Beauty & the Beast Meets The Witcher. Who Knew?
I made an interesting discovery the other day.
I was making the acquaintance of Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher, in The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. A delightful, tough, magical kinda dude. I enjoyed the format of the book and getting to know the characters as the short stories unfolded into a broader tale.
About three shorts in I was delightfully surprised to discover that Mr. Sapkowski enjoys fairy tales, and wove my fave into the story.
Nivellen's latest paramour, however, is a ghastly vampire monster of sorts, called a bruxa, and named Vereena. Vereena apparently really loves Nivellen. She's also pretty ferocious, and if not for Nivellen distracting and impaling her (...on a spear. Geez, mind outta the gutter.), she might have put an end to the Witcher's adventures. Geralt gets the upper hand, as heroes do, and slays Vereena, but not before she professes her love for Nivellen and spills her blood on him. He's cured... but not so jovial at this point.
About three shorts in I was delightfully surprised to discover that Mr. Sapkowski enjoys fairy tales, and wove my fave into the story.
The Witcher Meets Beauty and the Beast in "Grain of Truth"
In one of Geralts' adventures, "Grain of Truth," he is meandering through a forest and encounters the remains of two unfortunate souls. One is a woman with a rose pinned to her dress. He meanders further down the path and encounters a dilapidated castle. Upon entering the courtyard he is accosted by the Beast, also called Nivellen. Nivellen is a jovial fellow, and after a ferocious display where he fails to frighten the Witcher, he instead invites him into the castle as his guest. Turns out Nivellen was cursed into a beastly form by a priestess as punishment for raping another priestess. Yes, the world of the Witcher is a violent one. The Beast soon learns that the company of a young lady will not break the spell, and hey, this form isn't so bad, as he can pay top dollar for "companionship." There were plenty of dads willing to pimp out willing daughters for a hefty gift of gold and jewels at the end of a year. Yep, a violent, nefarious kind of world.
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| Art from the cover of the French edition of The Last Wish from Witcher Wiki |
Nivellen's latest paramour, however, is a ghastly vampire monster of sorts, called a bruxa, and named Vereena. Vereena apparently really loves Nivellen. She's also pretty ferocious, and if not for Nivellen distracting and impaling her (...on a spear. Geez, mind outta the gutter.), she might have put an end to the Witcher's adventures. Geralt gets the upper hand, as heroes do, and slays Vereena, but not before she professes her love for Nivellen and spills her blood on him. He's cured... but not so jovial at this point.
If you love The Witcher on Netflix (I'm a big fan!), here's a list of every reference to Beauty and the Beast in season 2 episode 1.
I really enjoy finding Beauty & the Beast references in unexpected places. And as Geralt muses, "There is a grain of truth in every fairy tale," said the witcher quitely. "Love and blood. They both possess a mighty power. Wizards and learned men have been racking their brains over this for years, but they haven't arrived at anything, except that -
Beauty and the Beast elements in "Grain of Truth"
- Roses as story opener
- Magical, enchanted castle
- Cursed Beast
- True love removes the curse
I really enjoy finding Beauty & the Beast references in unexpected places. And as Geralt muses, "There is a grain of truth in every fairy tale," said the witcher quitely. "Love and blood. They both possess a mighty power. Wizards and learned men have been racking their brains over this for years, but they haven't arrived at anything, except that -
"Except what, Geralt?"
"It has to be true love."
Witcher, I like you.
"It has to be true love."
from The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Witcher, I like you.
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