Analysis of Donkey Skin
Donkeyskin is a fairy tale about a princess who faces difficult challenges but manages to overcome them in the end. The King’s wife dies and with the intention of keeping the king unmarried for the rest of his life, she makes him to promise that he will marry an awesome woman like her. The situation forces the king to propose to her daughter who is even better than the queen. The tale focusses on the idea that good can always triumph over evil. It revolves around the flight of the princess to escape the awful marriage to his father (Perrault, 1977).
Charles Perrault uses the princess’ character to reveal the major themes of overcoming evil, child abuse and incest in the story. Perrault also brings out the moral that it is better to encounter awful challenges in life than to fail in one’s duty. He shows that although the virtue may seem unrealistic, it can always triumph. The author uses various literary devices to reveal the various morals of the story. The most significant element of the story is the use of a fairy.
The author’s artistic use of a fairy is of great significance to the main character, hence to the tale itself. The use of
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He tends to rely on the ancient notion that a female’s independence against a male figure can only be asserted by the wife or mother of the character. In The Grey Fairy Book, the image illustrating Donkey Skin reveals that the role of the fairy is to be a savior. The princess has a sad facial impression while kneeling before the fairy. The fairy appears to be stretching her hand out down to the kneeling princess as a sign of comfort (Held and Berdock, 2011). The imagery is a symbol of unconditional guidance, support and relief. The godmother’s impression represents that she is both caring and sincere. The fairy’s clothing and the stretching of her hand on the princess resembles that of the holy mother in the