The Fisherman and His Wife

The Fisherman and His Wife

"The Fisherman and His Wife" by Anne Anderson.

Author Anonymous Published 1812-??-?? Type Fiction, Short story Genre Fairy tale Themes Drama Age Group Children

The Fisherman and His Wife is a fairy tale first published in the 1812 compendium Children's and Household Tales which was compiled by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The tale is derivative from earlier tales and is in the public domain.

In the story, a poor fisherman catches a talking fish who explains that he is a prince who has been transformed into a flounder and begs the fisherman not to eat him. The fisherman has no desire to kill a talking fish and throws him back. When he returns home his wife chastises him for not asking the talking fish for a wish, and demands that he return and wish for a nice cottage to live in instead of their hovel. The fisherman is reluctant, thinking it rude and unsure if he can find the fish again, but goes anyway. Back at the sea, he sings a rhyme asking for the fish to return and it does. The fisherman says his wife wants a cottage, and the fish grants his wish. Once home, the fisherman discovers his hovel is now a nice cottage with a garden and he and his wife sleep well, but it isn't long before the wife feels foolish for not wishing for something more, like a castle, so she demands her husband return and wish for a castle. The fisherman says they don't need a castle, but eventually succumbs and returns to the sea calls to the fish again and the fish grants the wish. The malcontent wife then demands her husband wish for more, and each time he does, the sea becomes more violent, as she wishes to become king, then emperor, then pope, and finally, to be like God. When the fisherman tells the fish his wife wants to be godlike, the fish strips away everything he bestowed upon them and returns their home to the hovel.

Personal

Own?	Compilation book.
Read?	Margaret Raine Hunt translation.
Finished	2025-02-23.

When I saw this story in the table of contents in a fairy tale anthology a friend bought me, I recognized it from King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella, so I read it. The plot was similar to another fairy tale I read, but the setting was unique.

Review

Overall:

Good

• The tale is simple but effective at warning against not being happy with what you have, and always wanting more.
• I like how the sea becomes more turbid as the story progresses. I just wish something came from it.

Bad

• The ending is a bit unclear. Is just meant to be a simple punishment for the wife's blasphemy, or is their some sort of symbolism suggesting that being godlike means living a very humble life?
• How is it the fish, despite being a transformed prince, can grant such wishes like, "I wish to be an emperor?"
• The wife was the greedy one, so why does the fisherman have to be punished? I assume it's because he wouldn't stand up to his wife, but this is also left unclear.
• Like so many other fairy tales, the woman is a villain.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Illustrations

• 

  Illustration by Anne Anderson. One of the few that depicts an actual flounder.

• 

  Postcard illustrated by Paul Hey.

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The only woman is a greedy malcontent.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There is only one woman.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	The setting implies everyone is white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Adaptations

The couple is featured in the video game King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella, though only the characters exist, nothing about their story is present.

Links