On a Pincushion · Chapter
The Hair Tree explained
A beautiful Queen, proud of her magnificent hair, refuses to give any to an eagle for its nest.
What happens
A beautiful Queen, proud of her magnificent hair, refuses to give any to an eagle for its nest. The eagle curses her, causing her hair to fall out completely. Distraught, the Queen dreams three times of a magical Hair Tree whose seeds can restore her hair. The King offers a huge reward for anyone who can find the tree. A poor sailor named Rupert sets out to search for it in a magical northern land where animals speak and plants have hands and eyes.
Themes in this chapter
Vanity and Self-Obsession
The Queen's extreme pride in her hair leads her to refuse the eagle's request, resulting in the loss of her hair and her subsequent despair.
Consequences of Greed and Discontent
The Queen's unwillingness to share even a little of her hair brings about the curse and her downfall.
Magic and Moral Lessons
The eagle's curse, the Queen's prophetic dreams, and the quest for the magical Hair Tree all serve to teach a lesson about the dangers of excessive vanity.
Characters to notice
- Queen Blanchelys
The beautiful Queen who loses her hair after refusing the eagle's request and dreams of the Hair Tree.
- The Eagle
The bird that curses the Queen's hair after she refuses to give him some for his nest.
- Rupert
A poor sailor who sees the reward placard and sets out to find the Hair Tree.
Key passages
“My hair! ... my beautiful hair to line your common nest with! You must be mad.”
The Queen is outraged that the eagle would dare ask for her precious hair for such a lowly purpose.
Shows the Queen's vanity and sense of superiority.
“As the wind blows this tree's twigs bare, So shall the proud Queen lose her hair; The leaves shall come back with the first spring rain, But when shall the Queen find her hair again?”
The eagle's curse predicts that the Queen's hair will fall out like autumn leaves, and unlike the tree, it may never return.
The curse sets the central conflict of the chapter.
“I am sure that the only thing which can ever make my hair grow is some seeds from the Hair Tree.”
The Queen believes that only the magical seeds from her dream can restore her lost hair.
Leads to the quest that drives the plot forward.