The hero is characterized as a typical nobleman/lady's man, like the roles played by Pierce Brosnan on screen:
Ung, skøn og ædelbaaren, kongelig. Der staar at læse paa den stolte Pande Et Herredømme over Folk og Lande; Paa Buen, som de faste Læber danne, Der staar at læse Mildhed, som er klog; I hvert et Træk der staar et aabent Sprog, I Hagens Kløft og over Øjets Laag. Paa denne Søvn har Sjælen sat et Stempel, De Herrer Prinser til et smukt Eksempel.Young, beautiful, high-browed, clever, mild... and thus, slightly feminine. Not an action hero, but a love interest and a companion for the heroine.
The false heroine is characterized in a manner similar to the Clever Princess in The Snow Queen, but more negatively than her Andersen predecessor:
Prinsessen, som er saa uhyre klog,
Som kan alle mulige døde
Og næsten tre levende Sprog.
Der er ej i Slottet den mindste Krog,
Uden der findes en opslaaet Bog,
Og alle kan hun dem læse . . ."
who knows all kinds of languages,
both living and dead.
There isn't, at the palace, the tiniest nook
where there is a lack of but one open book,
and she can read them all.
Compare Andersen:
“I dette kongerige, hvor vi nu sidde, bor en prinsesse, der er saa uhyre klog, men hun har ogsaa læst alle aviser, der ere til i verden, og glemt dem igjen, saa klog er hun."
"In the kingdom wherein we are now sitting, there dwells a princess, a most uncommonly clever princess. All the newspapers in the world has she read, and forgotten them again, so clever is she."
"In this kingdom where we now are, here lives a princess, who is so wonderfully clever that she has read all the newspapers in the world, and forgotten them too, although she is so clever."
What a coincidence!
So this character's royalty, and she loves to read. Thus, the non-learned heroine calls her:
Saa er hun Prinsessen med Strømper blaa Og med Glar for sin lange Næse!Blue stockings and spectacles. That says a lot. Many learned characters in fiction wear spectacles, which makes their eyes look larger, but also gives them a socially awkward appearance.
As for the blue stockings, the usual garb of the literary lady in fiction, they appeared first in eighteenth-century Britain, at the dawn of modern feminism:
The Blue Stockings Society was a literary society led by Elizabeth Montagu and others in the 1750s in England. This society was originally founded by women, and included many prominent members of English society, both male and female, including Harriet Bowdler, Edmund Burke, Sarah Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Elizabeth Montagu, and Frances Pulteney.
Blue is the colour of detachment and distance (as opposed to warmer colours like passion red, sunshine yellow, mint green...). The Erudite faction in Divergent, the Ravenclaws at Hogwarts in Rowling's Potterverse, and the neutral Arryns of Westeros all wear blue.
What does she do to her fiancé?
Saa huser hun hos sig i Slottet en Prins; Hun vogter ved Dag og ved Nat ham, Og Blades og Bøgers skimlede Retter Paa Bordet saa haver hun sat ham ; Saa tror han, at Verden er lakket mod Slut, At alle sig haver imod ham forbrudt; Saa synker mod Bordet hans Hage; — Men hun, som har spundet i Nettet ham ind Og dryppet ham Gift i hans syge Sind, Hun vil om trende Dage Til Mand den Drømmende tage!
and set books and newspapers before his table
and bedside, by candlelight.
So he thinks the world has now come to an end,
and everyone against him now doth contend,
thus, he's fallen into despair.
She's crafted the net where he's tangled and kept,
and into his weak mind her poison she's wept.
Within three days, the royal house
will have the Dreamer for a spouse!
The female sexual predator, temptress, enchantress, femme fatale, castrating wife... Known in the olden days as Siduri in Gilgamesh, Circe in the Odyssey, and Delilah in the Good Book... this is one of the oldest and most persistent archetypes in history (from Siduri, Circe, and Delilah all the way to Cersei Lannister, Persephone in The Matrix, and the Potterverse's Bellatrix Lestrange, to put three actual examples).
This type of virago has had her historical counterparts, like Catherine II the Great (who rose from Prussian gentry to Czarina of all Russias through arranged marriage and disposal of her weak husband). The femme fatale is often represented as a "snake-woman" or "spider-woman" trapping and subsequently poisoning her generally male prey, or as the "mantis-woman" who takes the routine one step further with "trapping-poisoning-disposing of the victim". The portrayal of this troll princess recalls the three animalistic metaphors above.
