L'Adroite Princesse ou les Aventures de Finette (The Discreet princess, or The adventures of Finetta
- Finette in other translations) is a 1696 French fairy tale by Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier de Villandon (1664-1734), Charles Perrault's niece. The story tells of a king who went to fight in a Crusade, leaving behind his three daughters, locked in a tower.
The daughters are called (no real names are known) Nonchalante (Dronilla; the lazy one), Babillarde (The Babbler; or Pratilla), and Finette. Each one is given a glass distaff which is enchanted to break apart as soon as the princess acts dishonorably.
An evil prince from a neighboring country, called Riche-Cautèle (Rich-Craft), has a grudge against the royal family, so he decides to strike against them. And off he sets…
Tropes found in The Discreet Princess include:
- 0% Approval Rating: Nobody likes Rich-Craft except for his brother and father.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Once the people learn Rich-Craft is dying and Bel-à-Voir shall inherit the throne.
- Berserk Button: Rich-Craft seems to care less about his injuries, and more about being outdone by Finette.
- Bowdlerise: One variant of the tale has the prince beating up the two older princesses instead of seducing them. This arguably makes the storyline so much worse, since while having a daughter effectively Locked Away in a Monastery would still be somewhat understandable for a modern reader in case of seduction and pregnancy, doing the same for simply letting a man (dressed as a female beggar, no less) into the house would be too much even by 17th century standards.
- The Casanova: Seducing two princesses in as many days.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Rich-Craft attempts to kill Finette by putting her in a barrel filled with blades and rolling it down a mountain. She manages to push him in instead.
- Disguised in Drag: How Rich-Craft manages to get into the tower.
- Down the Drain: How Finette gets rid of Rich-Craft the first time.
- The Evil Prince: Rich-Craft.
- Face Death with Dignity: Finette plays the part when Rich-Craft intends to kill her. It makes him so angry that he grows careless enough for her to turn the tables.
- Girl in the Tower: For their own good, in this case. Doesn't help that much.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Rich-Craft intends to roll Finette down a mountain in a barrel full of blades. She pushes him in instead.
- Last Request: Rich-Craft asks his brother to marry Finette and kill her
- Lazy Bum: Dronilla.
- The Man Behind the Man: Rich-Craft is the one behind his father.
- Motor Mouth: Pratilla.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Bel-à-Voir, once he stabs Finette’s Sleeping Dummy.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Not a single character’s real name is known.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Arranged by the villain, no less.
- Prince Charming: Bel-à-Voir.
- Properly Paranoid: Finette. In fact, that’s one of the two explicitely stated Aesops in the story.
- Sleeping Dummy: Finette uses one suspecting (correctly) that Bel-à-Voir might have ulterior motives in the marriage.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Finette, when smuggling her nephews to their father
- Too Dumb to Live: The two older princesses. Rich-Craft turns out to be one as well in the end, when turning his back on Finette while inspecting a barrel full of blades which he intended to use to kill her.
- Wacky Cravings: Rich-Craft draws Finette out of the tower by leaving some fruit under the windows and knowing her sisters will beg her to get it.
- Youngest Child Wins: Finette and Bel-à-Voir are both the younger children.
