the Gespensterbuch (1810). [12]

The tale was also translated into Norwegian, as Prindsesse Rosette, et Fee-Eventyr. [13]

The tale was adapted and retold by William Trowbridge Larned as The King of the Peacocks. [14]

Analysis

Princess Rosette is classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index ATU 403, "The Black and the White Bride", tales where the female protagonist is substituted by a false heroine as the love interest. [15] [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madame d'Aulnoy</span> French writer

Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy, also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. The term contes de fées has been attributed to her, but her work was called "contes DES fées" ; the term "contes DE fées" comes from Mme de Murat's first fairytale compilation: "Contes de fées", published in 1698.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blue Bird (fairy tale)</span> French literary fairy tale

"The Blue Bird" is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy, published in 1697. An English translation was included in The Green Fairy Book, 1892, collected by Andrew Lang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Story of Pretty Goldilocks</span> Literary fairy tale written by French author Mme. dAulnoy

The Story of Pretty Goldilocks or The Beauty with Golden Hair is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The White Cat (fairy tale)</span> French literary fairytale

The White Cat is a French literary fairytale written by Madame d'Aulnoy and published in 1698. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Belle-Etoile</span> French literary fairy tale written by Madame dAulnoy

Princess Belle-Etoile is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Her source for the tale was Ancilotto, King of Provino, by Giovanni Francesco Straparola.

The Princess Mayblossom is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy in 1697. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graciosa and Percinet</span> French literary fairy tale written by Madame dAulnoy

Graciosa and Percinet is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.

The Golden Branch is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.

"The Pig King" or "King Pig" is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in his The Facetious Nights of Straparola. Madame d'Aulnoy wrote a French, also literary, variant, titled Prince Marcassin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Yellow Dwarf</span> French fairy-tale

The Yellow Dwarf is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.

The Ram is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy.

The White Doe or The Doe in the Woods is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.

Fortunée or Felicia and the Pot of Pinks is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.

The Benevolent Frog or The Frog and the Lion Fairy is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included the tale in The Orange Fairy Book with the title The Frog and the Lion Fairy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finette Cendron</span> French fairy tale

Finette Cendron is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bee and the Orange Tree</span> Fairy tale

The Bee and the Orange Tree is a French literary fairy tale by Madame d'Aulnoy.

Belle-Belle ou Le Chevalier Fortuné is a French literary fairy tale, written by Madame d'Aulnoy.

The Imp Prince is a French fairy tale written by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy and published in her book Fairy Tales in 1697.

Le Serpentin Vert is a French fairy tale written by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, popular in its day and representative of European folklore, that was published in her book New Tales, or Fairies in Fashion, in 1698. The serpent is representative of a European dragon. His description is: "he has green wings, a many-coloured body, ivory jaws, fiery eyes, and long, bristling hair."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Three Feathers</span> Fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm

"The Three Feathers" is a story by the Brothers Grimm, in their Kinder- und Hausmärchen. It is KHM nr. 63. It is classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther ATU 402, "The Animal Bride". It appeared in the first edition in 1812, and was slightly reworked for the second edition in 1819. A second variant of the tale also collected by the Brothers Grimm is "The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat", listed as KHM 106.

References

  1. ↑ Madame d'Aulnoy, Les Contes des Fees, "Princess Rosette"
  2. ↑ Andrew Lang, The Red Fairy Book, "Princess Rosette"
  3. ↑ Italo Calvino, Italian Folktales p 735 ISBN   0-15-645489-0
  4. ↑ d'Aulnoy, Marie-Catherine. Queen Mab: containing a select collection of only the best, most instructive, and entertaining tales of the fairies; viz. 1. Graciosa and Percinet. 2. The Fair One with Golden Locks. 3. The Blue Bird. 4. The Invisible Prince. 5. The Princess Verenata. 6. The Princess Rosetta. 7. The Golden Bough. 8. The Orange-Tree and the Bee. 9. The Little Good Mouse. Written by the Countess d'Aulnoi; adorned with curious cuts, to which are added, a fairy tale, in the ancient English style, by Dr. Parnell ; and Queen Mab's song.The fifth edition. London: James Barker [Great Russell Street], Thomas Vernor and Hood [Poultry], 1799. pp. 217-241.
  5. ↑ Chatelain, Clara de (1852). Bo-Peep Story Books. New York: Leavitt & Allen.
  6. ↑ Pyle, Katherine. Wonder tales from many lands. London : G.G. Harrap. 1920. pp. 240-256.
  7. ↑ Feipel, Louis N. (September 1918). "Dramatizations of Popular Tales". The English Journal. 7 (7): 439–446. doi:10.2307/801356. JSTOR   801356.
  8. ↑ Buczkowski, Paul (2001). "J. R. Planché, Frederick Robson, and the Fairy Extravaganza". Marvels & Tales. 15 (1): 42–65. doi:10.1353/mat.2001.0002. JSTOR   41388579. S2CID   162378516.
  9. ↑ MacMillan, Dougald (1931). "Planché's Fairy Extravaganzas". Studies in Philology. 28 (4): 790–798. JSTOR   4172137.
  10. ↑ Adams, W. H. Davenport. The Book of Burlesque. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Outlook Verlag GmbH. 2019. p. 74. ISBN   978-3-73408-011-1
  11. ↑ Planché, James (1879). Croker, Thomas F.D.; Tucker, Stephen I. (eds.). The extravaganzas of J. R. Planché, esq., (Somerset herald) 1825-1871. Vol. 3. London: S. French. pp. Vol 3, pp. 261-308.
  12. ↑ Benz, Richard (1908). Märchen-Dichtung der Romantiker (in German). F. A. Perthes. p. 231. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Molbech, Christian. Udvalgte Eventyr Eller Folkedigtninger: En Bog for Ungdommen, Folket Og Skolen. 2., giennemseete og forøgede udgave. Kiøbenhavn: Reitzel, 1854. pp. 132-146.
  14. ↑ Larned, William Trowbridge, and John Rae. Fairy-tales From France . New York: P. F. Volland Co., 1920.
  15. ↑ Barchilon, Jacques (2009). "Adaptations of Folktales and Motifs in Madame d'Aulnoy's 'Contes': A Brief Survey of Influence and Diffusion". Marvels & Tales. 23 (2): 353–364. doi:10.1353/mat.2009.a369087. JSTOR   41388930.
  16. ↑ Uther, Hans-Jörg. Handbuch zu den "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" der Brüder Grimm: Entstehung - Wirkung - Interpretation. 2., vollständig überarbeitete Auflage. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. 2013. p. 274. ISBN   978-3-11-031743-5
  17. ↑ Trinquet, Charlotte. Le conte de fées français (1690-1700): Traditions italiennes et origines aristocratiques. Narr Verlag. 2012. p. 218. ISBN   978-3-8233-6692-8
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.