I love The Princess and Goblin because Curdie sings to face the goblins, and this reminds me that we as Christians need to sing praise and worship songs to face our fears. I was especially intrigued when Princess Irene’s great-great-grandmother gives Irene a ring attached to a thread invisible except to herself, which thereafter connects her constantly to home. Later, Curdie follows the magic thread to her refuge at his own house, and restores her to the king.
I read The Princess and Goblin book out loud for free to my children by checking the book out at my public library. This is the edition I read to my kids, and it is available on eBay: The Princess and Goblin I read the sequel to this story, The Princess and Curdie to my children. They did mention the ending was rather sad, but it is a wonderful story filled with Christian symbolism.
Project Gutenberg has a free online edition:
The Princess and Goblin by Project Gutenberg
After we finished reading the book, my daughters were so excited and interested to watch the Princess and Goblin movie on You Tube:
The Princess and Goblin movie you tube
Dan MacDonald recommends an affordably priced edition illustrated by Jesse Wilcox Smith, available from Abebooks.com:
I also learned about this Shirley Temple adaption from Dan MacDonald:
Princess and Goblin you tube Shirley Temple
There is a Fractured Fairy Tales video of the Princess and Goblin, too:
Fractured Fairy Tales Princess and Goblin you tube video
My favorite quotes from The Princess and Goblin are:
“We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.'
What is that, grandmother?'
To understand other people.'
Yes, grandmother. I must be fair - for if I'm not fair to other people, I'm not worth being understood myself. I see.”
― George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin
“I should like to remark, for the sake of princes and princesses in general, that it is a low and contemptible thing to refuse to confess a fault, or even an error. If a true princess has done wrong, she is always uneasy until she has had an opportunity of throwing the wrongness away from her by saying: 'I did it; and I wish I had not; and I am sorry for having done it.' So you see there is some ground for supposing that Curdie was not a miner only, but a prince as well. Many such instances have been known in the world's history.”
― George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin
“THERE was once a little princess who—"But, Mr. Author, why do you always write about princesses?" "Because every little girl is a princess." "You will make them vain if you tell them that." "Not if they understand what I mean." "Then what do you mean?" "What do you mean by a princess?" "The daughter of a king." "Very well, then every little girl is a princess, and there would be no need to say anything about it, except that she is always in danger of forgetting her rank, and behaving as if she had grown out of the mud. I have seen little princesses behave like the children of thieves and lying beggars, and that is why they need, to be told they are princesses.”
― George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin
The last quote reminds me that we sometimes forget who we are as Christians. We forget that Jesus is our King and we behave badly and sin. This story will teach children to be good and do good when they realize they are sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The goblins to me represent the spiritual forces against us in this world, and this story alludes to our necessity and resources that are explained in Ephesians 6:10-20 to fight the spiritual battle.
Ephesians 6:10-20
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.