Puss in Boots is probably the most characteristic fairy tale by Charles Perrault. There are several reasons for that claim: 1. Its main theme is climbing up the social ladder with clear allusions to the circumstances in the court of Louis XIV. Some things are reserved for aristocracy only and for other life is just not fair. 2. While rich and noble enjoy their privileges skillful servants can still skim some (or even most) of the cream if they play their cards right. This means they need to learn to talk the language of their master - language of cheating, pretending, and stealing. 3. The biography of Charles Perrault is in many points similar to the social ascent of poor miller's boy. He also had a magical helper (first, his brother, then minister Foucalt), he was also kissing up to the king, he also played all kinds of games to reach and strengthen his position in the court, right to the marriage with a beautiful (and very young) princess. 4. While we can easily find predecessors to Puss in Boots (often titled The Master Cat) in Giovanni Francesco Straparola's Constantino Fortunato and Giambattista Basile's Cagliuso this classic fairy tale doesn't belong to any of the fairy tale collections published after 16th century. Except for Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose, of course. Brothers Grimm included it in their first version of Kinder and Hausmarchen but skipped in later ones. The reason was, of course, French origin of the tale which seemed inappropriate considering the fact Napoleon occupied the majority of German countries at the time of publishing. 5. Puss in Boots is loaded with Perrault's ironic, sometimes almost sarcastic descriptions focused on the relationships in a society where clothes make the man and one's image overpowers one's acts. The society where servants de fact ran the world yet they were still treated as a kind of furniture. Here is a short summary with illustrations by John Hassall: The miller had three sons. When he died the oldest got the mill, the middle the donkey, and the youngest the cat. At first, boy wanted to kille the cat and use his skin for a pair of gloves. But the cat convinced him to get him a pair of boots, so he'll show him his real value. Puss sprang up and shut the rabbit in With stolen goods the cat started building false identity for his master. He became Marquis Carabas. Puss ran after them crying: "Help!" "You must tell him that this field belongs to my master!" "I am glad to see you, king," puss said. This is how a poor miller's boy became Marquis carabas. with stolen presents, borrowed clothes, stolen property, and, above all, with a skillful helper - the puss in boots.
image credits: https://john-hassall-fan-page.page.tl/Puss-in-Boots.htm The book was published in London by Blackie & Son Limited, probably in 1914
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Who Was Charles Perrault?He wrote only eight fairy tales in prose and three in verse, yet he is rightfully called the father of modern fairy tale. Archives
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