Introduction of Study
The Story of Harap Alb is a Romanian fairy tale about a young prince who must prove himself worthy of his royal heritage through a series of quests and challenges. The prince encounters supernatural beings and magical creatures as he travels to fulfill his destiny. A mysterious character known as the Bald Man becomes the prince’s companion and guide, though his true nature and motives remain unclear throughout much of the journey. The tale follows traditional fairy tale structures with tests of character, magical objects, and encounters with both helpers and adversaries. The narrative includes elements of Romanian folklore, regional customs, and traditional storytelling techniques that reflect the cultural heritage of the region. Through the protagonist’s journey, the story explores themes of wisdom versus foolishness, the nature of true nobility, and the transformative power of experience.
Literature Review
Chapter 1
Harap Alb — A Summary
There was once upon a time a king who had three sons. One day he receives a letter from his brother, the Green Emperor, who was led a kingdom much bigger and richer than his own. The letter says he worries that his end is close, and that he wants the most worthwhile of his nephews to take his place since he only has three daughters and no son. So, he calls his three sons, and asks which one is ready to be emperor over such a large and rich country. The oldest answers that it would be his honor to be emperor and his birthright. He prepares everything he needs for the journey and leaves.
To test him, the father goes out through a short-cut dressed in a bearskin, and hides under the first bridge. He scares both his son and the horse badly. They quickly return home explaining that he does not want to be eaten by wild beasts and that the far-away kingdom is not worth such a perilous journey since he does not expect to inherit the Earth. The same happens with the second son. The father is upset that his sons failed the test. He says they need to be defended from chicken “apara-ma de gaini ca de caini nu ma tem” when they pretend not to be afraid of dogs, and that he did not believe his children would waste his food and overshadow the Earth for nothing.
The third son goes out crying. He is ashamed for his brothers and sorry that his father is so disappointed in his sons. In the garden he meets an old woman asking for alms. He is sulky at first and asks to be left alone. Yet the beggar insists. She then tells the young prince that she sees the mistakes of leaders around the Earth and laughs at their many weaknesses, and that if he had her power, it would be too much for him to handle and he would destroy the Earth. Then she apologizes for speaking nonsense and asks for alms again. Eventually, he gives her a coin telling her to receive a little from him and more from God. As repayment, she tells him what’s written in the stars about his fate: he will become an emperor more powerful than there had been on the face of the Earth before; he will also be just, respected and loved by all. She advises that his success relies on asking his father for the clothes and weapons from when he married, and for his horse on which he wondered the Earth. He will know the horse because he will be the only one to eat red-hot embers from a tray. She is then surrounded by a white veil and departs by slowly lifting herself to the skies. This miracle gives the youngest son the confidence he needs to ask for his father’s permission.
After insistence, the king agrees to let the youngest prince undertake the quest his brothers have failed at with the condition that he does not return home if he too fails. He ridicules the idea of using his old clothes and horse suggesting he’ll only find the bones. The prince insists the finding of the horse is his business, and that he only needs his father’s permission. Once that’s obtained, he goes straight to the attic. He finds the clothes and weapons and cleans them carefully. Then he goes to the stables with a tray of embers. An ugly, old horse who appears to be more dead than alive comes to eat them. The others run away. He hits the skinny horse with the halter in the head as hard as he can, and tries without success to tempt the other horses. This happens three times — until all the embers are gone.
The ugly horse whose bones are showing is the only one who eats the embers. So, the prince sits there wondering if he should bother taking the horse or go by foot instead. The horse then shakes the old skin and ends up looking stronger and handsomer than all the other horses in the stables combined. He tells the prince to saddle and flies very fast: first to the Moon, then towards the Sun and towards the stars. He then asks the prince how it felt. The reply is “dizzy and close to death. I did not know where I was any more and I almost did not make it”. The horse explains that this was how he felt when he was hit in the head. The maneuver is repeated three times — one scare for each hit with the halter.
