The fairy tales compound a complex cultural narrative field meant to explore society, the world, and traditions. Every nation describes particular cultural creatures and heroes in folklore to reflect similar themes. The typical elements of such stories include the hero protagonist, monster, the personification of evil, and princess, depicted as a prize for the heroes. The fairy tale “About the Giant Troll Who Never Carried His Heart with Him” includes all mentioned elements to illustrate the universal theme of good vs. evil; however, through the approach of the human values versus physical force theme.
The idea is depicted through the protagonist, Ash Lad, and antagonist, the Giant. The hero is common in various Norwegian tales and initially appears weak but eventually demonstrates his strength by completing the dangerous task, succeeding where everyone else has failed. On the other hand, the Giant is a collective image of folklore monsters, such as trolls, demons, or werewolves, that represent evil power in the world. Hence, the battle between these characters presents a unique representation of character strength and values regardless of physical power.
The lack of strength but evaluation of character values such as kindness and selflessness are depicted through the introductory scene for Ash Lad’s character when he wants to go to save his brothers and talk to the king. The part highly depends on the contrast as the primary trope of describing the Ash Lad and the difference between him and his brothers. He begins by stating, “I was thinking of asking your permission to go out and find them.” The uncertainty of the word thinking of asking brings the image of the insecure character, while earlier, his brothers just “set off.” The narrator reflects that the hero “wanted to go, he had to go” and uses repetition to show his duty over the determination, emphasizing the second part of the sentence. It is utilized to depict his selflessness, bravery, and at the same time, lack of confidence. The scene ends with the king’s permission for Ash Lad to go, but the central attention is on the old nag that was left in the stables because six brothers took the best horses. It directly parallels the physical characteristics of all king’s sons. While six brothers are strong and got the better horses, the youngest is weaker; as the old horse, he could not pick. And the highlight of this part is that he did not care about how strong his ride was; he knew his duty and relied not on the exterior features of things.
The paradox of the theme is that Ash Lad did not fight the Giant directly and could not succeed without the help of salmon, raven, wolf, and princess. The scene of him meeting the princess explores his character further, showing that he would not win alone. The narrator describes that he stepped inside even though Ash Lad was frightened, the emotions that are not typical for classical heroes of the tales. When he speaks with the princess, the repetition is used again “so I’ll give it a try all the same. That I will, I’ll also try to rescue my brothers, who have been turned to the stone outside.” The use of the word “try” again highlights the protagonist’s insecurity, but he does not give up because his brothers are in danger. And the parallel plotlines are evident in the following phrase by the princess “let me help you.” It is the contextually important part because it reflects the idea of how helping others, the hero defeated the enemy with others’ help.
Thus, despite Ash Lad being weaker physically than the Giant and his brothers, he showed kindness to those who helped him achieve the desired goal. At the same time, fear and insecurity do not make a person less brave when they know their duty and are ready to help others. Hence, Ash Lad is a metaphor for inner strength and human values, which can defeat even the strongest and scariest things.