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Down, down, down, they went, and in a short time the husband was clasping his long-lost wife and daughter in his arms. Oh, it was a scene of happiness and delight! The Golden Hen flapped her wings and tried to crow, but only went "Took-a-rook-took" and "Cluck, cluck;" but the Harp struck up a merry tune, and at this moment the Garden Fairy appeared, and was hailed by them all as their best and dearest friend. But whilst they were all in this delightful state, the Garden Fairy said, — "All is not yet finished; here comes the Giant;" and upon their looking up, sure enough this monster was seen slipping down the Bean-stalk, which appeared against his great size to be a mere thread. "Fear not," she said; "he shall not harm you. Come, sisters, sing a charm around the stalk, and let us fix him there!" Accordingly, the Hen, and the Harp, and the Flower Fairy flew around the Bean-stalk, singing: —

"Bean, bean,
All so green,
Though your power
Be not seen —
Use all your might
To serve the Giant right
Bind him fast by day,
And bind his feet by night."

Down came the Giant, snorting away; but when he got near the ground, so that he thought he could jump down, the Bean-stalk twisted itself round his ankles, and his legs, and his arms, and his body, and twined into his hair, so that he found himself as firmly fixed as if he had been bound with the strongest cords and chains. — "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk," pp. 27-28.

The Context in the Perrault Original: Vanquishing the Giant

For three years Jack heard no more of the bean-stalk, but he could not forget it; though he feared making his mother unhappy. She would not mention the hated bean-stalk, lest it should remind him of taking another journey. Notwithstanding the comforts Jack enjoyed at home, his mind dwelt continually upon the bean-stalk; for the fairy’s menaces, in case of his disobedience, were ever present to his mind, and prevented him from being happy; he could think of nothing else. It was in vain endeavouring to amuse himself; he became thoughtful, and would arise at the first dawn of day, and view the bean-stalk for hours together. His mother saw that something preyed heavily upon his mind, and endeavoured to discover the cause; but Jack knew too well what the consequence would be, should she succeed. He did his utmost, therefore, to conquer the great desire he had for another journey up the bean-stalk. Finding, however, that his inclination grew too powerful for him, he began to make secret preparations for his journey, and on the longest day, arose as soon as it was light, ascended the bean-stalk, and reached the top with some little trouble. He found the road, journey, etc., much as it was on the two former times; he arrived at the giant's mansion in the evening, and found his wife standing, as usual, at the door. Jack had disguised himself so completely, that she did not appear to have the least recollection of him; however, when he pleaded hunger and poverty, in order to gain admittance, he found it very difficult to persuade her. At last he prevailed, and was concealed in the copper. When the giant returned, he said, "I smell fresh meat!" But Jack felt quite composed, as he had said so before, and had been soon satisfied. However, the giant started up suddenly, and, notwithstanding all his wife could say, he searched all round the room. Whilst this was going forward, Jack was exceedingly terrified, and ready to die with fear, wishing himself at home a thousand times; but when the giant approached the copper, and put his hand upon the lid, Jack thought his death was certain. The giant ended his search there, without moving the lid, and seated himself quietly by the fire-side. This fright nearly overcame poor Jack; he was afraid of moving or even breathing, lest he should be discovered. The giant at last ate a hearty supper. When he had finished, he commanded his wife to fetch down his harp. Jack peeped under the copper-lid, and soon saw the most beautiful harp that could be imagined: it was placed by the giant on the table, who said, "Play!" and it instantly played of its own accord, without being touched. The music was uncommonly fine. Jack was delighted, and felt more anxious to get the harp into his possession, than either of the former treasures. The giant's soul was not attuned to harmony, and the music soon lulled him into a sound sleep. Now, therefore, was the time to carry off the harp, as the giant appeared to be in a more profound sleep than usual Jack soon determined, got out of the copper, and seized the harp, The harp was enchanted by a fairy: it called out loudly: "Master! master!" The giant awoke, stood up, and tried to pursue Jack; but he had drank so much, that he could hardly stand. Poor Jack ran as fast as he could. In a little time the giant recovered sufficiently to walk slowly, or rather, to reel after him. Had he been sober, he must have overtaken Jack instantly; but, as he then was, Jack contrived to be first at the top of the bean-stalk. The giant called after him in a voice like thunder, and sometimes was very near him. — Perrault, "Jack and the Bean-stalk," http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/68/fairy-tales-and-other-traditional-stories/5089/jack-and-the-bean-stalk/