The horse promises takes him to his father, and they leave. He promises to travel at the speed of the wind and not at the speed of thought, which the prince says would kill him. They soon leave and meet the king dressed as a bear under the bridge, but the horse jumps at him and the prince lifts his sword to cut his head off. The father admits it’s him and asks them to stop. He then hugs and kisses both his son and the horse and tells the son he’s made a wonderful choice in his companion. Before they leave, he advises the prince to avoid the bald man and the red man and to listen to the horse. The horse turns into the skinny, old version of himself to not attract trouble and they move on.
After traveling for some time they reach a forest and get lost in it. A bald man offers to help three times — each time he is dressed in different clothes and pretends to be a new person. The prince finally agrees to hire him as a servant against his father’s wishes. The bald one spills all his water and takes him to a well with a ladder in it and no bucket or string. He then tricks the prince to go inside by telling him it’s cool. So, the prince ends up locked in the well and can only escape if he agrees to change places and become the servant of the bald man. He is asked to swear that he will obey and not break his word on his sword. He does so and is renamed “Harap Alb”. The name is a bit of a contradiction. Alb means white and Harap is typically a dark slave. So, it would be “white dark slave” or perhaps “white slave”.
Once they reach the green kingdom, there is a big feast in their honor. The bald man slaps Harap Alb once and sends him to the stables to take care of his horse like he cares for his own eyes. At the table some outstanding salad is served. We find out it is stolen from the garden of the bear, which is a very dangerous place and only a certain forest keeper in the kingdom can get a bit of salad from there from time to time without losing his life. The bald man brags that Harap Alb will bring many salads and orders him to do so. The horse takes Harap Alb to the home of the beggar woman, who is actually Saint Sunday (Sfanta Duminica) and lives in a little mossy house on an island full of flowers. They ask her for help. She sends Harap Alb to sleep while she mixes some plants that make the bear sleep and puts it in his water together with honey and milk. She then advises Harap Alb to dress in the bear skin from his father picks as he picks a sack full of salad. When he leaves the bear wakes up, but Harap Alb throws him the bear skin while he runs away with the salad. They take leave from Saint Sunday and return to the green kingdom with the salads.
Next, the bald man is shown some very beautiful precious stones. We find out they come from a deer whose skin is covered in such stones. The deer is magical and can kill with one look. The emperor explains how much he pays for the stone, which are unique to his kingdown. The bald man sends Harap Alb to kill the deer and bring all the stones without touching on. He asks the horse for help. The horse takes him to Sfanta Duminica, again. She goes with him, and tell him to dig a hole, and behead the deer once he falls asleep. Then he jumps in a hole and does not show his face until sunrise when the deer is dead — even though the head of the deer begs to see him. He then takes the head and the skin of the deer to the bald man.
At the next party a bird comes over, and tells them they have not thought of the daughter of the red man. The bald man orders Harap Alb to bring her to the Green Kingdom to be his wife. Harap Alb leaves with the horse in full blast no longer hiding his power. On the way, he swims through water to avoid killing a colony of ants who cross a bridge and make a new home for some roaming bees. The queen of the ants and the queen of the bees each give him a wing and promise to come to help when he burns the wing. Further along the way he makes an array of friends with different abilities: Gerila, who is always cold and can freeze a room by blowing on it, Flamanzila, who could eat any amout an still be hungry, Setila, who can drink whole rivers and still be thirsty, Ochila, who sees everything everywhere, and Pasar-lati-lungila, who can extend himself to catch birds. He befriends all of them and takes them along when they suggest he will fail in his quest without them as companions. Once he gets to the red emperor he puts them to sleep in a metal room with fire underneath to burn them to ashes. Gerila freezes the room, and when the servants of the red emperor come, Harap Alb and his friends complain that no fire had been lit. Then they are given tons of food and wine and told they will be killed if they don’t eat it. Flamanzila and Setila eat is all and say it’s not enough for them. They have next to pick poppy seeds from sand, which is done by the ants when the wing is burned. Then they have to guard the daughter of the emperor, who turns into a bird and flies away. She is caught by the Ochila-Pasar-lati-lungila team. Lastly, Harap Alb has to know which girl is the daughter of the emperor. The queen bee solves this problem by buzzing on the right woman and making her defend herself.
