The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux’s characters feel destined to live lives according to the circumstances of their birth and given name. Living up to one’s name—or in spite of one’s name—is a transformative experience. For the most part, the characters live out their destinies, asserting themselves in the name of goodness and hope at the expense of offending those around them. This endeavor of standing up for what’s right is intrinsic to Despereaux’s quest to do the “impossible, important task at hand” (218): rescuing Princess Pea.

Despereaux, named after sorrow, is obsessed with light and love. He is condemned to be “disappointing” to his parents because he is nothing like his peers. The other mice constantly remind him of his supposed future: that he will die soon “with his eyes open like that” (15) and his sickly demeanor. The Most Very Honoured Head Mouse condemns Despereaux to death “with a black heart” (56) because of his un-mouselike behavior. Despite all of this negativity, Despereaux finds comfort in the world of fairy tales, “as if it were a spell and as if the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen” (47). This passion defines his future journey as he decides to “be brave for the princess. Even if…there was no such thing as happily ever after” (61). Despereaux recites his own story upon returning to the dungeon—and the repetition of this story, spoken aloud, inspires self-confidence. With the phrase “once upon a time,” Despereaux connects with something bigger than himself. By defining his own story, he learns to trust his own strength.

Miggery Sow is named after a pig, but this doesn’t stop her from aspiring to be a princess—even when told she is not even “destined to be one of our star servants” (151). Even so, she believes in herself, and her insistence on this eventual reality of royalty is what makes her father’s change of heart so impactful.

Words have meaning, symbolically and ritually. The act of storytelling positions characters as protagonists and antagonists, heroes and villains, when in reality, storytelling is a means of exploring different individuals on different paths. By uplifting one’s own story as if it were a destiny-filled fairy tale, one can reevaluate their actions as either good or evil.

While Roscuro plays into his social status by stirring internalized anger and shame, Despereaux attempts to transcend his name by bringing happiness and hope to Pea and the castle. Pea also resists Roscuro’s attempts at defining her destiny, shocked when he reveals, “I will now tell you what your future holds. As you consigned me to darkness, so I consign you, too, to a life spent in this dungeon” (253). She rejects this future, rewriting her story through bravery and empathy for Mig. Overall, names are symbols of social status within certain communities rather than fates set in stone.

Roscuro—or Chiaroscuro—is a complicated case. While Chiaroscuro is named after the artistic balance of darkness and light, his choice to go by a nickname speaks to his denial of self, his desire to be more ratlike out of a resigned sense of destiny—and later, revenge. However, by the end of the novel, Roscuro lives out the destiny of his full name: He is allowed to roam the castle’s dark and lit rooms as he pleases. In this sense, the rat both works against and toward the best version of his own story.  

Kate DiCamillo encourages her readers to tell their own stories, since “Everything, as you well know (having lived in this world long enough to have figured out a thing or two for yourself), cannot always be sweetness and light” (183). She frames the titular Despereaux’s resilience through storytelling (via the narrator and Despereaux’s own voice) as proof of the power of perseverance despite the odds.