The fairy tale of Charles Perrault "Donkey skin": summary, main characters, reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The fairy tale "Donkey skin" by Charles Perrault will appeal to every child and will make an adult think. This work is made in an easy form, but with a specific subtext and main idea. This article will help to read the summary of this story, analysis, to understand the main characters more deeply.

Start of story

The plot in the fairy tale "Donkey skin" begins in a standard way. Without specifying a specific place, it tells about the richest and most powerful king. Everything was fine with him and his wife, only they could not give birth to children. They decided to take care of a young princess, whose father was a friend of the king, but had recently died. The girl was immediately taken for her own daughter, and she grew up under the strict supervision of her new parents. Her beauty could overshadow any other of the fair sex. The joy of this helped to quench the pain of the inability to give birth to her child. Soon a new trouble visited the king's house in the fairy tale "Donkey Skin" in Russian. The queen fell ill, and the doctors said that she would no longer be able to get out of bed. This was felt by the woman herself, and thereforeasked the king to marry a second time only to that person who would be better and more beautiful than herself. The man promised to fulfill the wish, after which the queen died. The funeral was over, and the ministers began to ask the head of state to choose a new wife for himself. By doing this, they wanted to pull him out of his state of constant grief and drunkenness.

New solution

In the work "Donkey skin" the king answered all his assistants in government that he would never marry. The reason for this is a dying promise, but he can’t find a better woman. Then the chief minister pointed to the adopted princess, who was not in vain considered the most beautiful girl in the state. Then the king took a closer look and really decided to tie the knot with the pupil. When her daughter found out about this, she was in despair. She wanted to find a lover for herself, and the thought of marrying her father was horrifying. Then the girl went to the sorceress, who promised to help if she agreed to follow all her instructions. The first of these was a request to the king for a sky-colored dress. The head of the state immediately ordered all the masters to make it, or as a punishment, everyone would be threatened with hanging. They managed to do it, but the result only frightened the princess more and testified to the determination of the king. She again ran to the witch, and she said to order a moon-colored dress. The king again summoned the best professionals in the field of tailoring with a formidable order, and they managed to fulfill the desire of the princess. This only further upset the young pupil, who again decided to turn tosorceress. A woman with magical skills named Lilac came up with a new challenge - a dress as shiny as the sun itself. In the fairy tale “Donkey Skin”, the author shows by this the unwillingness of the princess to put up with her fate.

Continued resistance

In the fairy tale "Donkey Skin" the sorceress wanted to buy time to think about her next steps. Meanwhile, the king again fulfilled the princess's request for a third dress. Everyone was delighted with such products, but the beautiful heroine did not share their joy. For the fourth time, she had to ask Lilac for help, and she again agreed to do it. This time, the sorceress guessed to advise the girl to ask the king to kill his beloved donkey. The girl triumphed, because the head of the country would refuse to fulfill such an insane desire. The king was surprised at first, but then immediately gave the order to kill the donkey and bring the girl his skin. The princess was completely desperate, but it was at that moment that the sympathetic sorceress appeared again, who ordered to leave the palace immediately. A chest with dresses will follow the girl underground, and to call it, you should hit the magic wand that the Lilac gave. The only condition for the princess is to wear a donkey skin. In gratitude for the help, the pupil of the king kissed the kind woman, fulfilled the requirements and left the palace. The king was frightened by the disappearance of the future bride, and he ordered the servants to go in pursuit. Then the sorceress again came to the rescue, and made her invisible to the eyes of all the envoys of the headstate.

Searching for a new home

In Charles Perrault's fairy tale "Donkey Skin", the princess tried to find a home for herself where she could at least serve. Because of her ugly appearance, no one wanted to take her in, but in one large house, the hostess nevertheless agreed to accept the princess. The girl was sent to work in the kitchen, where everyone laughed terribly at her because of her appearance. The good mistress forbade this and protected the new worker. Once in the lake, she saw her appearance, which horrified her. She cleansed herself of the dirt, but again put on the skin in order to remain unrecognizable. On holidays, when there was no need to serve in the kitchen, the princess dressed up in dresses, but in public everyone saw her only in a donkey cape. That is why in the work of Charles Perrault "Donkey Skin" she was given the nickname of the same name. Once, on the day of the holiday, the prince, who was traveling from hunting, was visiting the house. During the rest, the guy began to wander around the house and noticed an inconspicuous room in a dark corridor. For the sake of curiosity, he decided to look through the crack and saw a girl of dazzling beauty there. Then the prince ran to the hostess with questions about that princess in the dress. He was told about a dirty maid who wears a donkey skin instead of clothes. Out of pity, the mistress took her to work around the house. The guy went home, but the image did not go out of his head. He regretted that he did not come in then to get acquainted, and because of such thoughts he soon became completely ill.

Torment of the young heir to the throne

BIn the fairy tale “Donkey Skin”, the parents of the prince wanted to help their own son in every possible way. To their questions about what he desires most, the guy replied that the pie baked by that girl. By nickname, the courtier immediately realized that it was about a servant from a house nearby. A messenger was sent to her with a wish for a pie for a young man. Then the princess closed herself in her room, kneaded the dough, but dropped the ring there. A man from the yard took the product and took it to the heir to the throne. He ate it greedily and almost choked on the ring. The guy realized that he was from the finger of the very beauty that opened his eyes in that room. Then he began to kiss him in every possible way and hide him under the pillow. Such a hobby caused bewilderment among doctors. He couldn't think of anything else but Donkey Skin, but he was afraid to tell his family about it. Mental torment only served as a catalyst for the disease. Doctors could not understand the symptoms for a long time, but later they guessed that the reason was love. Parents, without thinking for a long time, began to ask their son about the chosen one of the heart. The king promised him marriage to the girl who made him suffer so much. The guy was touched by the desire of his mother and father to help, and therefore he told them everything. The prince told that the owner of this ring is his beloved. Immediately after that, messengers were sent out to call the girls to the palace to try on the jewelry.

