The
false hero is a
stock characterA stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined...
in
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
s, and sometimes also in
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By testing, it is revealed that the claims are false, and the hero's true. The false hero is usually punished, and the true hero put in his place.
Vladimir ProppVladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Russian formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.-Biography:...
identified it as one of the eight roles he found in an analysis of Russian folktales, but the figure is widely found in many nations' tales.
In some tales, the false hero appears early, and constitutes the main obstacle to the hero.
The
false hero is a
stock characterA stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined...
in
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
s, and sometimes also in
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By testing, it is revealed that the claims are false, and the hero's true. The false hero is usually punished, and the true hero put in his place.
Vladimir ProppVladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Russian formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.-Biography:...
identified it as one of the eight roles he found in an analysis of Russian folktales, but the figure is widely found in many nations' tales.
Traits
In some tales, the false hero appears early, and constitutes the main obstacle to the hero. These include
The Goose GirlThe Goose Girl is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, The Goose Girl has been recorded as Tale no. 89....
where a serving maid takes the princess's place, and makes her a goose girl,
The White and the Black BrideThe White and the Black Bride is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 135.-Synopsis:A woman, her daughter, and her stepdaughter were cutting fodder when the Lord came up to them and asked the way to the village. The woman and the daughter refused, and the stepdaughter...
where the stepmother pushes the bride into the river and puts her own daughter in her place, and
The Lord of Lorn and the False StewardThe Lord of Lorn and the False Steward or The Lord of Lorn and the Flas Steward or The Lord of Lorn is Child ballad number 271.A ballad, Lord of Lorn and the False Steward, was entered in the Stationers' Register in 1580, with a note that it is to the tune of Greensleeves.-Synopsis:The son of the...
, where the steward robs the young lord of Lorn and passes himself off as him, with the true lord serving a shepherd.
In most of the tales that use this figure, the false hero is the final obstacle to the hero's happiness. Such false heroes include
CinderellaCinderella is a well-known classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances which suddenly change to remarkable fortune...
's stepsisters, who chop off parts of their feet to fit the shoe, but are given away by the blood; the washerwoman's daughter in
Black Bull of NorrowayThe Black Bull of Norroway is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in More English Fairy Tales.The language, including references to bannocks, would indicate a Scottish story teller, in this instance, Kenny Norman Macleod....
, whose mother lies about who washed the blood out of the hero's shirt, but whose lies are given away when the heroine bribes her way to the hero; the king's marshall in
The Two BrothersThe Two Brothers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 60. It is Aarne-Thompson type 567A, the magic bird heart, and type 303, the blood brothers.-Synopsis:...
, who chops off the dragon's seven heads, but only after the huntsman hero has cut out the dragon's tongues, so that when the heads are displayed, the huntsman can observe that their tongues are missing (a common motif when a false hero claims to have killed a monster); and the older brothers in
The Golden Bird"The Golden Bird" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, number 57, about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king's three sons.A French version, collected by Paul Sébillot, is called The Golden Blackbird. Andrew Lang included that variant in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 550, the...
, who try to kill their
younger brotherThe youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
and do steal his prizes, but when the youngest survives, those prizes recognize him as the true hero.
Other tales have characters take the hero or heroine's place without claiming to be the original. This may stem from an enchantment whose conditions the hero or heroine has broken, as in
East of the Sun and West of the MoonEast of the Sun and West of the Moon is the Norwegian version of an old Scandinavian fairy tale. The Swedish version is called Prince Hat under the Ground....
, or because the lover has been enchanted into forgetting the hero or heroine, as in
The Master MaidThe Master Maid is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr. "Master" indicates "superior, skilled." Jørgen Moe wrote the tale down from the storyteller Anne Godlid in Seljord on a short visit in the autumn of 1842.It is...
, or merely from the belief that the true hero or heroine is dead or lost, as in
Maid MaleenMaid Maleen is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 198.It is Aarne-Thompson type 870, the entombed princess.-Synopsis:Maid Maleen, a princess, and a prince fell in love, but her father refused his suit...
.
In many such tales with "true brides" and "false brides", such as
East of the Sun and West of the MoonEast of the Sun and West of the Moon is the Norwegian version of an old Scandinavian fairy tale. The Swedish version is called Prince Hat under the Ground....