The red emperor acknowledges he is beaten and hands his daughter over to Harap Alb with the condition that she agrees to go. The princess has one more quest: her magical morning dove and his horse have to compete in getting three slices of sweet apple, live water and dead water from where the mountain hit each other. The dove gets there first, but Harap Alb’s horse compliments her, tells her that if he wins life will be good for all of them and quickly takes the sweet apple and water from her. The horse returns first and so the daughter of the Red emperor agrees to go with Harap Alb.
On the way back his friends leave him, and he remains with the princess and their horses. She also has a magical horse. When they reach the green kingdom, the bald man tries to take the princess in his arms. She pushes him away, and tells everyone he is the imposter and Harap Alb is the true nephew of the Green Emperor. The bald man immediately beheads Harap Alb because he thinks he betrayed him. The horse revenges his master. He picks up the bald man by the head and drops him to the ground until he is smashed in tiny pieces.
The story ends with the princess reviving Harap Alb with the dead water, the sweet apple slices and the sprinkles of live water. They marry and the emperor hands them his crown, and they invite everyone who helped them at their wedding — including the story teller. I am unsure how they had any food or wine left with Setila and Flamanzila there or whether they froze to death because of Gerila, but the point of the story is to be kind and grateful.
Significance of the Study
Chapter 1:
The title of the work and name of the protagonist originate with the antiquated Romanian word harap, which, like its more common version arap, originates with the “Arab” and covers the sense of “Black person” (or “Moor”), and alb, meaning “white”. The notion of Harap Alb has therefore often been translated as “White Moor” or “White Arab”. Both arap and harap are akin to a narrative theme present throughout the Balkans, from Turkey in the south to modern Romania in the north. Similar words exist in Albanian (arap in the Tosk, harap in Gheg), and define a character in Albanian folklore: a Black man often, but not always, portrayed in a negative light. The character, also bearing negative connotations, can be found in Bulgarian folklore as well; the Bulgarian-language name is арап (arap) or арапин (arapin).
The use of harap in this case primarily refers to the protagonist’s slave condition, in distant relation to the African slave trade (see Slavery in Romania). According to Romanian literary historian George Bădărău, it suggests the hero’s state of “degradation and submission”, leaving the story itself to outline his recovery of a “human status.” Contrarily, comparatist Vasile Măruţă underlines the implicit meaning of harap as “black”, which leads him to translate the title as “White Black”, and to propose that it stands as proof of an absurdist tradition in local folklore.
The prince’s journey begins with an act of pity: upon preparing to cross a bridge, the hero notes that it is home to an ant colony, and, fearful of destroying it, opts instead to cross through the riverbed. An alate ant visits him and rewards his deed with one of its wings, guaranteeing that, should he ever need assistance, burning the item would instantly summon the entire colony to his aid. A similar encounter takes place after Harap Alb fashions his hat into a hive, to be used by a homeless swarm of bees: the grateful queen bee presents him with another wing, with which to summon her and her subjects. Further down on his path, Harap Alb gradually collects a band of followers. The first among them is Gerilă (from ger, “frost”, and the diminutive suffix -ilă), a man who shivers in summer, and whose cold breath, reaching the fury of a strong wind, can turn things into ice. Confronted with astonishment and some irony by the prince, Gerilă answers: “Laugh if you will, Harap Alb, but you’ll not be able to accomplish anything without me where you’re going.” The reply prompts its recipient to change his mind, and creates a bond between the two characters. They are joined by Flămânzilă (from flămând, “hungry”; translated as “Eat-All”), who can consume huge amounts without satisfying his appetite. Next comes Setilă (from sete, “thirst”; also “Drink-All”), Flămânzilă’s counterpart among drinkers. These in turn are followed by Ochilă (from ochi, “eye”), whose sight covers immense distances, and Păsări-Lăți-Lungilă (from pasăre, “bird”, a se lăți, “to widen oneself” and a se lungi, “to lengthen oneself”), who can will himself to grow in any direction and reach heights only accessible to birds. They all persuade Harap Alb to discard his reticence by issuing forecasts closely resembling Gerilă’s reply. The first effect of this reunion is however disastrous: the respective traits of the characters result in burning down entire forests, depleting the soil, draining the water, exposing all secrets and exterminating birds, with Harap Alb himself being the only one who “did not cause any disruption.”
