Adalmina's Pearl: Difference between revisions

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Adalmina is the only child of a king and queen, and gets gifts from her two [[Fairy Godmother|Fairy Godmothers]]. One gives her a pearl with the power to make her more beautiful, more intelligent, and more rich by every day. The other promises that if she should ever lose the pearl, and with it all the beauty, wit and riches, she will gain a pure, loving heart in their place. Adalmina grows up to be spoiled rotten, and being so much smarter, prettier and richer than anyone else, she becomes an unbelievably proud, vain, selfish, cold-hearted little tyrant, and is generally [[Royal Brat|a completely unbearable pain]] to everyone but her doting parents.

 

In the end the crown fits the girl, and she transforms back into the Adalmina everyone knew, with her memories and all her beauty, intelligence, and riches restored. Her heart however has permanently thawed, and she falls down on her knees teary-eyed to beg forgiveness for every cruel deed she has ever committed. The people rejoice, and the prince is happy to marry the princess.

 

* [[An Aesop]]: A good heart is more valuable than anything else. Topelius' version [[Anvilicious|drops some anvils]] in the end, where the rejoicing people happily sing "Adalmina's pearl is lovely but so much more lovely is her kind and loving heart".

* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]: Deconstructed. Adalmina's great beauty (and vanity), and how people treat her because of it, is one of the reasons she grows up to be so wicked.

* [[Clingy MacGuffin]]: They attempted to create one to bear the pearl. It worked until it failed.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]

* [[It's All About Me]]: Adalmina generally, but especially how she ignores the fact her chamber maids might easily get beheaded for letting her run away.

* [[Love Epiphany]]: The prince tends to get this treatment with the herder girl instead of the more obvious [[Love At First Sight]]

* [[Pimped-Out Dress]]: In most illustrations, to make clear Adalmina is a rich, rich princess.

* [[Rags to Royalty]]: King Thrushbeard Style.

* [[Requisite Royal Regalia]]: Enforced and justified with Adalmina's enchanted pearl crown

 

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[[Category:Fairy Tale]]

[[Category:Literature]]