The Princess and the Pea by Andersen Essay Example

Introduction

The story of "The Princess and the Pea" has brought forth several themes of discussion right from the original version of the tale to the other versions that have been created over the years. Perseverance, beauty, and destiny are among the concepts that have been derived from the story.

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The theme of perseverance

According to the tale, there was a prince who tirelessly searched for the rightful princesses for a long time with the efforts bearing no fruits. However, after the long search, the right princess appears at the doors of the kingdom and the pea test approves her identity. Therefore, it is evident that irrespective of the time taken in search of the intended goal, there is the absolute possibility of attaining the goal even at the last moment ("Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories"). According to the tale, it is also clear that the last minute counts in the determination of the intended objective. If the prince in the first place did not take time to find his princess, then there is the possibility that she would not have appeared at all. In the tale, the conditions prevailing during the appearance of the princess show that the rightful princess had to persevere to the harsh conditions in order to get to her rightful destination (Andersen et al.). There were storms and rains hitting her at the doors of the kingdom and if by any chance she had decided to run away from the storm, then she would not have been subjected to the test.

The theme of Beauty and Impressions

Tales that have been derived from the original versions of the story explain that the rightful princess first impressions disqualify her to her claimed the identity. This, therefore, explains the concept of a princess from the tale where there is much focus on the physical qualities of a girl ("What Is the Moral of the Fairy Tale, "The Princess and the Pea?"). A princess is believed to be a beautiful girl destined for a great future in the palace. In addition, the tale suggests that instant judgments towards a person might not necessarily be true. In one of the tales, a poor girl who was not well dressed showed up at the gates of the palace claiming to be a princess but her physical appearance created disbelief to the queen (Andersen et al.). However, she later reported in the morning that she had a bad sleep and after the revelation from the queen about the placement of the pea, there was much joy in the kingdom as the rightful princess had passed the test.

The theme of Destiny

The tales explain that small matters that are barely recognized might make a big difference especially one that involves the destiny of an entire kingdom ("Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories"). Something insignificant as a thread of hair in some versions of the presence of a pea below a pile of mattresses in other tales proved to the whole kingdom that the girl who previously was considered unworthy was indeed the true princess. This marked the end of the search as well as a happy ending for the prince and her newly wedded princess. The original version of the story explains that there were many girls in the kingdom who could have taken the position of a princess but fate decided that the unworthy girl was to rightfully take the position ("What Is the Moral of the Fairy Tale, "The Princess and the Pea?"). Therefore, it is definite that the human ability cannot create nor change the destiny of a person.

Works Cited

"Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales And Stories". Hca.Gilead.Org.Il, 2019, http://hca.gilead.org.il/.

"What Is The Moral Of The Fairy Tale, "The Princess And The Pea?". Reference, 2019, https://www.reference.com/art-literature/moral-fairy-tale-princess-pea-ecbfdd6a93f3458c.

Andersen, H. C et al. The Princess And The Pea. Mcclanahan Book Co., 1995.