The Princess and Curdie · Chapter
Barbara explained
The king continues to recover, but is plagued by nightmares caused by the doctor's poison.
What happens
The king continues to recover, but is plagued by nightmares caused by the doctor's poison. Curdie, hearing Barbara cry, brings her to the king's chamber, where her presence instantly calms him and dispels his dreams. Barbara becomes a constant companion to the king, even playing with his crown. The colonel of the guard also improves, but his attempts to contact his regiment fail due to false rumors spread by the king's enemies. The lord chancellor, having escaped, plots to destroy the king by inviting invasion from a neighboring kingdom.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence and Healing
Barbara's innocent presence provides a cure for the king's nightmares, showing the power of purity against corruption.
Corruption of Power
The lord chancellor's plot to invite invasion demonstrates how those in power can betray their own kingdom for personal gain.
Faith and Trust
The colonel's trust in Curdie contrasts with the major's suspicion, highlighting the difficulty of discerning truth amidst lies.
Characters to notice
- Curdie
Continues to protect the king, brings Barbara to him, and attempts to deliver the colonel's message.
- Princess Irene
Nurses the king and takes turns watching over him.
- Barbara
Her presence calms the king's nightmares and she becomes his playmate.
- Derba
Ministers to the king and cares for Barbara, though she sleeps through the child's distress.
- The Colonel
Recovering from his wounds, he becomes friends with Curdie and worries about his regiment.
- The Doctor
His wicked medicines are the lingering cause of the king's nightmares.
Key passages
“The moment his eyes fell upon little Barbara, whom he had never seen before, his soul came into them with a rush, and a smile like the dawn of an eternal day overspread his countenance: the dream was nowhere, and the child was in his heart.”
Seeing Barbara instantly calmed the king, driving away his nightmare and filling him with joy.
Highlights the healing power of Barbara's innocence.
“The king’s enemies said that he had first poisoned the good colonel of the guard, and then murdered the master of the horse, and other faithful councillors; and that his oldest and most attached domestics had but escaped from the palace with their lives—nor all of them, for the butler was missing.”
The king's enemies spread false accusations that he had poisoned the colonel and murdered his own councillors and servants.
Shows the spread of misinformation to undermine the king's rule.