Searching for a beauty

Since the young prince did not know who she was, the beauty that enchanted him, her search began with the help of a ring. Quotes from the "Donkey Skin" indicate that the ladies of the court tried in every possible way to makethinner fingers in order to put a ring on them. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and therefore, after famous ladies, seamstresses were invited. They also failed to put a small ring on their fingers. The turn came to the servants, who, due to work, were unable to put a ring on their hardened fingers. The same fate befell cooks and other ordinary working women. Not a single candidate passed the test, and therefore the parents were already desperate to find a girl dear to their son's heart. After the failure, the prince asked if the Donkey Skin had been brought in to be tried on. He was told that she was not invited because of her inappropriate appearance. She is dirty, and her appearance only breeds jokes. Despite this, the offspring of the royal family gave the order to the courtiers to bring the girl to the palace without delay. The men laughed, but did not refuse to obey the order. At this time, the princess heard the beat of drums and guessed that the ring dropped into the pie was the reason for everything. She soon learned that people had been sent for her. Then the girl chose the best outfit and began to wait for messengers from the prince.

The end of the fairy tale

The final content of "Donkey Skin" tells how people from the palace came to the girl and announced their desire to marry the prince himself. It was said with derision, but the princess paid no attention to it. Together they went to the castle, where the heir to the royal family was waiting for her. When a girl in a donkey skin appeared on top of his eyes, longing came upon him. He could not believe that it was that dazzling beauty thatcaptured his heart. The prince asked if she lived in that dark corridor in the mistress's house, and he would receive an affirmative answer. Then the guy asked her hand to try on the ring. To everyone's surprise, the maid had incredibly fragile hands, and the jewelry easily sat on her finger. It was at this moment that the princess threw off her dirty outfit and showed her true beauty. The prince recognized the love of his life in the princess, and therefore immediately rushed to her. The parents hugged the girl and asked if she wanted to connect her life with their son. She did not have time to speak in response, as the sorceress Lilac appeared from the ceiling on her lovely chariot. This woman told the people around her the story of the girl, which caused considerable surprise among all the nobles and servants present. The truth only added to the desire to marry the girl to his son with the king and queen. The rulers of all the earth were invited to the wedding, but the young were only concerned about themselves, and not about the luxury surrounding them.

Analysis of an important aspect

If we analyze the fairy tale "Donkey Skin", then the first important thought is the topic of external beauty. By bad clothes and dirt, the author means unkemptness. Nature can endow a person with great beauty, but if you do not maintain it at the proper level, then no one will notice it. The princess knew about her attractiveness, but because of the desire of her father, she was forced to wear a donkey skin. The girl guessed about her appearance only after looking into the water surface. After that, she already wore it in order to continuehide from your father. The author skillfully demonstrates that people are inherently unable to discern beauty if there is only a repulsive appearance outside. By this, he also confirms that most members of society are used to judging by the cover and do not try to discern something more in a person. Charles Perrault played it up through a fairly simple children's story, where everything must end well. In real life, many people under the pressure of certain factors forget about self-development. By this they lose their internal and external attractiveness, putting on the invisible skin of a killed donkey. From this we can conclude what the tale teaches. "Donkey Skin" is a work for children, and it says that external and internal beauty should always be in harmony, but this is only one side of the analysis of this work.

Another big thought

In the tale, the author paid much attention to the first part, namely the reasons for the appearance of a donkey skin. Here is shown a case of blind stubbornness, which leads to disastrous consequences. The king clearly decided to marry his daughter, albeit an adopted one, and the girl always dreamed of love for another person. She seeks help from a sorceress who comes up with different ways to avoid the wedding. Tailoring dresses of any color shows how strong stubbornness can be. This feeling prevents the king from seeing the true desires of his daughter. He is only interested in the fact that with her beauty she overshadows her ex-wife, and therefore he will fulfill the dying wish of the queen in marriage with her. the only way outis an escape from the palace, which the princess decides to do, and for shelter she changes her appearance with the help of the skin of a killed donkey.

Charles Perrault perfectly demonstrates the relationship between two people, when one of them blindly strives for his goal. In this case, for the other individual, running away from this stubbornness is the only correct way out. Sometimes it can be a temporary departure to increase the distance, and it often happens that this is where the relationship ends between people. That is why the main idea of "Donkey Skin" is the need to pay attention to loved ones and listen to their desires. The author played this topic successfully, and also became one of the first to raise such issues in the literature.

The film of the same name based on the work

In 1982, director Nadezhda Kosheverova shot a film of the same name based on the famous fairy tale by Charles Perrault. The writers made their own approach to the story and changed the story a bit. The main characters of "Donkey Skin" were only the princess, who received the name Teresa, and the sorceress. The plot begins with the fact that the evil sorceress predicted big troubles for the girl at birth. They started from the moment the princess ran away from her wedding. They wanted to forcefully marry her to an unloved person, and she wanted to always be with Jacques, an impoverished prince from another kingdom. After her escape, the main character is forced to take the form of a poor maid and wander around the world like that. The police are even looking for her all over the earth in order to punish her for her misconduct. Teresa hopes with the help of magicfairy ring to help Jacques and live happily with him until old age. A lot of people left reviews about the film "Donkey Skin". The main advantage was the easy perception of current events. The picture was shot with an emphasis on the children's audience, and the kids will be pleased to watch this. The story is kind, without the presence of violence, which has become popular even in modern animated cartoons. The production is made with love, every aspect of the story is presented as simply as possible. The picture is recommended for viewing by parents with their children before going to bed or on a day off.