Once Upon a Time II – The Goose Girl
Apr 14th, 2008 by heidi
I finished The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale while working through The Bloody Chamber and have to confess that my frame of mind was far more conducive to the former!
The Goose Girl is a re-telling of the Grimms’ fairy tale of the same name, which tells the story of a princess-turned-goose girl who must win back her throne and the hand of her rightful bridegroom. I hadn’t read the fairy tale in years, although I recalled some of the story as I read Hale’s book. I found Ani, the main character, very sweet and sympathetic. It surprised me, when I went back and re-read the original story, how unlikeable the princess is in the original! I suspect that it’s all down to era; the Grimms’ lesson was understandable for the time, namely, that royalty was worthy of good things simply by virtue of being royal, whereas commoners ought to know their place and not aspire to more. Hale is a twentieth-century writer and Ani has to earn her crown by being good both as a goose girl and as a princess; she regains her royalty because she deserves it, not because she is simply entitled to it by being born a princess.
The writing quality is less Baroque than Carter’s – Hale is telling a story to young adults and her writing matches the simplicity of Ani’s own personality. She is who she is; she is incapable of deceit and manipulation and so must win back her crown by being the kind, generous person that she is. I would have liked to have seen her love interest’s personality more fleshed out, as he seems more archetypal “Good Prince” than real, especially in comparison both with Ani and the other secondary characters, but that was only a small complaint.
An easy enough read and thoroughly enjoyable, especially if you’re in the mood for a happy ending!
This is the only book of Hale’s that I have read thus far but I consider myself a fan. My wife has all of her books and swears by them. I’ve spent enough time on Hale’s website to dub her a very sweet, nice person who has the kind of enthusiasm about her work that is infectious. If you haven’t checked out her website I highly recommend it. She has ‘extras’ for each book, like the extras on a DVD, that are really fun to get into after you’ve read the story.