Household Tales · Chapter
The Blue Light explained
A wounded soldier, dismissed without pay by his king, is forced into servitude by a witch who later betrays him.
What happens
A wounded soldier, dismissed without pay by his king, is forced into servitude by a witch who later betrays him. He discovers a magical blue light that summons a dwarf, who helps him escape, punish the witch, and seek revenge on the king. After a series of tests and a near-execution, the soldier uses the dwarf to defeat the king's forces, forcing the king to surrender his kingdom and daughter.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The faithful soldier, though wronged, ultimately triumphs and is rewarded with a kingdom and princess, while the witch, the false judge, and the unjust king are punished.
Magic and the Supernatural
The blue light and the dwarf it summons are central magical elements that enable the soldier's revenge and rise to power.
Promises and Their Consequences
The king's broken promise to reward the soldier's service leads to his downfall, while the soldier's pact with the dwarf is honored.
Characters to notice
- the soldier
The protagonist, a faithful but discarded soldier who acquires a magical blue light and uses it to exact revenge and gain power.
- the princess
The king's daughter, forced to serve the soldier as a menial servant under cover of night, later becomes his wife.
- the King
The ungrateful monarch who dismisses the soldier without pay and later tries to have him executed.
- the witch
A malevolent old woman who enslaves the soldier and tries to steal the blue light; she is ultimately hanged.
- the little black mannikin
A magical dwarf servant bound to the blue light, who obeys the soldier's commands and helps him achieve his goals.
- the judge
The corrupt judge who condemns the soldier to death; he is struck down by the dwarf.
Key passages
“The King said to him, 'Thou mayst return to thy home, I need thee no longer, and thou wilt not receive any more money, for he only receives wages who renders me service for them.'”
The king told the soldier he could go home because he was no longer needed and would get no more pay, since only active service earns wages.
The king's dismissal without compensation sets the soldier's quest for revenge in motion.
“When the smoke had circled about the cavern, suddenly a little black dwarf stood before him, and said, 'Lord, what are thy commands?'”
As the smoke from his pipe filled the cave, a small black dwarf appeared and asked what the soldier wanted him to do.
The soldier discovers the power of the blue light to summon a magical servant.
“The King was terrified; he threw himself on the soldier’s mercy, and merely to be allowed to live at all, gave him his kingdom for his own, and the princess to wife.”
The frightened king begged for mercy and, to save his own life, handed over his kingdom and his daughter to the soldier.
The soldier's revenge culminates in the king's complete submission and the soldier's rise to power.