The Princess and the Pea Essay Example

The story 'Princess and the Pea' has been told across generations with various versions of the story being created over the time. The original story was first published in the year 1935 by Hans Christian Andersen and was distributed to the people thus spreading globally. The story has been told many times, especially to children and with the easy concept of sensitivity in the definition of a true princess being presented. However, it is important to understand that over the years, there are other themes and concepts developed from the story as well as from the other versions of the story. Over the years, the story has influenced the literal world in different methods through the concepts brought about in the story. There is the similarity of the storyline which has been kept concept about the search for beauty and a true princess by a prince desperately only for the princess o show up in a storm all wet. The story further connects to the test of the princess by the queen and the mother to the prince in the effort of understanding if she is indeed a true princess. She is made to lie over a pile of mattresses and feathers with a slight adjustment of a pea placed at the bottom of the pile. A true princess according to the story is supposed to detect the presence of the pea from the pile and the princess passes the test the following morning after complaining of the discomfort caused by the pea. As mentioned in the above discussion, there are varying adjustments made to the story across the globe and in different nations. The following discussion, therefore, seeks to explain the history of the story and the gradual changes of the story across the globe. In addition, the discussion is meant to explain the influences of the story upon reading in relation to the themes and concepts that have been introduced.

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The story has been passed down from a generation to the next through the oral and written forms thus explaining its popularity in many cultures across the globe. The exploration of the story has led to its revolution in the effort of finding the relevant themes which apply for different cultures across the globe The translation of the story by various communities and nations has been made based on the norms and beliefs of the communities thus fitting the intention of the translation. India, Italy as well as Sweden are some of the nations which have adopted the storyline of the tale with different details to fit the culture of the countries. In addition, there is a language translation of the original story for clear understanding. In Sweden Andersen became the first re-write of the story despite his Danish cultural background which does not recognize the concept developed by the original version (Andersen, Hans Christian, 2009). The Danish author has explained that he first encountered the story in his childhood through the storytelling sessions. The version explains that a girl who owns a cat as a pet is made by the cat to believe that she is a princess. In the tale, the cat warns the girl of the possible tests that she ought to undergo. The final test has the girl sleeping on a pile of mattresses which have seven peas beneath them and which causes her discomfort at night according to her complaints the following morning. The experience qualifies her to be a real princess in her world. The story is quite similar to the original version with slight character modification. The Italian version includes a prince who is in search of the woman with the greatest sensitivity and comes across several women that he tests and disqualifies them. In his search, he comes across a girl who is hurt after a petal falls on her and the incident reveals that she is the one he has been looking for among the other women and ends up marrying her. Jasmine gets bandaged after the flower petal incident thus fitting to the character of the princess according to the original version. The Indian version is more adjusted according to the culture where they do not believe in princesses. Upon the belief, the tale told in this region over the years involves a boy from a wealthy family who has to prove his wealth through sleeping on seven mattresses ("The Story Of "The Princess & The Pea" Has Some Lessons Great Lessons For Frontline & Corporate Employees On How To Deal With Difficult Customer Situations."). He is disturbed to his awakening where he finds a hair placed in his bed and which brings the disturbance. His realization lead to his revelation as a worth a wealthy young man and is handed down part of his father's acquisitions. These stories have been derived from the original storyline and as a result, there has been a wide concept of ideas developed from the story.

The story is a revelation of cultures and beliefs owned by the communities that have incorporated the story in their tales. As seen in the discussion above, the original version of the story has brought about exploration into the themes and relative concepts of the story. Despite having a common storyline, there are different ideas developed in each of the version which tells more about the beliefs of the communities. The retold versions help people to understand the norms of other cultures and the weaknesses of the beliefs thus creating interest of understanding more about the relative cultures. The fact that there are common characters and themes developed from the story shows the presence of similar ideologies and beliefs among communities existing different and far from each other. As the story changes over the years, there is the development of other ideas based on the main story which is a sign of innovation over the years (Andersen, Hans Christian, 2009). The story tells more about the different conditions in the different eras which anticipated the writing of the relative stories. The story also holds the traditions of different cultures across the globe as seen through it being passed down from generations to other generations. There are common lessons which have been derived from the other versions of the story as well as those from the original story. First, there is the lesson that only birth can decide a real prince or princess and not the making. Also, there is the lesson on perseverance brought about through the process of finding a princess by the prince of each story. It is important to ensure the existence of the tale in the years to come because the passing of the story helps in the preservation of culture through literature. In addition, the story is subject to the relevant changes as seen from the discussion thus, keeping it around helps in broader thinking by the following generations over the years.

Works Cited

Andersen, Hans Christian. The Princess and the Pea: The Graphic Novel. Capstone, 2009.

Study.Com, 2019. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-the-princess-the-pea.html. Accessed 1 Feb 2019.

"The Story Of "The Princess & The Pea" Has Some Lessons Great Lessons For Frontline & Corporate Employees On How To Deal With Difficult Customer Situations.". Omnitouch International, 2019. Retrieved from http://www.omnitouchinternational.com/frontline-employees-can-learn-some-great-lessons-about-how-to-deal-with-difficult-customer-situations-from-the-story-of-the-princess-the-pea.