The Goat-Faced Girl

Title: The Goat-Faced Girl
Retold by: Leah Marinksy Sharpe
Illustrated by: Jane Marinsky
Type: A Classic Italian Folktale

 

 

 

This wonderful story is about a young girl whose name is Isabella and who was unfortunately left in the forest.  Thankfully she was taken in and raised by a sorceress who made her feel like part of her family even though she was a lazy young girl.  Like any other mother, the sorceress was worried about her laziness because she knew this wouldn’t bring much good to her.  Then one day, some as lazy as Isabella came along and that was Prince Rubert.  Such visit lead to further connections because he feel in love with Isabella due to the similarities they shared.  But this was not the end of it, he decided to marry her.  To this her mother became even more worried and decided to use magic to help her daughter out.  The magic begins when Isabella is going to meet Prince Rubert.  When coming off the carriage, she scares him because he face has transformed into a goat.  He was so scared that he sends her to a cottage away from the palace and that in order for her to come back she must change and do a bit of things.  She eventually does them and becomes a very responsible person who is no longer lazy.  Having notice this, her mother tells her what she had done and restores her face.  Sadly, in the story we find out that the prince never cared about her character and thus similarities but rather her beauty.  Although this was sad, the good things is that she decides not to marry him and they turn Prince Rubert into a bird.

The book was just….AMAZING! I state it being an amazing book because of the valuable lesson that was weaved in it. 
I enjoyed the fact that a children’s book being able to show children that looks are not always everything but is one’s character that really matters.  The author shows this by creating a character with a character problem such as laziness who doesn’t bother her future husband one bit but is later really bothered by the change in her appearance.  I mean it shows that if someone really loves you they will pay attention to details such as laziness like her mom did and not to your appearance.  It is her mom who pays attention to her laziness problem and who is still there even though Isabella’s appearance is not very pleasant.  Even if we pay close attention at the laziness problem, we can say that the author made it very clear to children that laziness is by no means right, acceptable, or beneficial.  The concept of laziness can really talk to the children of America at this particular time because they can relate to it.  We are in a country where people are become lazier and lazier as our economy and technology increases.   If Isabella had been a stealer, than the audience would decrease because not many would be able to relate to it.  I think laziness is such a common feature in many individual’s character that more readers can relate to it.

I personally did not like the fact that her mom had to intervene to help her.  I mean I’m not saying mother’s interventions are bad but not using magic.  In addition, I disliked the fact that Isabella was only doing the tasks because she was getting a reward at the end which was getting married.  I guess we can argue that she did it for love ultimately but we can also argue that she might’ve done it because she realized that at the end she would just be sitting in the palace doing nothing.  And well, I expected her to help her mom due to the fact that she took her in even when she knew she had no responsibility in doing so.  I know if I had been in that case, I would have felt so in debt that I would have helped her as much as I could.  Ultimately, I think that Isabella was more self-centered than anything else and so she got what she deserved to a certain extent. 

Finally, I found this story quite interesting because I could relate to it.  I personally was the first child in my home and never really contradicted my parents.  I was basically trained to clean after myself, do as I was told, listen to my elders and things like that which I did not rebel against because I loved my parents and knew they were doing it for my own good.  Unfortunately I could not relate to Isabella from my experience but I did from my sister’s experience.  She always had a hard time not being lazy and so I saw how my parent struggle with her.  They always had to tell her several times to clean her room, to do her chores, and even to do her homework.  Luckily, she got through school and right now is attending a small medical assistant program because she is too lazy to go to a four-year college.  Even though she did not end up attend a four-year college, she is indeed finishing a career and currently works weekends.  I guess my parent’s persevering spirit in removing her laziness, worked to an extent because she is now responsible, cleans the house, goes to school and even works.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that parents play a key role in helping children become more responsible and less lazy.  Also, like I mentioned earlier, it proves that looks are not always what is valuable but rather the character of the individual.