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Marquise's Reviews > King Grisly-beard
King Grisly-beard
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Marquise's review
bookshelves: fantasy, fairy-and-folk-tales, picture-books, beauty-and-the-beast-theme, have-reviewed
Dec 18, 2022
bookshelves: fantasy, fairy-and-folk-tales, picture-books, beauty-and-the-beast-theme, have-reviewed
Read 2 times. Last read December 2018.
Whilst I like Maurice Sendak's art a lot, I've never been a fan of this tale. I find the punishment for the conceited princess was excessive given her sin was to be rude. It reflects a time when princesses would be sold into marriage without a right to protest, and this one got given a choice she squanders for being too picky and very rude, which I took to be more a form of protest, but is marrying her off to the first beggar that comes knocking a proportionate punishment? I don't think so. And the fact that this ends happily for the princess doesn't change the fact that her father went overboard with the punishment, which could've as easily backfired.
Besides, how exactly is marriage to a disguised king a fitting lesson on humility? I stuggle to see it. She didn't choose this man, who lied about who he was to her, made her work with things she wasn't prepared for or trained in, and ultimately "rescues" her from her miserable situation that her father and himself are responsible for, so she can feel "grateful" that she wasn't married to a true beggar that'd have kept her working as a a slave and imposed his marital rights on her. No, definitely not a fairy tale I find teaches the right lesson. With all due respect to Sendak's illustration skills, the story itself is disgustingly sexist.
Besides, how exactly is marriage to a disguised king a fitting lesson on humility? I stuggle to see it. She didn't choose this man, who lied about who he was to her, made her work with things she wasn't prepared for or trained in, and ultimately "rescues" her from her miserable situation that her father and himself are responsible for, so she can feel "grateful" that she wasn't married to a true beggar that'd have kept her working as a a slave and imposed his marital rights on her. No, definitely not a fairy tale I find teaches the right lesson. With all due respect to Sendak's illustration skills, the story itself is disgustingly sexist.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
December, 2018
–
Finished Reading
December 8, 2018
– Shelved
December 8, 2018
– Shelved as:
fantasy
December 8, 2018
– Shelved as:
fairy-and-folk-tales
December 8, 2018
– Shelved as:
picture-books
January 18, 2020
–
Started Reading
(Hardcover Edition)
January 18, 2020
– Shelved
(Hardcover Edition)
January 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
fantasy
(Hardcover Edition)
January 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
fairy-and-folk-t...
(Hardcover Edition)
January 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
picture-books
(Hardcover Edition)
January 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
beauty-and-the-b...
(Hardcover Edition)
February 3, 2020
– Shelved as:
beauty-and-the-beast-theme
November 18, 2021
– Shelved as:
have-reviewed
(Hardcover Edition)
December 18, 2022
– Shelved as:
have-reviewed
December 18, 2022
–
Finished Reading
(Hardcover Edition)
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Melody
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Dec 18, 2022 05:53PM
The "poor-looking people who are secretly rich" trope is not my favorite. It just rubs in the fact that being obscenely wealthy is more socially acceptable than not having enough to eat. Not a great object lesson in humility, as you said.
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Melody wrote: "Not a great object lesson in humility, as you said."Yeah, I'm not fond of that trope either.
First published in 1812 - I am not surprised it was sexist. :)
Thousands of young girls are being sold into marriage all over the world. It's not a thing of the past unfortunately.
Rosh wrote: "First published in 1812 - I am not surprised it was sexist. :)"Oh, yeah, that's the problem with old fairy tales. But some are surprisingly pro-woman, at the time there were already some voices being raised in favour of bettering women's situation, the proto-feminist movement was already starting and female fairy tale tellers had already begun to publish their tales that didn't have women being treated badly.
Persephone's Pomegranate wrote: "Thousands of young girls are being sold into marriage all over the world. It's not a thing of the past unfortunately."That's a sad truth, indeed. What makes this tale especially egregious to me is that the girl is sold into marriage as a punishment. A punishment for being haughty. Being sold into marriage carries the implication of marital rape and mistreatment/abuse, which is extremely harsh just to "cure" female pride. And the fact that it's then revealed her husband is a fine king implies that it wasn't so bad to humiliate her since it was all right by the end, but that end isn't the happy end for women sold into marriage like that.
You have a very good point in saying that the punishment is simply unfair and unjust, no matter the crime. This particular story just doesn’t seem to have aged well in that regard. Even though the theme that one should not be so spoiled and conceited is still a valuable lesson. Good review, Marquise.
Thibault wrote: "Even though the theme that one should not be so spoiled and conceited is still a valuable lesson."Thank you, Thibault! I'm trying to remember a fairy tale that teaches about humility without this same unfairness, but my memory isn't cooperating...
Marquise wrote: "Thibault wrote: "Thank you, Thibault! I'm trying to remember a fairy tale that teaches about humility without this same unfairness, but my memory isn't cooperating..."Don’t sweat it. And look on the bright side. Having a bad memory can also be an advantage. Means you can read the same book multiple times, and fall in love with it time and time again.
Thibault wrote: "Having a bad memory can also be an advantage. Means you can read the same book multiple times, and fall in love with it time and time again."Ha, very true. I've been able to reread a few books I have no memory of, or very little, and be pleasantly surprised.
It's almost like the manosphere came up with this story
LiLi wrote: "It's almost like the manosphere came up with this story"I'm now curious about the origins of this fairy tale specifically. I know the Grimms got a lot of their tales from women tellers. I'll look the history of this one up sometime!
One of my least favourite Grimm tales ...
Manybooks wrote: "One of my least favourite Grimm tales ..."Same. Of all the B&B-like tales the Grimms published, this one and Frog Prince I just can't stand.
Marquise wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "One of my least favourite Grimm tales ..."Same. Of all the B&B-like tales the Grimms published, this one and Frog Prince I just can't stand."
I hated the Frog Prince as well with its casual acceptance of being cruel to animals (and that that cruelty of the princess was seemingly needed to free the prince). I read a funny parody once where the princess kisses the frog and turns into frog herself.
I think I've read that parody too! It was hilarious.
Marquise wrote: "I think I've read that parody too! It was hilarious."Shrek is a bit like that as well, when the princess curse being lifted turns her back into the troll she originally was.
Yeah! Loved "Shrek" and its parodying of fairy tale tropes.
