Household Tales · Chapter
Bearskin explained
A brave soldier, dismissed after war and abandoned by his brothers, makes a pact with the Devil: he must remain unwashed, unkempt, and without prayer for seven years in exchange for endless money and a magical coat.
What happens
A brave soldier, dismissed after war and abandoned by his brothers, makes a pact with the Devil: he must remain unwashed, unkempt, and without prayer for seven years in exchange for endless money and a magical coat. Disguised as a monstrous 'Bearskin,' he uses his wealth to help the poor. In the fourth year, he rescues a destitute old man from prison and is promised one of his three daughters in marriage. The eldest two reject him in horror, but the youngest accepts, and they exchange halves of a broken ring. After seven years, the Devil cleanses him, and Bearskin returns as a handsome man. He reveals himself to his faithful bride using the ring, while the jealous sisters meet grim ends, and the Devil claims their souls instead.
Themes in this chapter
Transformation and Redemption
Bearskin endures a seven-year ordeal of filth and isolation, but through his good deeds and faithfulness, he is cleansed and restored to handsome human form, symbolizing redemption.
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The faithful youngest daughter is rewarded with a handsome husband and wealth, while the proud, mocking sisters meet death by suicide, and the Devil claims their souls.
Characters to notice
- Bearskin
The protagonist, a former soldier who makes a pact with the Devil, endures seven years of filth and wandering, and ultimately regains his human form and marries the faithful youngest daughter.
- the Devil
The tempter who offers wealth in exchange for seven years of unkempt living and no prayer; he appears in a green coat with a cloven foot and later claims the souls of the two jealous sisters.
- the youngest daughter
The faithful bride who accepts Bearskin out of gratitude and duty, keeps her half of the ring, and is rewarded when he returns in his true form.
- the eldest daughter
One of the two elder sisters who scorn Bearskin; she later drowns herself in a well out of anger and rage when the youngest wins the handsome stranger.
- the second daughter
The other elder sister who mocks Bearskin; she hangs herself on a tree after the youngest is chosen.
Key passages
“Whosoever saw him, ran away, but as he everywhere gave the poor money to pray that he might not die during the seven years, and as he paid well for everything he still always found shelter.”
Everyone fled from his monstrous appearance, yet because he generously paid the poor to pray for his survival and always compensated well, he never lacked lodging.
Highlights Bearskin's use of wealth to secure prayers and shelter despite his terrifying looks.
“The youngest, however, said, 'Dear father, that must be a good man to have helped you out of your trouble, so if you have promised him a bride for doing it, your promise must be kept.'”
The youngest daughter insisted that the man who rescued her father deserved the promised bride, regardless of his appearance.
Demonstrates the youngest daughter's virtue and sense of duty, contrasting with her sisters' vanity.
“One of them drowned herself in the well, the other hanged herself on a tree. In the evening, someone knocked at the door, and when the bridegroom opened it, it was the Devil in his green coat, who said, 'Seest thou, I have now got two souls in the place of thy one!'”
The two elder sisters, consumed by envy, killed themselves—one by drowning, the other by hanging. That night, the Devil appeared to claim their souls, boasting he had gained two for the one he lost.
Illustrates the grim fate of the jealous sisters and the Devil's satisfaction at their downfall.