What strikes the reader is that she employs literature rather than erotic appeal as her alluring "poison". Something completely unexpected: crossing the boundaries of the "learned lady" and "femme fatale" archetypes, that seem to be antitethical?
The heroine, on the other hand, confides in "love" over "blue stockings":
Naar Kærlighed kommer og banker paa, Da er der ej Sag for de Strømper blaa, Da gælder kun Hjertets forsonende Sprog; Hvem er da klog?When love knocks at the door,
blue stockings do avail no more.
Then, the speech of love only triumphs forever.
Thus... Who is clever?
So this is Emotion vs. Reason. Pink vs. Blue. The language of love versus all the language codes in the world.
And with a manichaean edge, besides...
And not only has she got books all over her family palace. She's a passionate collector as well:
Men hvad er der nu? Hun peger Paa en Bylt. En gylden Hakke ! (Her Prinsessen spidser Mund). Et arkæologisk Fund? — Hør, kom op, jeg vil dog snakke Lidt med Dig ! Hun kommer op. Og Prinsessens visne Krop Skælver; hendes Haand befamler Hakken. Hun er ivrig Samler, Kan ej dy sig : „Vil Du fly mig Den for — tag kun Munden fuld ! Jeg maa ha' den; den er ægte, Drevet Arbejd', lødigt Guld; Jeg vil ej Værdien nægte !"She's physically "dry" (slender, ectomorphic, like Don Quijote, a sign of lack of physical activity and sufficient nourishment). She lacks self-control. And she has got a passion for collection (she wants the heroine's golden pickaxe as an archaeological curio)!
Later on, upon letting the heroine spend a night with her betrothed, she says:
Tjent mig til den har jeg. Penge Vejer ikke op min Skat. Den betales med en Nat Hos din Prins. Ja stir kun paa mig, Men forstaa mig: Denne Pris, hvad eller ingen ; Ærlig Handel, det er Tingen!" „Nej, nu har jeg aldrig . . . ! Skammer Du Dig ikke? Hvilken Kækhed Uden Mage, hvilken Frækhed Uden Maal og uden Grænse . . . : Ej Blufærdigheden ænse . . . ! Saadan ganske mirnix, dirnix Sove i min Brudgoms Kammer!" — „Frækhed — Skam ! Du dømmer ej ! Ej for Sølv og ej for Guld Sælger jeg min dyre Skat. Den betales med en Nat Hos din Prins. Ja eller Nej?" Her Prinsessens Øjne misser Med en from og fornem Mine : „Godt ! Jeg véd, at Du og dine Skal ham ej i Garnet faa. Der skal Engle hos ham vaage, Skærme for hans Øjenlaage. Videnskaben fordrer Offer, Offer har jeg bragt den før: Giv mig Hakken ! Men i Morgen Jages Du med Skam paa Dør!" —"Science needs sacrifice (to progress)". An Enlightened commonplace, and one known to many people.
And then, she lashes her wrath at the true heroine.
So, our troll princess is:
learned (a learned lady or "bluestocking"+"four-eyes")
a collector
a seductress
undisciplined (lacks self-control)
How is her fiancé faring?
Natten er kommen. I Drømme han sidder, Bøjet over Bordet, som for Bøgernes Vægt Stønner. Selv sukker han, Prinsen, som gransked Haabløs efter Haab hos den henfarne Slægt. Støvet ligger tykt over Bøgernes Blade, Haanden ligger træt paa de prentede Ark ; Pløjet har han Skrifternes Jord uden Hvile : Brak ligger Bordet som en usaaet Mark. Lyset har krummet sin Tande og synes Læse ham en Tekst; — han er døv, han er blind: Lærdom uden Hjerte er Jord uden Varme, Verden er en Ørk uden Solkuglens Skin ! Luk Dig fra Lyset, men sluk saa din Lampe ; Livstræt er Fyrsten kun Tiggernes Drot. Intet er Liv, hvad i Liv ikke fejled, Skøgen har sit Solskin, men Du kun dit Slot! Intet han øjner og intet han ænser; Haanden, som i Søvne, han udstrækker kun. Og af et Bæger han nipper, naar lønligt Mindet vækker Liv om den fastklemte Mund. Øjet er stort, men af Taarer det mindskes; Ak, er dette Gensyn i Liv eller Død? — Haanden hun griber; hun føler dens Tryk ej; Blikket er glansløst og Panden er bleg; Navne hun ham giver, de kæreste, bedste ; Munden er en eneste haardtdraget Streg.He's in some kind of trance.