Commentary

As with the conclusion of "Hop-o' My-Thumb," the resolution of Cruikshank's version of The History of Jack and the Bean-stalk is non-traditional in that it does not involve the violent death of the Giant, but his being compelled to serve the national interest by quarrying rock for the construction of castles and bridges. Jack's second raid had merely involved a theft; however, on his ' third ascent of the gigantic vine, his object is quite different: to release his father, the Saxon knight Sir Ethelbert from the Giant's dungeon. Assisted by the sardonic Dwarf, Jack negotiates his way through the corridors, down through dungeons, and frees his father. Pursued by the Giant, the pair are assisted by a magical shower of snow-balls, preventing him from catching up with the fugitives, who hasten down the bean-stalk. The magic bean-stalk, under the influence of a charm concocted by the Garden Fairy and her sisters,ties up the Giant as he arrives above the cottage. Subsequently, the villagers, armed with a variety of implements and weapons, transport the Danish Giant by ship to King Alfred.

The successful gambit to ensnare the roaring Giant is by no means a foregone conclusion in the illustration facing page 26, which describes the escape of Jack and his father from the castle. The Giant braces himself against the mountain as he threatens the family with his free hand as he descends to the cottage. The Golden Hen is spreading her wings from the thatched roof of the cottage, seen in the first, three-paneled illustration. The Garden Fairy and the Singing Harp seem small and insignificant when juxtaposed against the furious Giant, but their superior magic will literally hamstring him. Jack points upwards (left margin), while Jack's mother and sister are reunited with Sir Ethelbert (lower left). The cow, as Cruikshank explained much earlier in the story, has returned to the cowshed after escaping from the greedy, exploitative butcher, and peeps out. The Bean-stalk's roots spring from the cottage garden, immediately beside the five cabbages that Jack was last seen tending in who gives the Wonderful Bean which he sets in the Garden, the scene which contains both the thatched cottage and cow-shed repeated here. The tiny trees, high up on the steep mountain-side (upper left), are only small in relation to the muscular giant and when viewed from the valley floor; Cruikshank uses them to suggest the precipitous nature of the mountainsides of the valley in which Jack, his mother, and his sister live. But at the moment this oasis of calm is menaced by the powerful Giant, so that the reader must consult the text to learn how Cruikshank will use the three supernatural aides to neutralise the monstrous being with the swirling beard and hair.

In the Perrault original, Jack returns to the land above the clouds to steal further valuables; in the second episode, he easily steals the bags of gold and silver, rather than attempting to take the magic harp, which thus becomes his third and final challenge in Perrault, but the second — conflated with the rescue scenario — in the Cruikshank version. The Cruikshank reader of 1854 likely expected Jack to use an axe to destroy the bean-stalk and simultaneously cause the Giant to fall to his death, so that the interventions of the fairies at this point must have been as unexpected as it was unorthodox for a fairy-tale. Rather, the reader would have anticipated this conventional resolution:

The moment Jack got down the bean-stalk he called out for a hatchet; one was brought him directly; just at that instant, the giant was beginning to descend; but Jack, with his hatchet, cut the bean-stalk close off at the root, which made the giant fall headlong into the garden: the fall killed him, thereby releasing the world from a barbarous enemy. Jack’s mother was delighted when she saw the bean-stalk destroyed. At this instant the fairy appeared: she first addressed Jack’s mother and explained every circumstance relating to the journeys up the bean-stalk. The fairy charged Jack to be dutiful to his mother, and to follow his father's good example, which was the only way to be happy. She then disappeared. Jack heartily begged his mother’s pardon for all the sorrow and affliction he had caused her, promising most faithfully to be very dutiful and obedient to her for the future. — Perrault, "Jack and the Bean-stalk," http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/68/fairy-tales-and-other-traditional-stories/5089/jack-and-the-bean-stalk/

