The Frog King, or Iron Henry + Incantation

The Frog King, or Iron Henry has been one of my favorite stories since I read it. I was devouring the Grimms' Fairytales*, noticed a lot of them were queer, mostly gay, and decided to go back to pay more attention.

For me, The Frog King is a tale that speaks about innocence and the lack of it. Both the titular character and the Princess that we meet are selfish, banal, superficial, and manipulative. The tone is set at the beginning of the final edition of the tale, because the story is set "in olden times, when wishing still helped".

The Princess's golden ball that she loves so much, even the well, where there's the frog, are all references to wishing, and this Princess is supposed to be the youngest and, therefore, the most innocent. That line (from the new edition) makes it obvious that wishes play a central role in the story.

However, neither of the first two characters are innocent. We don't know why the King was cursed by the witch, we don't know why the Princess finds frogs so disgusting, but we do know that, even though she mistreated him so much and insulted him, the King still said he would marry her, and she was marveled when she found out he was a handsome man, deciding to be gentle. Superficial enough?

The are perfect for each other, if you ask me, but there's a character that doesn't get much attention: Henry, the faithful servant of the King, who comes to take him back to the kingdom when the spell is broken. He loved his master so much he had to ask for three bands of iron to be made so his heart wouldn't break. Ergo, he was about to die.

"Iron Henry could be someone to ask for help when there's a one-sided love, even more if a queer person falls in love with a straight one". Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay.

This is either obsession of love, maybe a combination of both, but I'm inclined to believe it's mostly the later because he does not demand the King to love him back. He's content with his master marrying a selfish girl just as empty as he is (one is left to wonder why Henry would love someone like that, but we'll go with the flow).

The King wished to marry someone, the Princess wished to have nothing to do with the frog but everything with the handsome man, and Henry wished for his master to be free of the spell. Also, I find it interesting that his dialogue is a bit different when both editions are compared:

Original Edition

"No, my lord, it's really nothing

but the band around my heart,

which nearly came apart

when you turned into a frog and your fortune fell

and you were made to live in that dreadful well."

Seventh Edition

"No, my lord, it's really nothing

but the band around my heart,

for it nearly fell apart

when the witch did cast her spell

and made you live as a frog in a well."

In the original version, Henry gives more importance to the fact that he was a frog in a well, that his "fortune fell", while in the other he does mention the witch and the spell, and only speaks of those elements in a shorter sentence. He was actually more worried about his master's wellbeing, while the reason for it, which is the spell in this case, was inconsequential. It's not the fact he was "turned into a frog", but that his "fortune fell".

In the end, everyone got what they wished for, regardless of whether they were noble or not, and I think it's obvious I'm not speaking about royalty here. Both royals and the servant got what they wanted the most, no matter their values and sense of self. It could be a perfect example of "be careful what you wish for", because we all know that a marriage between two people such as the King and the Princess is not meant to last.

With this in mind, Iron Henry could be someone to ask for help when there's a one-sided love, even more if a queer person falls in love with a straight one. 

Calling for Iron Henry's Help

Faithful Servant, Iron Henry,

Heal this heartbreak, stop this aching.

This I ask and this I wish,

Three Iron bands I need for me.

I initially said that "there's obviously no hope for the feeling to be mutual", but you never know. Now that I think about it, some people are more fluid about their sexuality and preference as Diamond (2016, p. 6) explains:

Sexual orientation is not a static and categorical trait (...) it can be observed in the high numbers of sexual minority men and women who show changes in their pattern of attractions over time, well into adulthood; it can be observed in the high numbers of men and women who flexibly engage in patterns of sexual behavior that do not concord with their self-described identity or attractions.

I've heard several stories about people who try being with someone of the same gender and discover they're just as attracted to that person as to someone of the opposite sex. In this sense, asking for Henry's help means acknowledging that this person may or may not return your feeling, may or may not give an opportunity (or another one after a failed attempt), but that you deserve healing and happiness in your life no matter what they decide. It's also accepting them as they are without compromising your own self.

As a side note, I find it interesting that the Grimms specified, in the seventh edition, that the well was "beneath an old linden tree", because of the symbolism it has (Alina-Maria et al, 2015, pp: 238-242):

In China, the linden tree is named the tree of forgetfulness (...) According to the greek legends, the linden tree, was a symbol of marital love and of the perfect wife, of simplicity, innocence and kindness. (...) Became in the Greek mythology the sacred tree of Aphrodite. (...) In the Hellenic period of Egypt, the masks ofthe sarcophagus of Fayoum were made of linden wood. (...) Herodot mentiones the Scythian soothsayers using the leaf of the linden tree in order to obtain inspiration and to guess the future. (...) In the mythology of Ancient Rome, the linden tree was a symbol of marital love and fidelity in the couple. (...) Was a symbol of friendship and fidelity. Under the crown of the linden tree the sick people hoped to obtain healing, this tree was both a masculine and a feminine symbol. (...) In the Romanian imaginary the linden trees are a constant presence as they are in the traditions connected to religious celebrations.

Could it be possible that such a magical plant would have transformed the heart of the King? Maybe. There's also the matter of the eight white horses Henry comes with, a number that has been associated with the infinity symbol, while white can also signifies purity and death depending on who you ask. Given the context, Henry could also be a traveler between the worlds, and an incorruptible spirit, a ray light that may or may not heal/help this new marriage.

Some things to think about, right?

*I originally wrote this for my Patreon, but since I'm focusing on the blog now, I wanted to share an updated version here.

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