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Bearskin

 Bearskin
type
TVTItem
 Bearskin
label
Bearskin
 Bearskin
page
Bearskin
 Bearskin
comment
Bearskin is a German Fairy Tale collected by The Brothers Grimm.A soldier can not return home after he leaves the army, and can not find a job. Desperation drives him to make a deal with the Devil. For the next seven years, he will carry a purse that's always full of gold. However, he must wear a bearskin and neither pray nor wash nor cut his hair in all that time. If he survives, he can keep the purse, but if he dies, the Devil gets his soul.The soldier spends several years Walking the Earth, giving away gold to the poor and asking them to pray for him. One night, he rescues an old man from prison for debt, and the man promises the hand of one of his daughters in gratitude. The older two reject him, but the youngest agrees, knowing that only a good man would have rescued her father. He gives her half of a ring and asks her to wait for him, telling her if he doesn't return after three years, she is free to marry someone else.He survives to the end of the term, gets to keep the purse, and cleans himself up before visiting the old man again. Everyone but the youngest daughter takes a keen interest in the handsome newcomer, especially when he says he's come to seek a bride. The older girls go to pretty themselves up, letting him reveal himself to the youngest girl in private — by showing her the other half of the ring. They marry in great joy, but the older sisters are eaten alive with envy and ultimately kill themselves. The Devil is pleased: he got two souls instead of one.Full text here.
 Bearskin
fetched
2024-03-19T10:16:25Z
 Bearskin
parsed
2024-03-19T10:16:25Z
 Bearskin
processingComment
Dropped link to AnAesop: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Bearskin
processingComment
Dropped link to HeCleansUpNicely: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Bearskin
processingUnknown
HeCleansUpNicely
 Bearskin
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Bearskin / int_121b3725
type
Age Lift
 Bearskin / int_121b3725
comment
Age Lift: Some adaptations change the birthplace of the youngest child. For example, the English dub of Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics makes Christina the middle daughter in the show’s adaptation of the episode.
 Bearskin / int_121b3725
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_121b3725
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_121b3725
 Bearskin / int_1a09b4f9
type
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry
 Bearskin / int_1a09b4f9
comment
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: While the gentle youngest daughter waits for her bridegroom, her more worldly sisters make endless 'bear' jokes about her fiancé.
 Bearskin / int_1a09b4f9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_1a09b4f9
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1.0
 Bearskin
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Bearskin / int_1a09b4f9
 Bearskin / int_1aa30797
type
Single Woman Seeks Good Man
 Bearskin / int_1aa30797
comment
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: The third and youngest daughter finds Bearskin's character appealing enough that she doesn't mind his appearance.
 Bearskin / int_1aa30797
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_1aa30797
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Bearskin / int_1aa30797
 Bearskin / int_1d2400e9
type
Green-Eyed Monster
 Bearskin / int_1d2400e9
comment
Green-Eyed Monster: The elder daughters.
 Bearskin / int_1d2400e9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_1d2400e9
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 Bearskin
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Bearskin / int_1d2400e9
 Bearskin / int_1fc8335e
type
Deal with the Devil
 Bearskin / int_1fc8335e
comment
Deal with the Devil: The mainspring of the plot. But it's a fair deal, and from Satan's perspective he ultimately gets the better half of it.
 Bearskin / int_1fc8335e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_1fc8335e
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 Bearskin
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Bearskin / int_1fc8335e
 Bearskin / int_2740531a
type
She Cleans Up Nicely
 Bearskin / int_2740531a
comment
She Cleans Up Nicely: Gender-flipped. The soldier is actually quite handsome when he's allowed to bathe, trim his hair, and wear nice clothes. Even his own fiancée doesn't recognize him until he shows her his engagement ring.
 Bearskin / int_2740531a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_2740531a
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1.0
 Bearskin
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Bearskin / int_2740531a
 Bearskin / int_2a02e5c9
type
Guile Hero
 Bearskin / int_2a02e5c9
comment
Guile Hero: Bearskin's rather clever Loophole Abuse and his invocation of a Secret Test of Character show him to be a rather clever man and a lot more capable than most luckless fools who make a Deal with the Devil. The fact that the Devil managed to get *two souls* instead of one when the older sisters commit suicide is a lucky accident. Bearskin won the deal.
 Bearskin / int_2a02e5c9
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1.0
 Bearskin / int_2a02e5c9
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Bearskin / int_2a02e5c9
 Bearskin / int_2cd9889
type
No Place for a Warrior
 Bearskin / int_2cd9889
comment
No Place for a Warrior: The protagonist in the Grimm version is an honorable, talented soldier, but is left destitute in peacetime. His own brothers abandon him because he has no other skills.
 Bearskin / int_2cd9889
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_2cd9889
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1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_2cd9889
 Bearskin / int_2e8441c9
type
The Bad Guy Wins
 Bearskin / int_2e8441c9
comment
The Bad Guy Wins: Arguably. Bearskin is freed from the deal and he and his bride find happiness, but the Devil is also happy with how the deal turned out; he lost the soul he was looking for but gained two in its place after the older sisters committed suicide, and all it cost him was the magic purse.
