#Emmanuel Cosquin

[kellyvela]

Did you know that there is a version of Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is a white wolf???

The Beast is a White Wolf???

THE BEAST IS A WHITE WOLF???

Yes, there is a French version of Beauty and the Beast called 'Le Loup Blanc' (The White Wolf) that appears in the book Contes Populaires de Lorraine by Emmanuel Cosquin, published in 1887. 

And if I think about a white wolf is really hard not to associated it with Jon Snow and his own white wolf, Ghost.

As I said before, Sansa and Jon fit perfectly in the classic roles of Beauty and the Beast, so this new discovery is really interesting.

More under the cut.

There are various online sources of 'Le Loup Blanc' in French, its original language. Sadly, I haven’t found an english translation of the complete tale, just a synopsis in Spanish and an english translation of the ending.     

But, from the synopsis in Spanish and the google translation of the French sources, I can tell you the following: 

A father has three daughters and before he goes on a trip, his two older daughters ask him for gifts.

The youngest daughter asks for nothing, but at his father insistence she asks him to bring her a “talking rose”.

The father gets surprised by his youngest daughter’s request because he never heard of a “talking rose” before, but he accepts the request anyway.  

As expected, the father can't find a “talking rose” anywhere, not until he found a beautiful castle where he discovers a bush of roses that could talk and sing.

The father takes one of the talking roses but at that moment the White Wolf appears saying that the father must die for taking the rose. 

The father begs for his life and tells the White Wolf that his youngest daughter asked him to bring her a talking rose.

At the father’s confession, the White Wolf tells him he will be pardoned and allowed to keep the talking rose only if he accepts to bring the first person he meets at home to him.

The first person the father meets at home is his youngest daughter.

The girl accepts to go to the White Wolf’s castle in her father’s place. The father takes the girl to the castle.

The White Wolf reveals, among other details, that he was cursed to be a white wolf but only during the day. At night he returns to his human form. 

The White Wolf asked them to keep his secrets.

The secrets are revealed at the end and...   

...Unfortunately, the tale has an unhappy ending. 

Talking about unhappy endings, Heidi Anne Heiner, the author of the book Beauty and the Beast Tales From Around the World, tells us:

Finally, the third and final unhappy ending in Beauty and the Beast Tales From Around the World is found in a tale that I translated myself for the book, The White Wolf. There are three tales by that title in the book, but this version was originally "Le Loup blanc” from Contes Populaires de Lorraine by Emmanuel Cosquin, a French tale. To my knowledge it has never been published in English translation before.

It is a short tale and is a straightforward ATU 425C (Beauty and the Beast) tale. But it is especially abbreviated for it ends like this:

After spending another night at the castle, the father returned home. The girl remained and soon began to enjoy the castle. She discovered all that she could desire, each day there were music concerts and nothing was forgotten for her entertainment. However, her mother and her sisters were filled with anxiety. They said, “Where is our poor child?” and “Where is our sister?” The father, upon his return, at first would not tell what had transpired, but in the end he yielded to their entreaties and told them where he had left his daughter. One of the eldest visited the sister and asked her what had happened. The girl resisted for a long time, but her sister persisted and ultimately she revealed her secret. Immediately, they heard horrible screams. The girl stood up, shuddering with fright. As soon as she went outside, the white wolf came to die at her feet. She then comprehended her mistake, but it was too late and she was unhappy for the rest of her life.

That one is particularly brutal for she has no second chances, no way to redeem herself for simply revealing the secret which most tales in this group provide so she can find redemption. Which makes it all the more fascinating. [Source]

How dare you?

Despite the unhappy ending, let’s talk about all the new information. Now we know that, according to Heidi Anne Heiner, there are at least three versions of Beauty and the Beast called “The White Wolf”, versions she compiled in her book, although I’m not sure if the three of them have the same sad ending.     

The rose in this tale is not just a rose, but a talking and singing rose. Roses and Songs are two themes that reminds me of Sansa Stark.

The White Wolf being a secret prince reminds me of Jon Snow. 

