Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Tale of Despereaux, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Good vs. Evil
Love, Forgiveness, and Absurdity
Principles, Courage, and Growing Up
Conformity
Summary
Analysis
Despereaux shouts for the Princess Pea that he’s come to save her. The Pea looks up and shouts Despereaux’s name. This is the sweetest sound in the world: the sound of Despereaux’s love calling his name. It makes the whole trip into the dungeon, and Despereaux’s lost tail, worth it. As he runs toward the princess, Roscuro blocks Despereaux’s way. The Pea begs Roscuro to not hurt Despereaux, and Mig says she’ll save the mouse. She aims to chop off Roscuro’s head, but she misses.
The narrator reinforces how powerful love is when they insist that hearing the Pea call Despereaux’s name makes this whole trip to the dungeon worth it. Given Mig’s track record of trying to kill rodents with kitchen knives, it seems questionable whether she’ll achieve her goal here. However, perhaps more significant is Mig’s willingness to step in and defend the Pea’s ally—this highlights her loyalty to the princess.
Themes