, the true bride must bribe her way to the hero for three nights, where the false bride is holding him captive; the first two nights, the false bride drugs the hero, but her pleas are heard by someone else, who warns him. The false bride fails the test when the heroine, not plagued with greed, refuses to trade the bride for gold or treasure; the false bride's greed draws her to agree, and so loses the bridegroom. Another test is to determine which bride can carry out a domestic task to perfection; this, also, is found in
East of the Sun and West of the Moon, where the heroine can wash the shirt that neither the false bride nor her mother can.
The false bride is sometimes an usurping servant, as in
The Goose GirlThe Goose Girl is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, The Goose Girl has been recorded as Tale no. 89....
,
The Sleeping PrinceThe Sleeping Prince is a Greek fairy tale collected by Georgios A. Megas in Folktales of Greece.It is Aarne-Thompson 425G: False Bride takes the heroine's place as she tries to stay awake; recognition when heroine tells her story...
or
The Love for Three OrangesThe Love for Three Oranges or The Three Citrons is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. It is the concluding tale, and the one the heroine of the frame story uses to reveal that an imposter has taken her place.It is Aarne-Thompson type 408, and the...
, but overwhelmingly the substituted bride is the sister or stepsister of the true bride. The substitution is an integral part of Aarne-Thompson type 403A, The Black and the White Bride, including such fairy tales as
The White and the Black BrideThe White and the Black Bride is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 135.-Synopsis:A woman, her daughter, and her stepdaughter were cutting fodder when the Lord came up to them and asked the way to the village. The woman and the daughter refused, and the stepdaughter...
and
Bushy BrideBushy Bride is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. It is Aarne-Thompson type 403, the black and the white bride.-Synopsis:...
; this often opens with an episode of The Kind and the Unkind Girls (Aarne-Thompson type 480) where the girls' character is revealed. Other tales including this are
Brother and SisterBrother and Sister is a well known European fairy tale which was, among others, written down by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of Children's and Household Tales ...
and
The Wonderful BirchThe Wonderful Birch is a Russian fairy tale.A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
.
Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", and the "The Ugly Duckling".During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted...
's "
The Little Mermaid"The Little Mermaid" is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
" makes a variation not usually found in more traditional fairytales. The Temple Girl fits the above prototype, since she gets the credit for saving the Prince's life, which actually belongs to the Mermaid, and consequently wins his love. But unlike in the above-mentioned examples, there is no last-moment reprieve: the false heroine does get to marry the Prince and usurp the place which rightfully belonged to the Mermaid - who accepts this situation with a tragic noble sacrifice, and is rewarded with immortality.
Tales with false heroines
- Brother and Sister
Brother and Sister is a well known European fairy tale which was, among others, written down by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of Children's and Household Tales ...
- The Brown Bear of Norway
The Brown Bear of Norway is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Fitzroy MacLean in West Highland Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Lilac Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A, the search for the lost husband...
- Bushy Bride
Bushy Bride is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. It is Aarne-Thompson type 403, the black and the white bride.-Synopsis:...
- The Daughter of the Skies
The 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...
- The Enchanted Canary
The Enchanted Canary is a French fairy tale collected by Charles Deulin. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A lord was the fattest lord in Flanders. He loved his son dearly. One day, the young man told him he did not find the women in Flanders beautiful; he did not wish to...
- The Enchanted Wreath
The Enchanted Wreath is a Scandinavian fairy tale, collected in Benjamin Thorpe in his Yule-Tide Stories: A Collection of Scandinavian and North German Popular Tales and Traditions...
- The Tale of the Hoodie
The Tale of the Hoodie is a Scottish fairy tale, collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands. Andrew Lang included it, as The Hoodie-Crow, in The Lilac Fairy Book....
- King Kojata
King Kojata or The Unlooked for Prince or Prince Unexpected is a Slavonic fairy tale. Andrew Lang included the Russian version King Kojata, in The Green Fairy Book. A. H. Wratislaw collected a Polish variant Prince Unexpected in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 17...