Erudition without a heart is the Earth without warmth,
the world is a wasteland without sunshine.
[···]
Lock yourself from the light, but quench thus your lamp;
weary of life, the ruler is but a lord of beggars.
Nothing is life, except what in life was not lacked...
The temptress has got her sunshine, but you've only got your palace!
[···]
And he sips from a chalice, as soon as his memories
awaken life around his tightly-shut mouth.
The false heroine is referred to as a "temptress", the Sun is counterposed to the reading candle (and love to reason), he is entranced by reason and needs to find his emotions, like the Tin Man or like Kay.
The effects of the drug are also touched upon:
And he sips from a chalice, as soon as his memories
awaken life around his tightly-shut mouth.
[···]
Wide are his eyes, yet of tears they are orphaned...
Ah, is this person alive? Is he dead?
[···]
His hand does neither display pulse nor pressure,
his eyes are dull and his forehead is pale...
[···]
his lips are but one straight line, hard and stale.
Perhaps he's under the influence of chloroform, but it's revealed to be a far worse drug... but worst: he's developed an addiction to the drug, due to the ennui that he's feeling:
„Ræk mig, Prinsesse, det iskolde Bæger,
Bland mig stærke Draaber-, gør Drikken kun streng.
Vin for hver Taabe ! Malurt mig kvæger.
Tag mig saa! jeg passer vel snart for din Seng." —
Hand me, Your Highness, just that ice-cold chalice!Make a mixed potion, and let it be strong.
Wine for each defeat... absinthe for malice.
Take me like that! For you, I won't be wrong!
Drugs were continuously researched and consumed during the Victorian era. And absinthe (wormwood, the green fairy) was one of the most popular among Victorian artists. This herbal liquor contains a powerful chemical called thujone:
Researchers at the University of Heidelberg tested attention performance with low and high doses of thujone in alcohol. The researchers administered 0.28 mg/kg in alcohol, 0.028 mg/kg in alcohol and just alcohol to their subjects. The high dose had a short term negative effect on attention performance. The lower dose showed no noticeable effect. Thujone is reported to be toxic to brain, kidney and liver cells and could cause convulsions if used in too high a dose.
Before the final confrontation, the hero muses on his fiancée:
„Prinsessen" — mumler han — „Prinsessen er Ej smuk, ej ung, hun daarer ikke Øjet; Men hun er klog paa Livets store Skrift, Hun leder Manden hen imod Bedrift," — Her falder slap hans Haand hen over Bordet - „Hun lægger paa hans Tunge Klarhedsordet," - — Her mumler han en Hoben vildsomt Tøj — . „Den anden var saa smuk; men Skønhed løj, Da Styrken tro 'de den. Ve mig, jeg brænder!"
Unlike Andersen's Clever Princess, this one is neither young nor beautiful, which leads us to identifying her with an "old maid", a lady of certain age who remains unmarried. The expression "old maid" itself carries negative innuendo within its contradiction (a maiden shouldn't be old). Old maids are described as either learned/cultured, masculine, or physically unattractive. Historical figures of female gender who chose to remain celibate, like Elizabeth Tudor or Christina of Sweden, have received as much criticism as they have received praise through the ages. The youth thinks:
She's not that fair, that young, even that charming,
but she is versed in the great writings of life,
that lead to progress in spite of all strife.
He compares this personification of Reason with the beautiful peasant lass who would be Emotion or the Eternal Feminine in Sturm und Drang (Gerda, Gretchen in Faust). The maiden left him in his darkest hour, and now he misses her and regrets rejecting her.
So she awakens his memories. "You're as beautiful as an autumn woodland, as a stream in springtime". But then, the royals step into the picture:
Morgenen kommer. Prinsessen hun banker Paa Døren. Ja lad hende banke ! Døren er stængt med forsvarlig Slaa ; Hun faar vel igen til sin Moder gaa, — Nu vil der en Prædiken vanke! Og Prinsen han ler. „Min Hustru staa op! Solen er højt over Bakkernes Top, Prinsessen er alt oven Senge. Nu ville vi klæde os sirligt paa; — Lad hende kun vente saa længe! ..."
