The Pig King
by: Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Embedded Files
An Italian literary fairytale published in 1550 that revolves around the life of a prince hidden by the skin of a pig.
Illustration by Walter Crane 1874
Illustration by Niroot Puttapipat
Illustration by Henry Justice Ford
Illustration by Walter Crane
Overall Summary
Overall Summary
Three fairies walked upon a beautiful woman named Ersilia, where two blessed her and one cursed her saying she would birth a pig.
A pig is born but due to the queen's love for her child, she decides not to kill him regardless of his arrogance and bad hygiene.
Eventually, the pig seeks marriage with one of the three daughters of a young woman.
The queen refuses, but due to the pig's threat to kill her, she fulfills his request.
The eldest daughter agrees but unable to stand the pig's dirtiness, she plans to kill him one night in his sleep. Overhearing her plan, the pig murders her first. The same occurs for the second daughter.
The youngest daughter, named Meldina was different. She happily married the pig.
One night, the pig decided to show Meldina his secret curse by shaking off his pig skin and transforming into a young handsome man. Meldina was overjoyed.
Meldina agreed never to tell anyone his secret without his consent.
But unable to keep the secret, she revealed the truth to the queen.
That night, the king and queen sneaked into their bedroom and saw their true son. The king immediately ripped the pig's skin to shreds, which lifted the curse.
The pig prince later becomes king and they live happily ever after.
Key Variations
Protagonist:
The protagonist in the original fairytale was Beauty, whereas in the Pig King, it is the pig.
"Beast" curse:
The Beast was cursed for having no virtue whereas the pig prince was cursed before even birth.
"Beast" personality:
The Beast is often seen as calm and collected whereas the pig prince is an arrogant, muddy, murdering mess who even threatens to kill his own mother.
The trigger for lifting the curse:
It was Meldina's betrayal of the pig's trust by telling his secret that lifted the curse rather than her falling in love with him. There are surprisingly no consequences.
Illustrated by Anne Anderson
Illustrated by Adrian Murphy
Illustrated by John Batten
Interpretations
Animal Portrayal
Animal Portrayal
According to Adrion Dula in "B(e)aring the Beast: Deformity, Animality, and Ableist", animals being portrayed as the the bride or groom is very common in folklore, myths, and fairy tales.
In different variations of Beauty and the Beast, the beast has been portrayed as a pig, frog, monkey, dog, turtle, swan, and tiger.
Represents arranged marriages.
"The Beast's animality/monstrosity is a reflection of Beauty's fear of masculine and sexual aggression, or as projections of the "unruly" or "uncivilized" side of human nature."
Arranged Marriage
Arranged Marriage
According to a blog on the Transmundane Press,
The animal representation portrays the concept of arranged marriage due to unfamiliarity.
Back then, it was common for women to feel anxiety in an arranged marriage as they were powerless against it. "Play the role of the dutiful wife".
"It implores women to patiently accept beastliness on the part of their partner, for it is presumed that inside there is a man worthy of compassion and love."
Women are forced to accept their arranged marriages regardless of their true feelings.
Implied Misogyny
Implied Misogyny
According to an article on medium.com, there is implied misogyny in "Pig King"
In the 16th century, women were often told to do as the men said, therefore this was a reflection of society at the time.
The pig's mistreatment of women carries no consequences (threatening the queen, killing the daughters, etc)
After the pig threatens the queen, rather than correcting his cruel behavior, she fulfills his request.
One of the three fairies that blessed the queen said "I command that she shall be the wisest among women."
https://medium.com/@jenniferpoo/context-in-fairy-tales-763d58fd4301
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