Prince Ferdinand

Outer characterisation

The prince is a secondary character in the short story “Petronella” by Jay Williams, through which the author challenges typical portrayals of princes in fairy tales.

His outer characterisation tells us that his name is Ferdinand of Firebright (p. 115, ll. 22-23) a name that suggests courage and bravery. However, his character is the opposite. His physical portrait presents him as a “handsome young man” (p. 115, l. 15).

Initially, like Petronella, we assume that he has been taken prisoner by Albion, the enchanter, but at the end of the story, we discover that he is only a rude guest who never left.

Inner characterisation

The prince’s inner characterisation suggests from the start that he is not a prisoner and is enjoying himself at Albion’s house: “The young man yawned and stretched.” (p. 115, l. 22).

He is surprised when he sees Petronella for the first time and seems very confused about where he is, very unlike a typical fairy-tale prince: “The ...