Princess Tutu: 4.AKT Analysis
Monday, November 3rd, 2008The tale of Giselle is a sorrowful tale. A peasant man loves a beautiful peasant woman named Giselle, but a prince dressed as a peasant catches Giselle’s eye. When it’s reveal Giselle’s love is a prince, and already arranged to marry another, Giselle goes mad, killing herself with the prince’s sword. After her burial, she becomes a Wili, a sylph-like spirit destined to dance from midnight until dawn every night, luring men to dance with her until they collapse to death from exhaustion. The peasant who loved Giselle falls to this fate by other Wilis, while the prince finds himself enticed to dance with the Wili, Giselle. There are different endings to this story, one where the prince falls over and dies, one where he survives, but is left alone and heartbroken, and one where he survives, and goes off to marry the one with whom he was engaged. Another version has the prince not in love with Giselle, but simply toying with her for his own enjoyment.
To me, the true sad story is that of the presant man who loved Giselle, found jealously as she fell in love with another, and died in a dance with the other Wili on his way in search of Giselle’s grave.
The fate of a woman deceived by the one she loves, and whom dies before her wedding day, is to become a Wili. This is the fate Giselle knows, and it is the basis of the story in 4.AKT of Princess Tutu. It is title and subtitle for 4.AKT.