There is the question of what is belief–is it the delusion of believing something that doesn’t exist or the belief in something marvelous and yet the “substance of things not seen.” Both the Princess and Curdie are faced with this choice. We have the fear of things that go bump in the night and acts of courage and heroism and the thin line between these and foolhardiness. I will leave you discover what happens, particularly to the awful goblin queen with stone shoes to cover her six toed feet! Like a good fairy tale or fantasy, the story works on multiple levels. From here events lead rapidly to the climax of a goblin invasion to seize Princess Irene. Irene takes him to see the great grandmother, but he can see neither the thread nor the grandmother and leaves pettishly, despite his rescue. Later, a strong silver thread that the grandmother has given her leads her to return the favor and rescue Curdie, when he falls captive to the goblins after repeated attempts to discover their nefarious purposes in digging under the mountain. Not all believe she exists or can see her, but Princess Irene can. Though chastised, the princess acquires a mysterious friend, a wise great grandmother, ageless it seems. She and her nurse are rescued from one nearly tragic venture into the wilds at night by the son of a miner, Curdie by name, who sings the goblins away with his verse and leads them to the castle.
Princess Irene lives on the side of a beautiful mountain that harbors a dark secret in terms of a goblin kingdom, whose rulers are pursuing a nefarious purpose–nothing less than kidnapping the princess.
Chesterton said “made a difference to my whole existence.” I am not sure that I can say the same but I did find myself impressed once again with George MacDonald’s writing and asking why I hadn’t read this sooner.
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