Character Analysis
Lonely Little Girl
Next time you're angry with your parents, think of this: at least you weren't sold into slavery for nothing more than a tablecloth, a hen, and some cigarettes. That's what happened to Miggery Sow, also known as Mig. Mig's a lonely little girl; her mother is dead, and her father isn't big on responsibility.
"Papa?" said Mig, when her father was walking away from her with the hen in his arms, a cigarette in his mouth, and the red tablecloth draped across his shoulders like a cape.
"Go on, Mig," he said. "You belong to that man now." (24.11-12)
Poor Mig ends up with a terrible master who beats her until she's half deaf, and makes fun of her when she talks to him about her hopes and dreams. One day, Mig sees the royal family riding past. She's completely transfixed, both by their glittery grandeur and the fact that they all look so happy together. She decides that she wants to be a princess so that she can have that kind of happy family and easy life, too:
"I would like…," said Mig shyly. "I wish to be one of them princesses."
"Har," laughed Uncle. "Har. An ugly, dumb thing like you? You ain't even worth the enormous lot I paid for you. Don't I wish every night that I had back that good hen and that red tablecloth in place of you?" (27.10-11)
Nobody has ever cared about what Mig wants. How cruel and sad is that?
Not the Sharpest Tool in the Shed
Because Mig hasn't had any opportunities in her life, there's not much she can do well. She can be pretty gullible. This works perfectly for Roscuro, who needs someone who'll go along with his plan and not ask too many questions. He promises her just what she wants—to be a princess. She doesn't even question the fact that no one's likely to mistake her for the princess. Roscuro's "plan" for her to switch places with Princess Pea is completely flawed:
No one would ever, not for one blind minute, mistake Mig for the princess or the princess for Mig. But Miggery Sow, as I pointed out to you before, was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. And, reader, too, she wanted so desperately to become a princess. She wanted, oh, how she wanted. And it was because of this terrible wanting that she was able to believe in Roscuro's plan with every ounce of her heart. (36.24)
Even if Mig isn't super smart, she eventually realizes the error of her ways and realizes that trusting Roscuro was a big mistake. She knows that she has to do the right thing; that means saying no to Roscuro and helping Despereaux to save the princess:
"Stop it!" shouted Roscuro. "Chain her up. Chain her up."
"Gor," said Mig, "I ain't going to do it. You can't make me do it. I got the knife, don't I?" She took the knife and held it up. (49.37-38)
Mig doesn't get to be the princess, but she is rewarded for her goodness and change of heart. Princess Pea reunites Mig with her father, who is so sorry about selling his daughter that he treats her like a princess for the rest of their lives.