The humanized dragon as a rewriting of Saint George’s legend in Kenneth Grahame’s “The Reluctant Dragon”
Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyse how the dragon figure in the children’s tale “The Reluctant Dragon” (1868), by the English author Kenneth Grahame, departs from its negative conceptions in the medieval genres of romance and hagiography, through a humanized characterization. This characterization is expressed in the use of refined language and the tendency to affection, to spectacle, and peace. The creature’s profile will determine the decisions of the rest of the main characters, the Boy and Saint George, against the expectations of the townspeople, who wish to witness a duel between knight and dragon as mere entertainment, without the complexity of its original sense. The development of this conflict and its peaceful resolution allow to read this tale as a humorous retelling of Saint George’s legend, one that reimagines the archetypes of knight and dragon and that questions the malign and benign stereotypes that are traditionally associated to them, through characters with will and interests of their own.
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