The group eventually reaches the Red Emperor’s court, where Harap Alb makes known his intention of leaving with the girl. The father is displeased by the news, but undecided about how he should treat the visitors. In the end, he opts in favor of tricking them, offering them residence in a copper house, which he has ordered heated to an oven-like temperature. Gerilă, who has the foresight of entering ahead of his companions, proceeds to cool down the entire structure. In his attempt to delay the matter further, the Red Emperor then invites the group to a magnificent feast, and witnesses with alarm how his food and drink are rapidly consumed by Flămânzilă and Setilă. The emperor then decides to impose a test on Harap Alb and the others: that of sorting out a mierță (some 200 liters) of poppy seed from an equivalent quantity of fine sand in the space of one night, which Harap Alb manages with assistance from the ants. The monarch then tells the heroes that, if they want his daughter, they are to guard and follow for another night, letting them know that he does not know her ways. At midnight, the princess tuns into a bird and escapes the palace, but, even though she takes refuge in the most inaccessible places, from “the shadow of the rabbit” to the far side of the Moon, she is tracked down by Ochilă and eventually grabbed by Păsări-Lăţi-Lungilă. As a final attempt at putting his guests on the spot, the princess’ father then makes Harap Alb tell her apart from his adoptive daughter, who is her exact double. This the protagonist accomplishes with assistance from the queen bee, who sets down on the princess’ cheek. A final challenge is presented by the girl herself, as a fantastical race between her turtle dove and his horse, to obtain “from where the mountains bump head to head into each other” three scions of apple tree and measures of living and dead water. Although slower, the horse forces the returning bird to hand him the items, and is first to return.
After taking the girl and parting with his five assistants, Harap Alb falls in love with his hostage on the way back to the Green Emperor’s court. They are greeted by the Green Emperor and his entire entourage, at which stage the Red Emperor’s daughter reveals the Bald Man’s true identity and states her own affection for the destitute prince. As revenge, the Bald Man attacks the hero and chops off his head with the backsword of his sermon. The stallion resolves this situation by grabbing the enemy with his teeth and dropping him from “the height of skies”. It then joins back the prince’s head and body, reviving them with living water. The story ends with a magnificent wedding between Harap Alb, recognized as successor to the Green Emperor, and the Red Emperor’s daughter—a feast which, according to the narrator’s account, lasts “to this day”.
Generic traits
Owing to its sampling of intricate narrative traditions and its use of symbols, “Harap Alb” has been a traditional target of critical interest, and has produced various interpretations. George Bădărău, who calls the story in its recorded form a “cultured fairy tale”, discusses it as a “concise adventure novel […] which has an accentuated ethical, didactic character.” Bădărău, who discusses the work’s “great thematic complexity”, also argues: “in general lines, Creangă’s fairy tale follows the archetypal pattern of the popular fantasy tale.” Similarly, researcher Mircea Braga notes that the text is one of many by Creangă where a traditional pattern of folkloric inspiration is closely followed. This, he believes, is structured around three narrative solutions, the first of which is a “perturbing situation”—here, the “extremely difficult journey” undertaken by the boy prince. The initial event is closely followed by a set of challenges invoking the action of forces larger than human life, “a whirlpool of events whose onset [the hero] cannot control, but which he dominates with support from supernatural beings and magical objects.” A third element, the happy ending, consecrates the victory of good over evil, and often distributes justice in an uncompromising and violent form. Braga also sees “Harap Alb” as a peak among its author’s literary contributions, ranking it above writings with similar pretexts such as The Story of the Pig. According to literary historian George Călinescu, the work also serves to illustrate Ion Creangă’s interest in structuring each of his narratives around a distinctive moral, in this case: “that the gifted man will earn a reputation under any guise.”