The princess appears as a stubborn child, spoiled by her widowed royal mother. She reacts to disappointment with rage, even with fury (remember her lack of self-control when she was bribed?).
So, our troll princess is:
learned (a learned lady or "bluestocking"+"four-eyes")
a collector
a seductress
undisciplined (lacks self-control)
stubborn
willful (spoiled)
raised without a father/authority figure
What's worse, her fits of rage are uncontrollable:
The Queen is an older dead ringer for her daughter, also learned and bespectacled, and a "best friend mother" who would never say no to her only daughter (I know this kind of family well, because it's half of mine):
learned (a learned lady or "bluestocking"+"four-eyes")
a collector
a seductress
undisciplined (lacks self-control)
stubborn
willful (spoiled)
raised without a father/authority figure
What's worse, her fits of rage are uncontrollable:
Jo ser Du, Prinsessen har slaaet Med Bøgerne rent ham ihjel.She killed him with the books, metaphorically, but that could also have been a real scenario.
The Queen is an older dead ringer for her daughter, also learned and bespectacled, and a "best friend mother" who would never say no to her only daughter (I know this kind of family well, because it's half of mine):
Og Prinsen lukked op, og ind i Stuen Tren Moder med sin Datter, begge blege Af Angst og Raseri. Den Gamle var En værdig Moder til en værdig Datter: Støv, Snustobak og Øjeglas og Næse Og Vissenhed i højeste Potens. Hun gav sig til at hoste og at hvæse Og raabte „Tøjte !" højt paa Græsk, imens Prinsessen tog sig Teksten for at læse Sin Ægtemand in spe. Det kan nok hænd's Der vanked.
Both of them are "pale with angst and rage", and four-eyed, and "erudition of the highest degree" personified.
The test the true bride and the false must pass consists in washing the young hero's wedding shirt. What happens next reminds the Shakespearean reader of Lady M****th:
Prinsessen skæved til sin Moder hen. Den Gamle svared : „Ej, hvad vil det sige! Løb ud, min søde Pige, Og kom tilbage her paa Stand Med Sæbe, Kumme og med Vaske vand!" Prinsessen løb og kom og sæbed ind Det fine Linned, skylled det og holdt Det tæt for Næsen op, og sagde : „Se, Her har min kære Hr. Gemal sin Skjorte Saa ren som Sne !" — „Nej," sagde Prinsen. „Tre Var Pletterne tilforn; nu er der seks, Og de er meget, meget sorte!" — „Hvad?" snærrede den gamle Heks, „Kan ej min Datter, saa kan jeg dog se . . . !" „Ja, se kun!" sagde Prinsen. Og hun saa' Paa Tøjet. Der var Pletter nok derpaa.
The stains won't wash off, as stains of conscience, like the blood on Lady M****th's hands and gloves:
The pagan creatures--the trolls--only make the shirt dirtier and blacker as they attempt to clean it. Their failed attempts to remove the spot is reminiscent of Lady Macbeth's inability to remove the vision of blood from her hands in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Nota bene: Lady M is another virago. And one of the darkest examples in literature. She drugs the royal guards, coaxes her husband into committing regicide, and then she rules as de facto Queen of Scots. Needless to say the M****th couple is childless.
The troll queen chides her daughter, by speaking of theory and practice: the "mere prattle without practice" tenet of anti-intellectualism comes into play, but the troll queen is the one speaking. The teapot is calling the kettle black (and the stains spread out):
Hun svared sledsk : „Min kære, rare Prins, De véd, at Lærdom følges sjældent ad Med ydre Praksis. Vær nu mild til Sinds, Og lad en Moder hjælpe paa sin Datter. Det er dog ikke Vaskerkonen, som — Det véd jeg i Prinsessen mest De skatter ! Og Prinsen smiled : „Prøv det da, min Kære! De vil jo dog min Svigermoder være ; Gør kun for Deres Datter her Besked !" —
Den Gamle tog og sæbed ind og gned Det fine Linned, skylled, sæbed, sled Og vasked, pjasked, gned og skylled atter, Og saa' imellem til sin blege Datter, Og turde ikke tage Tøjet op Af Vandet, thi jo mer hun sled og hev I Skjorten, desto sortere den blev.They fail, and the hero recognizes the true heroine as his saviour. Happy ending ensues, and as the young lovers share a kiss of victory:
Da var Prinsessen med Fru Moder borte.
They simply fade into thin air, upon having played all their cards and subsequently lost the game.
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