But courage shown by the two is different. Irene's courage comes from her belief and faith in something higher and nobler, Curdie's courage comes from her brave heart. Irene is thus able to see the grandmother while Curdie cannot because he simply doesn't believe in something magical and bigger than what he has experienced so far. Irene on the other hand is able to demonstrate faith in grandmother's thread which is a true test of her belief in something bigger than herself. Irene is frustrated when Curdie cannot see her grandmother but she is told that Curdie was still not spiritually mature enough to believe and seeing doesn't mean believing: "Curdie is not able to believe some things. Seeing is not believing- it is only seeing." (p.227) The story thus contains important spiritual, moral and even emotional practical messages for children. When Irene is frustrated and feels misunderstood, grandmother calms her down by saying: "….in the meantime, you must be content, I say, to be misunderstood for a while. We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very...

But there is something much more necessary….To understand other people." (p. 227-228)
While this story is all about courage and faith and contain important life messages, other fairy tales also share similar characteristics. The difference lies in the language used by the authors. In other fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel or Red Riding Hood, the author has used plain language that could be understood by children without aid of an adult. However that may not be true of the princess and the goblin which uses more sophisticated language and buries into messages within the text. Such messages are simply missing in other texts but they all still contain deep moral lessons which children may actually be able to grasp on their own. For example the concept of reward and punishment is integral to all fairy tales. The Princess and the Goblin however is more in line with Tolkien's fantasy novel than it is with Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tales.

Reference

George MacDonald. The Princess and the Goblin. Puffin Classics. 1997