 Bearskin / int_2e8441c9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_2e8441c9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_2e8441c9
 Bearskin / int_3f7a958b
type
Secret Test of Character
 Bearskin / int_3f7a958b
comment
Secret Test of Character: The youngest daughter, who agrees to marry Bearskin because she can see he is a good man, shows her own fidelity by rejecting what looks like a much better prospect — the handsome and rich young visitor who, as we already know, is her fiancé.
 Bearskin / int_3f7a958b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_3f7a958b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_3f7a958b
 Bearskin / int_43e50d1c
type
Two Halves Make a Plot
 Bearskin / int_43e50d1c
comment
Two Halves Make a Plot: The youngest daughter of the family agrees to marry Bearskin in exchange for the financial help he gave to their father, and Bearskin gives her half of an engagement ring, and then leaves, keeping the other half for himself. Some time afterward, he returns cleaned up and handsome, and proves his identity by producing the other half of the ring.
 Bearskin / int_43e50d1c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_43e50d1c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_43e50d1c
 Bearskin / int_46410e0c
type
Win-Win Ending
 Bearskin / int_46410e0c
comment
Win-Win Ending: Both the Devil and Bearskin got what they wanted from the deal: Bearskin is alive, rich, and married, and while the Devil didn't get his soul, he got an even better consolation prize in the form of the two older sisters, who commit suicide upon realizing who they turned down.
 Bearskin / int_46410e0c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_46410e0c
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 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_46410e0c
 Bearskin / int_598513bb
type
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling
 Bearskin / int_598513bb
comment
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The youngest is the one who redeems her father's promise to his benefactor. She is also the only one of the three who considers Bearskin's selfless act; her two sisters see only his horrid appearance.
 Bearskin / int_598513bb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_598513bb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_598513bb
 Bearskin / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 Bearskin / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide The two elder sisters, once they figure out who the handsome man who picked up the youngest sibling was. In some versions of the story, the father is about to kill himself over his debts when Bearskin rescues him.
 Bearskin / int_6d332aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_6d332aea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_6d332aea
 Bearskin / int_6fbe85e6
type
Adaptation Personality Change
 Bearskin / int_6fbe85e6
comment
Adaptation Personality Change: The opening lines of the Grimmelhousen version and the opening lines of the Grimm version are polar opposites. Grimmelhousen's soldier is a deserter who hid in the woods until cold and hunger replaced bullets as the immediate danger. Grimm's soldier "was always at the very front when it was raining bullets" and his misfortune comes from the fact that the war ends, leaving him useless to society.
 Bearskin / int_6fbe85e6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_6fbe85e6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_6fbe85e6
 Bearskin / int_8c41d6e9
type
Nameless Narrative
 Bearskin / int_8c41d6e9
comment
Nameless Narrative: Only Bearskin, and that's a nickname.
 Bearskin / int_8c41d6e9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_8c41d6e9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_8c41d6e9
 Bearskin / int_8e9cf84e
type
 Bearskin / int_8e9cf84e
comment
"Blind Idiot" Translation: Some foreign translators of the tale (even a few English ones) were apparently confused by Bearskin's nickname and have the soldier actually turn into a bear instead of just wearing a skin. This makes the later scenes where he falls in love with the princess and completes humane acts accidentally humorous.
 Bearskin / int_8e9cf84e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_8e9cf84e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_8e9cf84e
 Bearskin / int_8ed5c6e4
type
Asshole Victim
 Bearskin / int_8ed5c6e4
comment
Asshole Victim: The two older daughters kill themselves and go to Hell, but given that they looked only at appearances and mocked their sister for agreeing to marry Bearskin, it's hard to pity them.
 Bearskin / int_8ed5c6e4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_8ed5c6e4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_8ed5c6e4
 Bearskin / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 Bearskin / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: The entire story is the manipulations of Satan.
 Bearskin / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_970c790a
 Bearskin / int_a24eaaf2
type
Nemean Skinning
 Bearskin / int_a24eaaf2
comment
Nemean Skinning: The Devil gives the hero the titular Bearskin to wear after the pact had been made.
 Bearskin / int_a24eaaf2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_a24eaaf2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_a24eaaf2
 Bearskin / int_a63fd70f
type
The Promise
 Bearskin / int_a63fd70f
comment
The Promise: The man that Bearskin helps out of debt prison promises that his benefactor could marry one of his daughters. Two of them are unwilling because he looks like a slob (showing the problems with making promises without asking the people involved), but the youngest agrees because she realizes that someone who was willing to save her father from debt prison without knowing him or asking for a reward is a good catch, regardless of what he looks like.
 Bearskin / int_a63fd70f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_a63fd70f
featureConfidence
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 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_a63fd70f
 Bearskin / int_a6be3ad5
type
Rule of Seven
 Bearskin / int_a6be3ad5
comment
Rule of Seven: Seven years is the term of the bargain.
