The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux

by

Kate DiCamillo

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Tale of Despereaux makes teaching easy.

The Prisoner/Mig’s Father Character Analysis

Mig’s father sells her to a man called Uncle when Mig is only six years old; in exchange he gets a red tablecloth, a hen, and some cigarettes. Years later, he’s imprisoned in the castle dungeons for stealing six cows—and Roscuro steals his red tablecloth, which he still has and which reminds him of his betrayal of Mig. By this point, Mig’s father deeply regrets his actions. At the end of the novel, the Pea has Mig’s father released from the dungeon, and Roscuro reunites him with Mig. Mig’s father treats her like a princess for the rest of his life to make up for betraying her.

The Prisoner/Mig’s Father Quotes in The Tale of Despereaux

The The Tale of Despereaux quotes below are all either spoken by The Prisoner/Mig’s Father or refer to The Prisoner/Mig’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

“A rat is a rat is a rat. End of story. World without end. Amen.”

“Yes,” said Roscuro. “Amen, I am a rat.” He closed his eyes. He saw, again, the red cloth spinning against the backdrop of gold.

And he told himself, reader, that it was the cloth that he desired and not the light.

Related Characters: Chiaroscuro “Roscuro” (speaker), Botticelli Remorso (speaker), The Prisoner/Mig’s Father
Related Symbols: Light and Dark
Page Number: 92-93
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“Go back to the dungeon” was what the look she gave him said. “Go back into the darkness where you belong.”

This look, reader, broke Roscuro’s heart.

Did you think that rats do not have hearts? Wrong. All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.

If the rat had not looked over his shoulder, perhaps his heart would not have broken. And it is possible, then, that I would not have a story to tell.

But, reader, he did look.

Related Characters: Chiaroscuro “Roscuro”, The Princess Pea, Queen Rosemary, The Prisoner/Mig’s Father
Related Symbols: Light and Dark, Soup
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Tale of Despereaux LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Tale of Despereaux PDF

The Prisoner/Mig’s Father Quotes in The Tale of Despereaux

The The Tale of Despereaux quotes below are all either spoken by The Prisoner/Mig’s Father or refer to The Prisoner/Mig’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

“A rat is a rat is a rat. End of story. World without end. Amen.”

“Yes,” said Roscuro. “Amen, I am a rat.” He closed his eyes. He saw, again, the red cloth spinning against the backdrop of gold.

And he told himself, reader, that it was the cloth that he desired and not the light.

Related Characters: Chiaroscuro “Roscuro” (speaker), Botticelli Remorso (speaker), The Prisoner/Mig’s Father
Related Symbols: Light and Dark
Page Number: 92-93
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“Go back to the dungeon” was what the look she gave him said. “Go back into the darkness where you belong.”

This look, reader, broke Roscuro’s heart.

Did you think that rats do not have hearts? Wrong. All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.

If the rat had not looked over his shoulder, perhaps his heart would not have broken. And it is possible, then, that I would not have a story to tell.

But, reader, he did look.

Related Characters: Chiaroscuro “Roscuro”, The Princess Pea, Queen Rosemary, The Prisoner/Mig’s Father
Related Symbols: Light and Dark, Soup
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis: