The She-Bear
Encyclopedia
"The She-bear" is an Italian literary fairy tale
, written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it in A Book of Princes and Princesses
.
It is Aarne-Thompson classification system
folktale type 510B, unnatural love. Others of this type include Cap O' Rushes
, Catskin
, Allerleirauh
, The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter
, Donkeyskin
, Little Cat Skin
, Mossycoat
, The Princess That Wore A Rabbit-Skin Dress
, and The Bear
.
Henriette-Julie de Murat
used a similar transformation in Bearskin
, for the heroine to escape not her father but an ogre husband.
her into a bear. When her father summoned her to ask his councilors whether he could marry her, she used it.
When in the woods, she met with a prince and came up to him. Her gentleness astounded him, and he took her home. One day, wishing to comb her hair, she pulled out the wood. The prince saw her and fell sick from love. In his raving, he spoke of the bear, and his mother thought she had hurt him, so she ordered her killed. The servants, taken with her gentleness, brought her to the woods instead.
Discovering this, the prince got up long enough to catch the bear again, but when his pleas to her did not make her become human again, he took ill again. His mother asked what he needed, and he had the bear brought to his room to act as his servant. She did all that was needed, which only made the prince more in love with her and sicker. He begged for a kiss, and she kissed him; at this, the wood came out of her mouth, and he caught her. She begged him not to hurt her honor. He married her with his mother giving them her blessing.
altered the tale so that, as in Catskin
, the heroine fled a threatened marriage to another suitor—unwanted and far too old for her, but not her father.
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...
, written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone
Pentamerone
The Pentamerone is a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.-Background:...
.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it in A Book of Princes and Princesses
A Book of Princes and Princesses
A Book of Princes and Princesses is a 1970 anthology of 13 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
.
It is Aarne-Thompson classification system
Aarne-Thompson classification system
The Aarne–Thompson classification system is a system for classifying folktales. First developed by Antti Aarne and published in 1910, it was translated and enlarged by Stith Thompson...
folktale type 510B, unnatural love. Others of this type include Cap O' Rushes
Cap O' Rushes
"Cap-o'-Rushes" is an English fairy tale published by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales.Jacobs gives his source as "Contributed by Mrs. Walter-Thomas to "Suffolk Notes and Queries" of the Ipswich Journal, published by Mr. Lang in Longman's Magazine, vol. xiii., also in Folk-Lore September, 1890"...
, Catskin
Catskin
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in More English Fairy Tales. Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of Cinderella, identified as one of the basic types, the Unnatural Father, contrasting with Cinderella itself and Cap O' Rushes.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B,...
, Allerleirauh
Allerleirauh
Allerleirauh is a fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no. 65. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book....
, The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter
The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter
"The King Who Wished to Marry His Daughter" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Ann Darroch from Islay.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B, unnatural love...
, Donkeyskin
Donkeyskin
Donkeyskin is a French fairy tale told by Charles Perrault.Andrew Lang included it, somewhat euphemized, in The Grey Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510B, unnatural love...
, Little Cat Skin
Little Cat Skin
Little Catskin is an American fairy tale from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Big Nelt....
, Mossycoat
Mossycoat
Mossycoat is a fairy tale collected by Katherine M. Briggs and Ruth I. Tongue in Folktales of England.Also included within A Book of British Fairy Tales by Alan Garner....
, The Princess That Wore A Rabbit-Skin Dress
The Princess That Wore A Rabbit-Skin Dress
"The Princess That Wore a Rabbit-skin Dress" is an American fairy tale from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Uncle Tom Dixon.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B...
, and The Bear
The Bear (fairy tale)
The Bear is a fairy tale collected by Andrew Lang in The Grey Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson classification system type 510B, unnatural love...
.
Henriette-Julie de Murat
Henriette-Julie de Murat
Henriette-Julie de Murat was an aristocratic French writer of the late 17th century.She published fairy tales and slightly scandalous faux memoirs, one of which got her exiled to the provincial town of Loches for several years...
used a similar transformation in Bearskin
Bearskin (French fairy tale)
Bearskin is a French literary fairy tale attributed to Henriette-Julie de Murat.-Synopsis:A king and queen had lost all their children except a daughter, whom they were in no hurry to marry off. The king of the ogres, Rhinoceros, heard of her and decided to marry her; when he threatened the...
, for the heroine to escape not her father but an ogre husband.
Synopsis
A dying queen required her husband to promise to remarry only if the new bride was as beautiful as she was. Because he had only a daughter, soon after her death, he decided to remarry. After long inspection of many women, he realized that his daughter Preziosa was in fact as beautiful as her mother, and no other woman was. Preziosa took to her chambers in despair. An old woman gave her a chip of wood, which, when she put in her mouth, would changeShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
her into a bear. When her father summoned her to ask his councilors whether he could marry her, she used it.
When in the woods, she met with a prince and came up to him. Her gentleness astounded him, and he took her home. One day, wishing to comb her hair, she pulled out the wood. The prince saw her and fell sick from love. In his raving, he spoke of the bear, and his mother thought she had hurt him, so she ordered her killed. The servants, taken with her gentleness, brought her to the woods instead.
Discovering this, the prince got up long enough to catch the bear again, but when his pleas to her did not make her become human again, he took ill again. His mother asked what he needed, and he had the bear brought to his room to act as his servant. She did all that was needed, which only made the prince more in love with her and sicker. He begged for a kiss, and she kissed him; at this, the wood came out of her mouth, and he caught her. She begged him not to hurt her honor. He married her with his mother giving them her blessing.
Variants
Ruth Manning-SandersRuth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
altered the tale so that, as in Catskin
Catskin
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in More English Fairy Tales. Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of Cinderella, identified as one of the basic types, the Unnatural Father, contrasting with Cinderella itself and Cap O' Rushes.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B,...
, the heroine fled a threatened marriage to another suitor—unwanted and far too old for her, but not her father.