- Lovely Ilonka
Lovely Ilonka is a Hungarian fairy tale collected in Ungarische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- Nix Nought Nothing
Nix Nought Nothing is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his English Fairy Tales.-Synopsis:A queen gave birth to a son while the king was away, and not wanting to christen him until his father returned, decreed that he should be called Nix Nought Nothing until that time. The king...
- Princess Rosette
Princess Rosette is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.Italo Calvino included an orally collected tale, The King of the Peacocks, in his Italian Folktales, but observed in the notes that it was clearly a variant on Princess...
- The Singing, Springing Lark
The Singing, Springing Lark or The Singing, Soaring Lark is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, appearing as tale no. 88.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425C. Others of this type include Beauty and the Beast and The Small-tooth Dog....
- The Sprig of Rosemary
The Sprig of Rosemary is a Spanish fairy tale collected by Dr. D. Francisco de S. Maspons y Labros in Cuentos Populars Catalans. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A, the search for the lost husband.-Synopsis:...
- Swan Lake
Swan Lake is a ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, by Vladimir Begichev and Vasiliy Geltser was fashioned from Russian folk tales as well as an ancient German legend, which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan...
- Sweetheart Roland
Sweetheart Roland is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 56.It combines several Aarne-Thompson types: type 1119, Ogres Kill Their Own Children; type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee; and type 884, the forgotten fiancée. Others of the second type include The Master Maid,...
- The Three Little Men in the Wood
The Three Little Men in the Wood or The Three Dwarfs is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 13. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book, and a version of the tale appears in A Book of Dwarfs by Ruth Manning-Sanders.It is Aarne-Thompson type 403B, the black and the...
- The White Doe
The White Doe or The Doe in the Woods is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The White Duck
The White Duck is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch is a Russian fairy tale.A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- Young Beichan
"Young Beichan" or Lord Baker or Lord Bateman or "Young Bekie" is Child ballad number 53, existing in many variants.-Synopsis:...
Tales with false heroes
- The Bird 'Grip'
The Bird 'Grip is a Swedish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it The Pink Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird.-Synopsis:...
- The Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains is a fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book, but provided no bibliographical information.-Synopsis:...
- The Brown Bear of the Green Glen
The Brown Bear of the Green Glen is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John MacDonald, a "Traveling Tinker." He also noted the parallels with The Water of Life....
- The Earl of Mar's Daughter
-Synopsis:The Earl of Mar's daughter saw a lovely bird, and promised it a golden cage if it would come to her. It did, and that night transformed into a prince in her bedroom. His mother had transformed him to that form. They lived together; she bore seven sons, but the prince carried them safe...
- Hind Horn
"Hind Horn" is traditional folk ballad.-Synopsis:Hind Horn and the king's daughter Jean fall in love. He gives her a silver wand, and she gives him a diamond ring and tells him when the stones grow pale, he has lost her love. One day, on his travels, he sees it growing pale and sets out for her...
- The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Neill Gillies, a fisherman near Inverary.-Synopsis:...
- The Mermaid and the Boy
The Mermaid and the Boy is a Lapp fairy tale collected by J. C. Poestion in Lapplandische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Brown Fairy Book....
- Shortshanks
Shortshanks is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. Under the title "Minnikin", it was included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- Soria Moria Castle
Soria Moria Castle is a Norwegian fairy tale made famous by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their classic Norske Folkeeventyr. Later Andrew Lang included the story in his series of fairy tale collections in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Three Dogs
The Three Dogs is a German fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book, listing his source as the Brothers Grimm.A version of this tale appears in A Book of Dragons by Ruth Manning-Sanders.-Synopsis:...
- The Three Princes and their Beasts
The Three Princes and their Beasts is a Lithuanian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Violet Fairy Book.-Synopsis:Three princes had a stepsister. They all set out one day, hunting, and were going to shoot a wolf when it offered to give each of the princes a cub if they did not. The same...
- The Three Princesses of Whiteland
The Three Princesses of Whiteland is a Norwegian fairy tale, collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. Andrew Lang collected it in The Red Fairy Book....
- The Water of Life (German fairy tale)
The Water of Life is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 97.It is Aarne-Thompson type 551.John Francis Campbell noted it as a parallel of the Scottish fairy tale, The Brown Bear of the Green Glen.-Synopsis:...