The tale’s narrative setting has itself been subject to critical scrutiny. According to literary historian and critic Garabet Ibrăileanu, it is “a projection into the fabulous of the peasant world, captured in its archaic stage, organized in Homeric fashion.” The definitive version, which localizes dialectical patterns and bases the interactions between characters on the hierarchies of a village, allows critics to identify the setting as being the writer’s native region of Moldavia, and probably even the rural area around Târgu Neamţ. The effect is underlined by Ion Creangă’s recourse to orality and its samples of Romanian humor: the narrative technique is enriched by descriptions, dialogue, the narrator’s self-interrogation, interjections, jokes, fragments of folk poetry and various other picturesque elements. George Călinescu makes special note of the manner in which Creangă’s narrative relies on peasant speech, and how its nuances serve to distinguish individual characters, all of which, he believes, exists within the framework of “playful realism”. George Bădărău sees the writer’s “pleasure of recounting [Bădărău’s italics], verve and optimism” as instrumental contributions, likening Creangă’s style to that of his predecessors François Rabelais and Anton Pann. Among the generic stylistic traits identified by Bădărău is the story’s repeated and diverse use of “Homeric” hyperbole, from the presence of supernatural beings to the happy ending’s transformation into an eternal feast. Another defining element of the account is the pause for effect, visually marked by the ellipsis and possibly originating from oral tradition, where it may also have allowed narrators to rest their voices. According to French academic Michel Moner, “Harap Alb” is one of the tales illustrating such techniques “to perfection”.
The prince’s journey begins with an act of pity: upon preparing to cross a bridge, the hero notes that it is home to an ant colony, and, fearful of destroying it, opts instead to cross through the riverbed. An alate ant visits him and rewards his deed with one of its wings, guaranteeing that, should he ever need assistance, burning the item would instantly summon the entire colony to his aid. A similar encounter takes place after Harap Alb fashions his hat into a hive, to be used by a homeless swarm of bees: the grateful queen bee presents him with another wing, with which to summon her and her subjects. Further down on his path, Harap Alb gradually collects a band of followers. The first among them is Gerilă (from ger, “frost”, and the diminutive suffix -ilă), a man who shivers in summer, and whose cold breath, reaching the fury of a strong wind, can turn things into ice. Confronted with astonishment and some irony by the prince, Gerilă answers: “Laugh if you will, Harap Alb, but you’ll not be able to accomplish anything without me where you’re going.” The reply prompts its recipient to change his mind, and creates a bond between the two characters. They are joined by Flămânzilă (from flămând, “hungry”; translated as “Eat-All”), who can consume huge amounts without satisfying his appetite. Next comes Setilă (from sete, “thirst”; also “Drink-All”), Flămânzilă’s counterpart among drinkers. These in turn are followed by Ochilă (from ochi, “eye”), whose sight covers immense distances, and Păsări-Lăți-Lungilă (from pasăre, “bird”, a se lăți, “to widen oneself” and a se lungi, “to lengthen oneself”), who can will himself to grow in any direction and reach heights only accessible to birds. They all persuade Harap Alb to discard his reticence by issuing forecasts closely resembling Gerilă’s reply. The first effect of this reunion is however disastrous: the respective traits of the characters result in burning down entire forests, depleting the soil, draining the water, exposing all secrets and exterminating birds, with Harap Alb himself being the only one who “did not cause any disruption.”