The Princess and Curdie · Chapter
The End explained
Curdie searches the kingdom for honest people to form a new government.
What happens
Curdie searches the kingdom for honest people to form a new government. The king's treasury is empty, but Curdie reveals the city is built on gold, leading to mining and prosperity. Peter and Joan move to Gwyntystorm, and Peter discovers a gem-filled cavern. Queen Irene, formerly the old princess, spends time in the palace and occasionally visits the 'Uglies' in the woods. Curdie finds her in her rose-filled room with Lina, who is consumed by the fire. Curdie and Irene marry, become king and queen, and rule well, but after their deaths, a greedy king mines too deep, weakens the city's foundations, and Gwyntystorm collapses, leaving only a wilderness.
Themes in this chapter
Corruption of Power
The new king's greed for gold leads to the destruction of Gwyntystorm, showing how power corrupts.
Sacrifice and Service
Curdie serves the king by finding honest people and revealing the gold, and Lina's disappearance may be seen as a sacrifice.
Community vs. Individualism
The city's fall is due to the king's selfish pursuit of wealth over the welfare of the people.
Characters to notice
- Curdie
Searches for honest people, reveals the gold under the city, marries Irene, and becomes a good king.
- Peter
Brings miners to Gwyntystorm, discovers a gem cavern, and builds a home above the city.
- Princess Irene
Now known as Queen Irene, she spends time in the palace and visits the Uglies in the wood.
- Lina
Present in the queen's room, she dashes into the fire and is never seen again.
- Joan
Peter's wife, who decides to leave their cottage and move to Gwyntystorm.
- Barbara
Knows when the queen is with the Uglies in the wood.
- Gwyntystorm
The city that prospers under Curdie and Irene but eventually falls due to greedy mining.
Key passages
“The king sent Curdie out into his dominions to search for men and women that had human hands.”
The king dispatched Curdie to find honest and capable people throughout the kingdom.
Highlights the need for trustworthy individuals to rebuild the government.
“Then came Curdie and said to the king that the city stood upon gold.”
Curdie informed the king that the city was built on a gold deposit.
This revelation leads to the city's temporary prosperity.
“And so greedy was the king after gold, that when at last the ore began to fail, he caused the miners to reduce the pillars which Peter and they that followed him had left standing to bear the city.”
The king's greed drove him to weaken the city's support pillars, leading to its collapse.
Illustrates the destructive consequences of unchecked greed.