Aesop's Fables · Chapter
The Man and His Two Sweethearts explained
A middle-aged man with greying hair has two sweethearts: an older woman and a younger one.
What happens
A middle-aged man with greying hair has two sweethearts: an older woman and a younger one. The older woman pulls out his dark hairs to make him look older, while the younger one pulls out his grey hairs to make him look younger. Between them, they leave him completely bald.
Themes in this chapter
Wisdom and Foolishness
The man's lack of foresight in allowing both sweethearts to pluck his hair leads to his complete baldness, illustrating foolishness in trying to please everyone.
Appearance vs. Reality
Each sweetheart alters the man's appearance to suit her own preference, revealing the superficial nature of their affections.
Characters to notice
- The Man
A middle-aged man with greying hair who is caught between the conflicting desires of his two sweethearts.
Key passages
“The elder of the two didn’t like having a lover who looked so much younger than herself; so, whenever he came to see her, she used to pull the dark hairs out of his head to make him look old.”
The older sweetheart disliked that her lover appeared younger than her, so she regularly plucked his dark hairs to age him.
Highlights the older woman's insecurity about age.
“The younger, on the other hand, didn’t like him to look so much older than herself, and took every opportunity of pulling out the grey hairs, to make him look young.”
The younger sweetheart, wanting him to seem closer to her age, constantly removed his grey hairs.
Shows the younger woman's desire for a youthful partner.
“Between them, they left not a hair in his head, and he became perfectly bald.”
Together, they pulled out all his hair, leaving him completely bald.
The ironic outcome of trying to satisfy both sweethearts.