In my previous posts, I explored the symbol of true royalty and the “Solid Land” of goodness in George MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin. To conclude this series, we must look into the caverns. MacDonald provides a stark contrast to the King-papa and Princess Irene through the Goblins—a race that represents a “false picture” of royalty.
By examining the origins of the goblins and their reaction to light, we find a profound warning about what happens when authority is subverted and the “self” becomes the ultimate sun.
The Anatomy of a Goblin: A Study in Subversion
MacDonald’s goblins were not always subterranean monsters. Legend tells us they were once “very like other people,” but they fled underground following a dispute over taxes and laws. In their rebellion, they didn’t just change their address; they changed their nature.
From MacDonald’s descriptions, we can map the “Inverse Royalty” of the goblin race. According to the text, false royalty is:
- Cunning over Wisdom: They grew in “knowledge and cleverness,” but only to use it for “mischief” and “torment.”
- Hard-heartedness: Their glory is the literal hardness of their heads. MacDonald notes that only when their “skulls became softer” could their hearts follow suit.
- Isolationist: They revel in being “independent” of the sun, mocking it as a “glaring and vulgar” contrivance.
- Self-Created: They are a “degraded race” that believes they are the “first possessors” and mental superiors of the world above.
The Trap of Relativism: “Moral Vertigo”
If this story were written today, we would likely see a “subverted” version—a sympathetic origin story where the Goblins are the heroes and the King is a tyrant. While there is a place for nuance, MacDonald reminds us that there is a danger in making good and evil indistinguishable.
I was recently asked if there is “hope for everyone” in fairy tales, even the wicked witches. While a “yes” sounds benevolent, it can be a trap of relativism. If we remove the point of moral reference, we lose the ability to distinguish “up” from “down.” We suffer from moral vertigo.
As I responded to that question: “What makes you think the witch wants to be saved? And if so, what would she be saved from and saved to?” Without a standard of goodness, “redemption” becomes a meaningless word.
The Lamp as the Ultimate Reference
In MacDonald’s symbolic world, the Grandmother’s Lamp is the ultimate moral reference point.
- The Royals (Irene, the King-papa, and the Petersons) are those who can see and follow the light.
- The Goblins are those who have retreated so far from the light that they find the sun “baleful.”
The Goblins take pride in providing their own light. They mock the sun because they cannot control it. This is the essence of their false royalty: a self-created theology where the individual is the only authority.
Conclusion: Royalty is Goodness
It is only when the Goblins are forced out of their self-constructed catacombs that they begin to lose their grotesque features. In MacDonald’s world, beauty is royalty, royalty is goodness, and goodness is the recognition of an authority beyond ourselves.
To be a true “Royal” is to acknowledge that we do not hang the sun in the sky. We simply have the “wit” to walk by its light.
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