two illustrations for "Donkey Skin” by Nadezhda Illarionova
illustration by Harry Clarke
.:.
Donkey Skin (dir. Jacques Demy, 1970)
.:.
illustration by John D. Batten
Arthur Rackham's illustration for Donkeyskin
Donkeyskin is an original fairytale, first published in 1695 by french author Charles Perrault. It belongs to the same genre of dark and adult themed tales such as Bluebeard, which deal with stark and harsh realities. It combines elements of fairytales that we are all familiar with - mistreated and downtrodden girl who suceeds against the odds, the concealment of beauty with grotesque transformation, the hybrid of the bestial and human - or exploration of the animal side of human nature, a handsome prince, a ring that will only fit the original wearer, fairy godmothers. It has all the familiar tropes, yet the subject matter - of incest and paternal abuse is in sharp contrast to more glittery interpretations of Cinderella for example, that we are acquainted with.
The King is married to a beautiful queen, who on her deathbed makes the King promise that if he re-marries it will be to a woman even more beatutiful than herself (as she does not believe this is possible), unfortunately, the only female who fits the role is the King's own daughter, and so he lusts after her, pressing her to become his wife. This unnatural yearning causes the girl to seek out her fairy godmother, who in an effort to stave off the King's vile attentions persuades the girl to request ever more elaborate dresses from him (believing he will find the task of sourcing them impossible). Sadly the dresses are procured, one a dress as bright as the sun, one a dress the colour of the moon, one a dress all the colours of the sky, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey (which crapped gold, and thus was the source of his kingdom's wealth - his kingdom was literally built on donkey shit!). The only option left to the poor girl is to escape, in the guise of the final costume - the donkeyskin.
"Saint Dympna, a seventh century princess and now the patron saint of the insane, was also wanted in marriage by her father, a king of Brittany, Britain or Ireland. When she refused and ran away, having already committed herself to her Christian faith, he found and beheaded her. She even has a "godmother" figure in her elderly confessor who dies with her"
Marina Warner, The Beast and the Blonde, 1994 (quote found here)
The choice of the donkey is important I think. It is often regarded as a lowly farmyard animal, certainly less regal in aspect than the horse. Yet it is famed in literature from early times. Apulieus wrote 'The Golden Ass', and Aesop also included a donkey in his fables. The donkey also of course was the vehicle of choice for the Virgin Mary in the traditional biblical story.
Robed in this hideous apparel she escapes, and assumes the disguise of a servant, eventually a prince spys her trying on her beautiful dresses through a keyhole and marries her. I can't help but see this as eventual escape through degradation, adopting the guise of an lowly animal. Through concealment and transformation of form she is liberated, by transcending her human form she is able to eventually find 'happiness' and a relationship away from the abuse of her father,
"One day she was sitting on the banks of a stream bewailing her wretched lot, when she suddenly caught sight of herself in the water. Her hair and part of her face was quite concealed by the ass’s head, which was drawn right over like a hood, and the filthy matted skin covered her whole body. It was the first time she had seen herself as other people saw her, and she was filled with shame at the spectacle. Then she threw off her disguise and jumped into the water, plunging in again and again, till she shone like ivory. When it was time to go back to the farm, she was forced to put on the skin which disguised her, and now seemed more dirty than ever; but, as she did so, she comforted herself with the thought that to-morrow was a holiday, and that she would be able for a few hours to forget that she was a farm girl, and be a princess once more"
Charles Perrault, Donkeyskin
What is genuinely alarming and disconcerting here is the male gaze - the central character of Donkeyskin is unable to escape, first her own lecherous father lusts after her, and then she is observed through a keyhole whilst dressing (unwanted attentions from the Prince). It is clear that she has no future without the involvement of the male - she must submit to male domination. Her sole merits in the eyes of the court are her beauty (once she disrobes from her bestial cloak) and her skills at cooking (she bakes the lovesick prince a cake) but she does not appear to be valued for herself, she is viewed as currency.
There have been numerous contemporary explorations of this particular name, notably the Jacques Demy film of the same name, where Catherine Deneuve plays the role of Donkeyskin.
The King is married to a beautiful queen, who on her deathbed makes the King promise that if he re-marries it will be to a woman even more beatutiful than herself (as she does not believe this is possible), unfortunately, the only female who fits the role is the King's own daughter, and so he lusts after her, pressing her to become his wife. This unnatural yearning causes the girl to seek out her fairy godmother, who in an effort to stave off the King's vile attentions persuades the girl to request ever more elaborate dresses from him (believing he will find the task of sourcing them impossible). Sadly the dresses are procured, one a dress as bright as the sun, one a dress the colour of the moon, one a dress all the colours of the sky, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey (which crapped gold, and thus was the source of his kingdom's wealth - his kingdom was literally built on donkey shit!). The only option left to the poor girl is to escape, in the guise of the final costume - the donkeyskin.
"Saint Dympna, a seventh century princess and now the patron saint of the insane, was also wanted in marriage by her father, a king of Brittany, Britain or Ireland. When she refused and ran away, having already committed herself to her Christian faith, he found and beheaded her. She even has a "godmother" figure in her elderly confessor who dies with her"
Marina Warner, The Beast and the Blonde, 1994 (quote found here)
The choice of the donkey is important I think. It is often regarded as a lowly farmyard animal, certainly less regal in aspect than the horse. Yet it is famed in literature from early times. Apulieus wrote 'The Golden Ass', and Aesop also included a donkey in his fables. The donkey also of course was the vehicle of choice for the Virgin Mary in the traditional biblical story.
Robed in this hideous apparel she escapes, and assumes the disguise of a servant, eventually a prince spys her trying on her beautiful dresses through a keyhole and marries her. I can't help but see this as eventual escape through degradation, adopting the guise of an lowly animal. Through concealment and transformation of form she is liberated, by transcending her human form she is able to eventually find 'happiness' and a relationship away from the abuse of her father,
"One day she was sitting on the banks of a stream bewailing her wretched lot, when she suddenly caught sight of herself in the water. Her hair and part of her face was quite concealed by the ass’s head, which was drawn right over like a hood, and the filthy matted skin covered her whole body. It was the first time she had seen herself as other people saw her, and she was filled with shame at the spectacle. Then she threw off her disguise and jumped into the water, plunging in again and again, till she shone like ivory. When it was time to go back to the farm, she was forced to put on the skin which disguised her, and now seemed more dirty than ever; but, as she did so, she comforted herself with the thought that to-morrow was a holiday, and that she would be able for a few hours to forget that she was a farm girl, and be a princess once more"
Charles Perrault, Donkeyskin
What is genuinely alarming and disconcerting here is the male gaze - the central character of Donkeyskin is unable to escape, first her own lecherous father lusts after her, and then she is observed through a keyhole whilst dressing (unwanted attentions from the Prince). It is clear that she has no future without the involvement of the male - she must submit to male domination. Her sole merits in the eyes of the court are her beauty (once she disrobes from her bestial cloak) and her skills at cooking (she bakes the lovesick prince a cake) but she does not appear to be valued for herself, she is viewed as currency.
There have been numerous contemporary explorations of this particular name, notably the Jacques Demy film of the same name, where Catherine Deneuve plays the role of Donkeyskin.
No comments:
Post a Comment