The prince's curse, being a white wolf during the day and returning to his human form at night, reminds me of Jon's ability of warg inside his albino direwolf, Ghost. It also reminds me of the possibility of Jon living inside Ghost before his resurrection.

Also, in the Show, during his proclamation as King in the North, Jon was called “The White Wolf”.

The promise of keeping the White Wolf’s secrets reminds me of Jon’s true parentage secret and Ned’s promise to protect him of the dangers its revelation could create.  

In the tale, the White Wolf asks the father and daughter not to tell anyone what they see and hear at the castle, but both of them breaks their promise. While the father only reveals the castle’s location, the girl reveals the White Wolf true identity.

I know there is not certainty that the Books ending being the same as the Show ending, but this tale unhappy conclusion reminds me of what happened in the Show: Sansa revealing Jon’s true parentage and Jon not “entirely” forgiving her for doing that, no matter her good intentions. 

There is also no certainty that GRRM knows about this particular version of Beauty and the Beast; this could be only an interesting coincidence.   

On a happier note, I found this beautiful fan-art of the tale:

(Art credit: Le Loup blanc by Sieskja) 

You can read the 'Le Loup Blanc' tale here (French - Complete Book), here (French - PDF), here (French - Complete Tale) and here (Spanish - Synopsis).

The author of the book Beauty and the Beast Tales From Around the World, also has a very extensive list of tales similar to Beauty and the beast that you can check here.

And on an even happier note, I must tell you that in many illustrations of Beauty and the Beast tales, Beauty is a redhead girl [you can see them here and here], and I will leave you with my favorite one:

This illustration came from: Boyle, Eleanor Vere. Beauty and the Beast: An Old Tale New-Told. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1875.

[butterflies-dragons]

so you’ve talked about ‘ a song of ice and fire couples ‘ that are like jonsa but what about couples from classic literature ex: Odysseus and Penelope or Hades and Persephone

I remember a jonsa blog that made a series of classic literature couples that parallel jonsa, but I can't find it now 😭

But I can tell you some couples from literature in general:

Robb and Laurie Blackburn from A Song for Lya by GRRM. Robb describes Laurie as a radiant auburn haired beautiful girl.

Dunk and Tanselle from the Hedge Knight by GRRM.

Beren and Lúthien from Tolkien universe. Beren spies Luthien dancing and singing to herself. More here.

Arwen and Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.

Wilfred of Ivanhoe and Lady Rowena of Hargottstandstede from IVANHOE by Sir Walter Scott. GRRM also parallels Rebecca with Sansa so we can count Ivanhoe and Rebecca as well.

Simon and Princess Miriamele Erkynalder from Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams.

Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine (Cathy) Linton from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast) written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. More here.

French version of Beauty and the Beast called 'Le Loup Blanc’ (The White Wolf) that appears in the book Contes Populaires de Lorraine by Emmanuel Cosquin, published in 1887.

Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza from Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley.

Eugénie Grandet and Charles Grandet from Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac: “Dear Eugenie, a cousin is better than a brother, because he can marry you,” said Charles. More here.

Selim and Zuleika from the Bride of Abydos by Lord Byron.

Vicomte Raoul de Chagny and Christine Daaé from Le Fantôme de l'Opéra ( The Phantom of the Opera) by Gaston Leroux.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot here. I will updated when I remember other couples.

[antigonick]

Hi, are you familiar with any good retelling of Beauty and the Beast? Sorry if this has been asked before.

Hmm, the Beauty and the Beast motif really pervades a lot of romance novels, even written today, but my list of good retellings is quite short. 

Beauty and the Beast, G-B Barbot de VilleneuveThe Courtship of Mr. Lyon, Angela CarterThe Tiger’s Bride, Angela CarterMrs. Beast, Carol Ann DuffyDeathless, Catherynne ValenteThe Phantom of the Opera, Gaston LerouxThe Scarlet Flower, Sergei AksakovProserpine, Mary ShelleyThe White Wolf, Emmanuel Cosquin

Commentaries include :The Uses of Enchantment, Bruno BettelheimBeauty and the Beast: Classic Tales of Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World, Maria Tatar (tbr)Beauty and the Beast Tales From Around the World, Heidi HeinerHave fun !