 Bearskin / int_a6be3ad5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_a6be3ad5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_a6be3ad5
 Bearskin / int_a6cda066
type
Rule of Three
 Bearskin / int_a6cda066
comment
Rule of Three: Three daughters. Three years for the youngest to wait for her husband to return.
 Bearskin / int_a6cda066
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_a6cda066
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_a6cda066
 Bearskin / int_b016f599
type
Person with the Clothing
 Bearskin / int_b016f599
comment
Person with the Clothing: The soldier is just 'the man in the bearskin' for most of the story.
 Bearskin / int_b016f599
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_b016f599
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_b016f599
 Bearskin / int_b1346878
type
Fate Worse than Death
 Bearskin / int_b1346878
comment
Fate Worse than Death: If the soldier dies during the seven years, his soul is going straight to Hell.
 Bearskin / int_b1346878
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_b1346878
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_b1346878
 Bearskin / int_b1dde8fd
type
Loophole Abuse
 Bearskin / int_b1dde8fd
comment
Loophole Abuse: Part of the Deal with the Devil is that the soldier isn't permitted to pray for help. He gets around this by giving generously to the poor and asking them to pray for him, instead, and it works: he survives, keeps the unlimited supply of gold, and gets the girl. If only the story ended there...
 Bearskin / int_b1dde8fd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_b1dde8fd
featureConfidence
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 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_b1dde8fd
 Bearskin / int_b3c730b
type
Celestial Deadline
 Bearskin / int_b3c730b
comment
Celestial Deadline: He has to wait out the seven years.
 Bearskin / int_b3c730b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_b3c730b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_b3c730b
 Bearskin / int_c0d598fe
type
Evil Gloating
 Bearskin / int_c0d598fe
comment
Evil Gloating: At the end, after the elder sisters have killed themselves, the Devil knocks at the door and gloats to the soldier: "See, now I have two souls in place of your one!"
 Bearskin / int_c0d598fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_c0d598fe
featureConfidence
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 Bearskin
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Bearskin / int_c0d598fe
 Bearskin / int_c8d6d621
type
I Will Wait for You
 Bearskin / int_c8d6d621
comment
I Will Wait for You: The youngest daughter.
 Bearskin / int_c8d6d621
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_c8d6d621
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_c8d6d621
 Bearskin / int_e313bcdc
type
Ignore the Fanservice
 Bearskin / int_e313bcdc
comment
Ignore the Fanservice: The stranger who visits the house when the three years are up is handsome enough that both the older sisters fall for him, but the youngest isn't interested because she promised to wait for Bearskin. Which is why he's able to privately reveal to her that he is Bearskin, as the other two had gone to their rooms to pretty up for their guest.
 Bearskin / int_e313bcdc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_e313bcdc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_e313bcdc
 Bearskin / int_ef3bf14b
type
Child Marriage Veto
 Bearskin / int_ef3bf14b
comment
Child Marriage Veto: The older daughters reject him, despite their father's promise, and it's implied that Bearskin wouldn't have forced the issue if the youngest had been unwilling too.
 Bearskin / int_ef3bf14b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_ef3bf14b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_ef3bf14b
 Bearskin / int_f6e99f40
type
Youngest Child Wins
 Bearskin / int_f6e99f40
comment
Youngest Child Wins: The youngest girl gets an ideal husband in return for her willingness to look past Bearskin's appearance. Her sisters, who realize too late what they could have had, kill themselves. Some adaptations avert this, by making the youngest girl into the middle girl.
 Bearskin / int_f6e99f40
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bearskin / int_f6e99f40
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 Bearskin
hasFeature
Bearskin / int_f6e99f40
 Bearskin / int_ff2ceef1
type
Old Maid
 Bearskin / int_ff2ceef1
comment
Old Maid: All three girls are unmarried when Bearskin comes looking for a wife. Three years later, the older two are still unmarried, and they don't seem to have any prospects either, given how eagerly they greet the 'rich stranger'.
 Bearskin / int_ff2ceef1
featureApplicability
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 Bearskin / int_ff2ceef1
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 Bearskin
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Bearskin / int_ff2ceef1
 Bearskin / int_name
type
ItemName
 Bearskin / int_name
comment
 Bearskin / int_name
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 Bearskin / int_name
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Bearskin / int_name
 Bearskin / int_name
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Bearskin

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Bearskin
hasFeature
Celestial Deadline / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Character Title / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Child Marriage Veto / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Deal with the Devil / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Driven to Suicide / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Forbidden Fruit / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
I Will Wait for You / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Nameless Narrative / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
No Place for a Warrior / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Rule of Seven / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Secret Test of Character / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
The Promise / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Two Halves Make a Plot / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Win-Win Ending / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
You Have Waited Long Enough / int_b4a2783e
 Bearskin
hasFeature
Youngest Child Wins / int_b4a2783e