Reemergence Of The Boy In Greek Mythology

The reemergence of the young boy forces the king to obsess over him. After the king disposes of the boy in the river, he is found by a miller. As he and his wife did not bear children, the millers opted to adopt the beautiful child and raise him as their own. Fourteen years pass and the boy is a handsome young man. After conversing with the miller and questioning him over the boy, the king finally recognizes him. Once more he gets the urge to slaughter him. He sets a trap for the boy to deliver a letter to the Queen that says, “As soon as the boy who brings this letter arrives, let him be killed, and I shall expect to find him dead and buried when I come back” (Grimm). The king expects all of his problems to be solved with the death of the boy. In reality, the young boy is symbolic for all the potential suitors the princess has or might have in the future. It is nonsensical and foolish for the king to believe that this boy is a villain with an agenda. Although, the …show more content…
As dusk approaches and the devil relaxes, the grandmother plots on helping the young man. She performs various tasks to distract the devil such as having him lay his head on her lap and pretending to be have a nightmare to get a hold of his hair. At the same time, she is also asking him the questions the young man promised to help answer once he saw the three villagers. “The young husband departs and with the aid of the devil’s grandmother succeeds in obtaining the hairs, and on his way back, by means of secrets learned during his sojourn in hell, helps out various people who are in difficulties due to the devil” (Carsch). Once she obtains the three hairs, and asks all of the questions, she releases the young man into safety and he thanks her for her help. It showcases the grandmother as someone who could also play the devil’s tricks. Instead of using her skills for evil, she is using them to help someone in