Bearskin (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
Bearskin is a fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
, as tale no. 101. A variant from Sicily, Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, was collected by Laura Gonzenbach
in Sicilianische Märchen and included by Andrew Lang
in The Pink Fairy Book. Italo Calvino
included another Italian version, The Devil's Breeches from Bologna, in his Italian Folktales
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 361, Bearskin, in which a man gains a fortune and a beautiful bride by entering into a pact with the devil.
A green-coated man with a cloven hoof appeared to him and offered
to make him rich if he would for seven years not cut his hair, clip his nails, bathe, or pray, and wear a coat and cloak that he would give him. At the end, if he survived, he would be rich and free; if he died during the time, the devil would have him. The desperate soldier agreed, and the devil gave him the green coat, telling him he would find its pockets always full of limitless money, and then a bearskin, telling him that he had to sleep in it and would be known as Bearskin because of it.
Bearskin set out, and gave much money to the poor that they would pray for him, to live out the seven years. After several years, he grew so revolting that he had to pay heavily to get any shelter. In the fourth year, he heard an old man lamenting, and persuaded him to tell his tale: he had lost all his money, did not know how to provide for his daughters, and could not pay the innkeeper, so he would be sent to jail. Bearskin paid the innkeeper and gave the old man a purse of gold as well.
The old man said that he would marry him to one of his daughters in gratitude. The oldest ran away, screaming, from the sight; the middle one said he was worse than a bear that had tried to pass itself off as human; the youngest one agreed to fulfill her father's promise. Bearskin gave her half a ring and promised to return in three years. Her sisters ridiculed her at length.
At the end of the seven years, Bearskin found the devil again and demanded he fulfill his promise. Clean and with his money, he dressed himself as a fine gentleman and went to the old man's house, where the older sisters served him, and his bride, dressed in black, showed no reaction to him. He told the old man that he would marry one of his daughters. The two older sisters ran off to dress splendidly, and Bearskin dropped his half of the ring into a wine cup and gave it to his bride. She drank it and realized that he was her bridegroom.
They married. Upon realizing who he was and what they gave up, the sister hung herself in rage, and the other drowned herself, and the devil knocked on the door to tell Bearskin that he had gotten two souls instead of Bearskin's one.
The Devil's Breeches is close to Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, but while the hero also squanders his money, he attempts to support himself by working as a servant, an attempt that fails because all his masters' wives or sisters fall in love with him, and he has to leave every job. Calvino notes that in his sources, the sisters were merely envious, and added their explicit wish that they would gladly be taken by the Devil because of their rage.
soldier. The only changes made to the story are the crying man is a farmer who has lost all of his money and will lose his farm, and the Devil tells the audience, not Bearskin, that he gets two souls for the price of one. The tale is often considered the most chilling of the series.
A Russian story version was written by Boris Shergin, called "Pron'ka the Dirty" (Пронька Грезной), later adapted into a cartoon called "Mister Pron'ka" (Mister Пронька). There, the devil is replaced with a wealthy American who makes a bet with a Russian named Pron'ka, with the time limit of 15 years. In return for the standard limitations, Pron'ka is made the head of the American company's branch in Russia.
and other tales of monstrous bridegrooms (or brides), but unlike most the main character is the transformed bridegroom. Some other tales, such as Hans My Hedgehog
have such a main character, but differ in that, in Bearskin, the wedding is not the trigger for his being restored to human form.
The hero of the German version is a soldier. The tale was collected at a time at which many German kings were conscripting many more men into their armies, and the people of the country and town, who were forced to pay taxes to support such new armies and to house them. Soldiers often left, whether by any discharge they could get, or by deserting, and such an ex-soldier often had to make his way in the world like the hero of Bearskin.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, as tale no. 101. A variant from Sicily, Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, was collected by Laura Gonzenbach
Laura Gonzenbach
Laura Gonzenbach was a Swiss folklorist, active in Messina, who collected fairy tales in a number of European dialects.Gonzenbach was born in a Swiss-German community of Sicily, to a German speaking mercantile family, her sister, Magdelena, began a school in Messina...
in Sicilianische Märchen and included by Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
in The Pink Fairy Book. Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
included another Italian version, The Devil's Breeches from Bologna, in his Italian Folktales
Italian Folktales
Italian Folktales is a collection of 200 Italian folktales published in 1956 by Italo Calvino. Calvino began to undertake the project that will lead to the Italian Folktales in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale; his intention was to emulate the Brothers Grimm in...
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 361, Bearskin, in which a man gains a fortune and a beautiful bride by entering into a pact with the devil.
