East of the Sun and West of the Moon/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Fridge Horror: This tale and similar 'animal bridegroom' stories is meant to deal with a young girl's fear of an arranged marriage, reassuring her that however frightening he looks at first, he will be kind and gentle to her at night.
  • What an Idiot!: The bride comes off like this, what with paying no attention whatsoever to her own husband when he asks her to stick to one little condition. Of course, given the marriage age of that time period (early to mid-teens), the story is often taken as an allegory for most girls' immaturity at that age.
    • In other variants, it's the parents who are idiots. What do you do when your daughter and her (supposed) animal husband arrive for a visit? Spy on them long enough to notice that he's cursed, and what do you know--he's a really handsome man once he's taken off that animal skin! Barging into their room and throwing the pelt into the fire without even explaining yourselves first is going to do wonders.
    • Some versions are a bit kinder to the bride. While she does look at her husband at night, she honestly thinks she's helping break the curse (she wasn't told that the curse would break if she didn't look at him for a few more nights, and she was supposedly given a cure by a kindly wise woman, later revealed to be the troll stepmother).