The Ogre
antagonist · ogre
The rightful owner of every field and the castle at the end of the road. Enormous, rich, extremely proud of one party trick, and about to be asked whether he can do a small one.
What they are like
- Kind
- 3/10
- Brave
- 6/10
- Clever
- 2/10
- Honest
- 7/10
- Curious
- 5/10
- Patient
- 3/10
How we meet them
Opening his own front door to a cat, and being pleased about it. He offers the good chair before anybody has asked for anything.
Personality
Comic rather than frightening. Lonely, boastful, hospitable in a heavy handed way, and completely unable to leave a compliment unimproved.
What they want
To be admired. He has not had a visitor in eleven years and it shows in everything he does.
How they change
Receives a guest as civilly as an ogre can, shows off twice, and leaves his own house under the door.
How they speak
Very little, and almost all of it boasting. His longest speech in the story is three words, and every one of them is a mistake.
How the story treats them
The story treats him as the owner of everything, which he is. Nobody in the tale suggests he stole a single field. He simply loses it all in one conversation.
One surprising thing
In Perrault the cat eats him. In our version he goes out under the door as a mouse and keeps going, which is the only real change we made to the plot.
If they were real today
He would be the man at the barbecue who has to demonstrate the thing he is good at, twice, whether or not anybody asked.
Things they say
- “Lion.”
- “Any small thing. Name one.”
- “A mouse is beneath me.”
Key moments
As civilly as an ogre can
A cat knocks and says he could not pass such a house without paying his respects, and the ogre, who has not had a visitor in eleven years, gives him the good chair.
“Lion.”
Any small thing
Told that being large is the easy part, he insists he can do small things too and invites the cat to name one. The cat names one.
“Any small thing. Name one.”
Out under the door
He becomes a mouse to settle an argument, has a short conversation with a boot, agrees to several things very quickly, and leaves.
“A mouse is beneath me.”
Who they know
The Catrival
A very small visitor and a very large host, in which the small one wins by admiring the large one slightly less than he expected.
Characters like The Ogre
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