Short Fiction · Chapter
II explained
The wise woman kidnaps the princess, carrying her away from the palace and across a heath.
What happens
The wise woman kidnaps the princess, carrying her away from the palace and across a heath. The princess, terrified and misunderstanding kindness, believes the wise woman is an ogress. After a journey through a wolf-infested forest, the wise woman brings her to a cottage but leaves her outside, insisting she must knock and ask to enter.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Divine Chastening
The princess is forcibly taken from her home and subjected to fear and hardship as a means of correction, reflecting the theme of suffering as a form of discipline.
Reality vs. Illusion
The princess misinterprets the wise woman's kindness as danger, believing she is an ogress, highlighting the contrast between her distorted perception and reality.
Characters to notice
- Rosamond
The princess is kidnapped by the wise woman, struggles and screams, but eventually falls asleep. She is terrified and misunderstands the wise woman's intentions.
- The Princess
Referred to as the princess; she is the same as Rosamond, the kidnapped child.
Key passages
“The fact, as is plain, was, that the princess had disappeared in the folds of the wise woman’s cloak.”
The wise woman hid the princess under her cloak, making her vanish.
Describes the initial abduction.
“Now the princess did not in the least understand kindness. She always took it for a sign either of partiality or fear.”
The princess was incapable of recognizing kindness, interpreting it as favoritism or fear.
Highlights the princess's flawed character.
“The only thing that could save the princess from her hatefulness, was that she should be made to mind somebody else than her own miserable Somebody.”
The princess could only be saved from her selfishness by learning to obey someone other than herself.
Explains the wise woman's corrective purpose.
“No one ever gets into my house who does not knock at the door, and ask to come in.”
The wise woman insists that entry requires a humble request.
Sets a condition for the princess's acceptance.