Synopsis
A man was a soldier, but when war ended, his parents were dead, and his brothers had no place for him.A green-coated man with a cloven hoof appeared to him and offered
Pact with the Devil
A deal with the Devil, pact with the Devil, or Faustian bargain is a cultural motif widespread in the West, best exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, but elemental to many Christian folktales...
to make him rich if he would for seven years not cut his hair, clip his nails, bathe, or pray, and wear a coat and cloak that he would give him. At the end, if he survived, he would be rich and free; if he died during the time, the devil would have him. The desperate soldier agreed, and the devil gave him the green coat, telling him he would find its pockets always full of limitless money, and then a bearskin, telling him that he had to sleep in it and would be known as Bearskin because of it.
Bearskin set out, and gave much money to the poor that they would pray for him, to live out the seven years. After several years, he grew so revolting that he had to pay heavily to get any shelter. In the fourth year, he heard an old man lamenting, and persuaded him to tell his tale: he had lost all his money, did not know how to provide for his daughters, and could not pay the innkeeper, so he would be sent to jail. Bearskin paid the innkeeper and gave the old man a purse of gold as well.
The old man said that he would marry him to one of his daughters in gratitude. The oldest ran away, screaming, from the sight; the middle one said he was worse than a bear that had tried to pass itself off as human; the youngest one agreed to fulfill her father's promise. Bearskin gave her half a ring and promised to return in three years. Her sisters ridiculed her at length.
At the end of the seven years, Bearskin found the devil again and demanded he fulfill his promise. Clean and with his money, he dressed himself as a fine gentleman and went to the old man's house, where the older sisters served him, and his bride, dressed in black, showed no reaction to him. He told the old man that he would marry one of his daughters. The two older sisters ran off to dress splendidly, and Bearskin dropped his half of the ring into a wine cup and gave it to his bride. She drank it and realized that he was her bridegroom.
They married. Upon realizing who he was and what they gave up, the sister hung herself in rage, and the other drowned herself, and the devil knocked on the door to tell Bearskin that he had gotten two souls instead of Bearskin's one.
Variants
In Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, Don Giovanni is not a soldier; he squandered the fortune his father left him and met the devil while begging. The time limit is three years, three months, and three days, and in that time, he buys a house and his fame spreads; the king asks him to lend him money, and that is how the promise to marry is brought about. The sisters, though they die, are not explicitly taken by the devil.The Devil's Breeches is close to Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, but while the hero also squanders his money, he attempts to support himself by working as a servant, an attempt that fails because all his masters' wives or sisters fall in love with him, and he has to leave every job. Calvino notes that in his sources, the sisters were merely envious, and added their explicit wish that they would gladly be taken by the Devil because of their rage.
Retellings
Davenport Films produced an Americanized version of the story for their "From the Brothers Grimm" series. The story is set in rural Virginia after the Civil War with the protagonist being a desperate ex-ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldier. The only changes made to the story are the crying man is a farmer who has lost all of his money and will lose his farm, and the Devil tells the audience, not Bearskin, that he gets two souls for the price of one. The tale is often considered the most chilling of the series.
A Russian story version was written by Boris Shergin, called "Pron'ka the Dirty" (Пронька Грезной), later adapted into a cartoon called "Mister Pron'ka" (Mister Пронька). There, the devil is replaced with a wealthy American who makes a bet with a Russian named Pron'ka, with the time limit of 15 years. In return for the standard limitations, Pron'ka is made the head of the American company's branch in Russia.
Commentary
The tale has much in common with Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
and other tales of monstrous bridegrooms (or brides), but unlike most the main character is the transformed bridegroom. Some other tales, such as Hans My Hedgehog
Hans My Hedgehog
Hans My Hedgehog, or Hans the Hedgehog, is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no...
have such a main character, but differ in that, in Bearskin, the wedding is not the trigger for his being restored to human form.
The hero of the German version is a soldier. The tale was collected at a time at which many German kings were conscripting many more men into their armies, and the people of the country and town, who were forced to pay taxes to support such new armies and to house them. Soldiers often left, whether by any discharge they could get, or by deserting, and such an ex-soldier often had to make his way in the world like the hero of Bearskin.
See also
- The Dragon and his GrandmotherThe Dragon and his GrandmotherThe Dragon and his Grandmother or The Devil and His Grandmother is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 125.Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book....
- The Small-tooth DogThe Small-tooth DogThe Small-tooth Dog is an English fairy tale collected by Sidney Oldall Addy in Household Tales and Other Traditional Remains.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425C. Others of this type include Beauty and the Beast and The Singing, Springing Lark....
- The Daughter of the SkiesThe Daughter of the SkiesThe Daughter of the Skies is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as James MacLauchlan, a servant from Islay.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A...
External links
- SurLaLune's Annotated Bearskin including variants, modern interpretations and illustrations
- Bearskin