“The Pig King” by Giovanni Francesco Straparola is a strange Italian version of the Beauty and the Beast we all know, showing us that beauty is more than skin-deep. This story starts off with a queen who had gone out into her garden and had fallen asleep. While the queen slept, three fairies came by and cursed her and her unborn child; the first being that no man could harm her, and that her son would be the most beautiful man in all the world. The second being that no one can offend her, and that her sun will have every virtue imaginable. The final curse however, took a turn for the worst, proclaiming that her son would be born in the skin of a pig, and would act as a pig until he has had three wives. The woman soon gave birth to her son, and just as the fairies said, he was born as a pig. Time went on, and the pig prince grew up and asked his mother for a wife. Wanting to grant her son’s request, she went to a poor woman who had three daughters and asked her for her eldest daughter. The pig wed her, but soon killed his wife after learning she plotted to kill him. Again he asked for a wife, and again the queen went the poor woman and get her second oldest daughter. But yet again, he had killed her. The queen went to ask the woman for her third and youngest daughter, Meldina. Meldina accepted and married the pig. A couple days later, the pig shared a secret with his new and loving wife. It turned out that the pig skin was merely a disguise, for underneath was a very handsome prince. The minute she could, she burned the pig skin, and they lived together happily ever after.
This story varies greatly from our American understanding of the Disney Beauty and the Beast. First of all, the ‘Beast’ of this story is not the large and scary yet soft-hearted mish-mash of a Beast we all know from the Disney movie. This ‘Beast’ in this story is strictly is just a pig, who, other than having virtues, is much more brutal. The pig, instead of trying to court his first two wives, kills them in cold blood within the first day of their marriage. Also, the causes of the two princes beastliness are very different from each other. In the Disney telling, the prince is turned into a beast for not legging an enchantress disguised as an old hag stay in his castle. The Pig King’s prince is turned into a beast even before birth because of three spiteful fairies. The Pig King also has three girls instead of just the one that is present in the Disney movie. Finally the ‘transformations’ back into a prince are also extremely different. The Disney version has the prince turn back after Belle admits her love for him. In The Pig King, the pig prince merely sheds his pig skin - which he can always put back on - to reveal the beautiful prince underneath.
Lv. 1 Why does Meldina accept the Pig?
Lv. 2 How come the sisters don’t recognize the Pig’s feelings?
Lv. 3 Does everyone see the beauty inside everyone?
Fantastic work discussing the way "The Pig King" compares with Disney's Beauty and the Beast! I especially enjoyed your discussion of the "mish-mash" of the beast's features and how closely they relate to that of a pig. I hadn't thought of the diverse elements in the Beast's face and character! What an interesting point!
ReplyDeleteThe next step for you will be to add a couple of MLA "citation sandwiches" to support your ideas. When you give your summary of the story, a quote or two would make your discussion much more convincing and clear.
Overall, great work and a pleasure to read!