Scratch A Myth
It is ironic that many of the fairy tales read to English children were originally written in French although before the time of Perrault English oral versions were extant.
Some of the tales penned by Perrault and translated into many languages have somehow fallen by the wayside. Among these is The Donkey Skin, which deals with a taboo taboo, incest. The plot unfolds the moment that the queen realizes that she is well and truly dying. She urges her husband to promise that after her death, he marry a woman who is wiser and more beautiful than his dying wife has been. The queen dies with the assurance that her husband would never find a woman who was wiser and more beautiful than his beloved queen had been.
Only his daughter had a charm and beauty, which surpassed the qualities of the queen. Of course the donkey had magic powers but I won't spoil it for you. There are other bits of magic in the story as well. Typical of Perrault's stories, Donkey Skin contains a strong moral theme, which ends on the side of good. Perrault renders a sordid subject in such an elegant manner that he manages to make it palatable and the ending enchanting, which is after all the way that fairytales are supposed to end. The princess lives happily ever after. It works when you're six. Give it a chance and it will work when you're sixty six.
Donkey Skin
G. K. Chesterton had his own slant on fairy tales. "Fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.
Chesterton
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