Le Serpentin Vert (translated as ''Green Serpent'' or ''Green Dragon'') is a French fairy tale written by Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, popular in its day and representative of European folklore, that was published in her book ''New Tales, or Fairies in Fashion'' (''Contes Nouveaux ou Les Fées à la Mode''), in 1698. The serpent is representative of a

European dragon The European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. The Roman poet Virgil in his poem ''Culex'' lines 163-201, describing a shepherd having a fight with a big constricting snake, ca ...

. His description is: "he has green wings, a many-coloured body, ivory jaws, fiery eyes, and long, bristling hair." The Green Dragon is really a handsome king placed under a spell for seven years by Magotine, a wicked fairy. In many ways the tale is based on the story of

Eros and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psy ...

, to which the narration pays conscious homage when referring to the "discovery" of the Green Dragon.

Plot

Feast scene

This story begins with a celebration feast for two twin princesses, who would later be named Laidronette and Bellotte. The King and Queen invite many fairies but forgot to invite Magotine, the older sister of

Carabosse The Wicked Fairy is the antagonist of ''Sleeping Beauty''. In some adaptations she is known as Carabosse, and she is named Maleficent in Walt Disney media. Role in the tale In Charles Perrault's ''Sleeping Beauty'', published in 1697 in ''Histo ...

. Magotine was the oldest and most wicked fairy that existed. When she found out about the party, she was so furious for not being invited that she placed a spell on Laidronette that turns her into the ugliest woman in the world. The other fairies intercede and persuade Magotine to stop before she has cast a similar spell on Bellotte.

Tower scene

Years pass by. Laidronette grows up intelligent but lonely. She asks to live in a tower so that she does not have to see anyone. However one day she roams outside, and the Green Serpent sees her and begins to take an interest in her. She is terrified of the Green Serpent at first sight and flees from him, and accidentally gets swept out to sea. The Green Serpent appears swimming alongside her boat, but she refuses his help. She nearly dies in the ocean.

Faraway kingdom scene

When Laidronette gains consciousness she finds she has been saved and taken to be the guest of an unknown king in a far away kingdom. The Green Serpent's identity as the spell-bound king is revealed to the readers. However, Laidronnette is not taken to see the king and does not learn this secret. All she knows is that an unseen king is taking very good care of her. Then the serpent starts talking to her at night, and is such a good companion over the years she falls in love with his conversation, sight unseen, and they get married. The Green Serpent king convinces his wife to wait until the end of the seven-year period, to see what he looks like, or else his wicked enchantment in the form of a dragon will start all over again. Laidronette compares her own marriage with that of

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, and tries to resist being "like Psyche" by waiting patiently for seven years. However, like Psyche, she is convinced by her family to take one look at her husband. When Laidronette discovers he is the same Green Serpent she once was so afraid of, war breaks out in the kingdom, and Magotine ruins the kingdom. The Green Serpent is sent into Hades while Laidronette is taken to become Magotine's prisoner and servant.

Tribulations and tests

The serpent sends a good fairy to assist Laidronette in very difficult trials that Magotine thinks up: to spin cobwebs into hair and the hair into fishnets, to climb a mountain wearing iron shoes and a millstone around the neck, to fill a pitcher full of holes. In one of Laidronette's errands as a servant, she finds the "waters of discernment" and when she drinks it, she becomes wiser, when she splashes it on her face, her ugliness vanishes and she regains her natural beauty.

Enchanted forest

The good fairy then sends Laidronette into an

enchanted forest In folklore and fantasy, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy. ...

to hide for several years. Finally however when a period of time or imprisonment for the Green Serpent has come to an end, Laidronette returns to Magotine and Magotine tells her to go into Hades and get her the "water of life." Laidronette goes.

Descent into Hades

The personification of "Love" comes to assist Laidronette in going down into Hades and speaking to

Proserpina Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whose ...

, reminding her that is where her husband is held captive. Once she goes into Hades, "Love" restores the dragon back to his original human form. After Laidronette and her husband are united in Hades, "Love" brings the couple back to Magotine, and forces Magotine to break her spells, and then sends the couple back to Laidronette's homeland. In the end, a moral is given: Love is said to be stronger than Magotine.

Analysis

Parallels

German philologist Ludwig Friedländer listed ''Le Serpentin Vert'' (translated as "The Green Dragon") as part of the "

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called '' The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between P ...

" cycle of stories (which later became known as "

The Search for the Lost Husband In folkloristics, "The Animal as Bridegroom" refers to a group of folk and fairy tales about a human woman marrying or being betrothed to an animal. The animal is revealed to be a human prince in disguise or under a curse. Most of these tales are ...

"). Similarly, scholar Jacques Barchilon considers the tale a literary retelling by MMe. d'Aulnoy of the Apuleian story. The inhuman husband tells Laidronette the story of Cupid and Psyche as a cautionary tale to convince her to wait until the right time to reveal himself. However, her relatives provoke her in breaking the taboo. According to Barbara Fass Leavy, the reference to the tale then fails to teach Laidronette, who "must experience" Psyche's journey to learn the lesson intended.

Tale type

According to scholar Jack Zipes, the tale of ''The Green Serpent'' is classified in the international system as Aarne–Thompson–Uther type ATU 425, "The Search for The Lost Husband", stories where a girl or a princess is betrothed to a monstrous bridegroom, a la ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

''. More especifically, the tale is type 425B, "Son of the Witch", a category of tales wherein the heroine is forced to work for a witch on dangerous and impossible tasks. In the Catalogue of French Folktales, French scholars

Paul Delarue Paul Alfred Delarue, born 20 April 1889 in Saint-Didier, Nièvre, died 25 July 1956 in Autun, Saône-et-Loire, was a French folklorist. A world-renowned specialist in the field of folklore, his crowning achievement was his , a catalog of folkt ...

and Marie-Louise Thèneze classify the tale as type 425A (or French ''sous-type'' A), following 's classification: ''Cupid and Psyche'' is type 425A with the witch's tasks, whereas type 425B contains the motif of gifts to the heroine and the "buying three nights" episode.

Translations

The story is sometimes translated as ''The Green Dragon'', after its main character. French illustrator

Edmund Dulac Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École ...

translated the tale as ''The Green Serpent'' in his book ''Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations''. Literary critic

Roger Sale Roger Sale (1932–May 11, 2017) was an American literary critic and author, brother of Kirkpatrick Sale and father of Tim Sale. He spent most of his career as a professor of English at the University of Washington. Children's literature Sale's i ...

translated the tale as ''Green Snake''. The tale was also translated by professor A. S. Byatt as ''The Great Green Worm'' and included in compilation ''Wonder Tales: Six Stories of Enchantment'', edited by

Marina Warner Dame Marina Sarah Warner, (born 9 November 1946) is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth. She has written for many publicat ...

Legacy

The tale was one of many from d'Aulnoy's pen to be adapted to the stage by

James Planché James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including ...

, as part of his ''Fairy Extravaganza''. He also translated the tale as ''Green-Serpent'', and renamed it ''The Island of Jewels'' when he adapted the tale to the stage.

References

External links

The SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages - The Green Serpent
(a reprint from ''The Fairy Tales of Madame D'Aulnoy'' by Miss Annie Macdonell and Miss Lee, English translators. London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1892.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Serpent, The Works by Madame d'Aulnoy Works about dragons ATU 400-459