Because European folktales often involve a pattern of three events, each a repetition of the former but with slight differences in a rising action, Jack cannot simply go from stealing the Golden Hen to stealing the Singing Harp; rather, there must be an intermediate step — in Perrault's version, the theft of the Giant's store of gold and silver coins. However, perhaps in order to accelerate the narrative and avoid such repetition, Cruikshank moves the story along by going directly from the theft of the hen to that of the harp and the liberation of Sir Ethelbert, tasks dictated by the Garden Fairy at the opening of the tale. What Cruikshank uses to fill out the story, however, is significant to one born into the Romantic Era: vivid and compelling descriptions of the natural environment and the Giant's castle, giving the visual artist the opportunity to build suspense by the creation of a suitably charged but picturesque atmosphere through "word pictures." His emphasis is on the conflict between the Giant and Jack, who is aided from time to time by supernatural agents related to the Garden Fairy; in this frame, the Fairy herself (left) is waving her wand at the Giant. Since the Hen is not flying, we must assume that trio have already concluded their incantation, and that the bean-stalk is already beginning to engulf him.

Worked into the steep mountain-side, right, is Cruikshank's signature: "Designed & engraved by George Cruikshank" — with the tale of the final letter blending into the vertical lines that elaborate the vegetation growing on the rock. The effect of the many curving lines that define the Giant and the Bean-stalk is to confer tremendous energy upon Jack's adversary, whose sheer size suggests that he is about to crush the four small human-beings and their cottage. Here, then, Swillenbutz becomes as much a force of nature (for example, a storm or landslide) as an exaggerated Danish earl.

Other Scenes involving the formidable Danish Giant, Swillenbutz

Left: George Cruikshank's initial realisation of the giant as he lies, unconscious, from drinking too much beer (facing p. 19), Jack gets the Golden Hen away from the Giant (1854). Centre: George Cruikshank's second realisation of the giant as he hurls a boulder at Jack as he absconds with the magic harp (facing p. 24), Jack and the Fairy Harp, escaping from the Giant (1854). Right: Cruikshank's depiction of the captive giant taken before King Alfred and his soldiers at Sir Ethelbert's keep after the defeat of the invading Danes, Jack brings the Giant prisoner to King Alfred (facing p. 30). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

Bibliography

Bentley, Nicolas; Michael Slater and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.

British Library. "George Cruikshank's Fairy Library." Romantics and Victorians. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/george-cruikshanks-fairy-library

Cohen, Jane Rabb. Part One, "Dickens and His Early Illustrators: 1. George Cruikshank. Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus: Ohio University Press, 1980. Pp. 15-38.

Cruikshank, George. The History of Jack & the Bean-Stalk. Illustrated by George Cruikshank. George Cruikshank's Fairy Library. London: David Bogue, 1854. (Price one shilling) 8 etchings on 6 tipped-in pages, including frontispiece.

Cruikshank, George. George Cruikshank's Fairy Library: "Hop-O'-My-Thumb," "Jack and the Bean-Stalk," "Cinderella," "Puss in Boots". London: George Bell, 1865.

Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z. The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Checkmark and Facts On File, 1998.

Guildhall Library blog. "A Gem from Guildhall Library's Shelves: George Cruikshank's Fairy Library by George Cruikshank published by Routledge in London (c. 1870)." 8 August 2014. https://guildhalllibrarynewsletter.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/a-gem-from-guildhall-librarys-shelves-george-cruikshanks-fairy-library-by-george-cruikshank-published-by-routledge-in-london-c1870/

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library. "George Cruikshank." http://library.tulane.edu/exhibits/exhibits/show/fairy_tales/george_cruikshank

Hubert, Judd D. "George Cruikshank's Graphic and Textual Reactions to Mother Goose." Marvels & Tales, Volume 25, Number 2, 2011 (pp. 286-297). Project Muse. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/462736/pdf

"Introductory Essay." Fables and Fairy Tales. 0019: Anon., "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk." CTS: The Hockliffe Project. http://hockliffe.dmu.ac.uk/items/0019.html

Kitton, Frederic G. "George Cruikshank." Dickens and His Illustrators. London: Chapman & Hall, 1899. Pp. 1-28.

Perrault, Charles. "Jack and the Beanstalk." Fairy Tales and Other Traditional Stories. Lit2Go. http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/68/fairy-tales-and-other-traditional-stories/5089/jack-and-the-bean-stalk/

Vogler, Richard, The Graphic Works of George Cruikshank. New York: Dover, 1979.

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Last modified 27 June 2017