The princess and the goblin

¶ … Princess and the Goblin' is one of the more mature fairy tales compared to several Hans Christian Anderson stories. But deep down, none of these fairy tales were meant to be simple bedtime stories that are told and soon forgotten. They all carried within them themes and underlying messages which children were expected to discover as they read the stories. The Princess and the Goblin however is still a far more mature story than any other fairy tale commonly known to children today. There are some important themes that it covers such as courage, faith, belief and God and the author makes it clear from the beginning that he doesn't expect the story to be read and forgotten like a simple fairy tale. There are several lines in the book that a reader may ignore in his haste to read further but these lines offer clues to the true meaning of this story. For example at an early point in the book, the author mentions: "The princess was a sweet little creature and at the time my story begins, was about eight years old, I think, but she got older very fast." (p.5) it is important to remember throughout the book, how Irene "got older very fast." It was through her courage and belief. There are many underlying religious themes and they are all connected to having faith and hope in God.

Princess Irene learns that corsage is not about not being afraid; it is about taking risks and chances knowing that these would lead to a better 'something'. That something can be a better sense of self, more maturity or stronger belief in God. It can be anything but it is important to have faith as it alone could make a person courageous. When Irene gets lost in the attic, she is expected to behave like a princess and she thus doesn't cry for long but instead shows courage. "She did not cry long, however, for she was as brave as could be expected of a princess of her age" (p. 21) the story alludes to courage on a number of occasions: sometimes when speaking of Irene and at others when speaking of Curdie. 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 hard not to be. But there is something much more necessary….To understand other people." (p. 227-228)