There's plenty of misery to go around in The Tale of Despereaux. Some characters are treated in very cruel ways. Despereaux is sentenced to death with his own family standing there; they don't even try to save him. Miggery Sow has the worst family life you could imagine. Princess Pea loses her mother and is kidnapped by Roscuro and Mig at knife point. Where's the love?
Nonetheless, these characters still treat the people (or rodents) who have done them wrong with compassion and forgiveness. Despereaux tells his father and brother—who played a part in sentencing him to death—that he forgives them both. And instead of throwing Roscuro and Mig into the dungeons forever, Princess Pea treats them with kindness. When Mig finds her father, she takes him happily back into her life. Roscuro, on the other hand, is motivated by revenge, not compassion.
There's a moral here, in case you missed it. The author shows that forgiveness allows you to move forward with your life; holding grudges makes you bitter and unhappy.
Questions About Compassion and Forgiveness
- Why doesn't Furlough save his brother Despereaux from the awful fate of being sent to the dungeons?
- Do you think it was right of the princess to let Roscuro and Mig off without any punishment after they'd kidnapped her?
- Why is it important to Lester that his son forgives him—even when he believes that Despereaux is now a ghost?
Chew on This
Despereaux forgives his father because he sees how distraught and remorseful he is.
Despereaux chooses to forgive his father so that he himself won't turn into a twisted revenge-seeking rodent like some others we could mention.