Though Despereaux only meets Princess Pea once before he's sent down to the dungeons, he remains completely devoted to her in The Tale of Despereaux. Like a noble knight in the fairy tales that Despereaux loves so much, he vows to honor and serve the princess. The author is describing the knight's code of "courtly love," which involves lifelong devotion and sacrifice to your lady love.
This means that Despereaux has promised to face perilous adversaries in order to protect his princess. So when Roscuro kidnaps the princess for his own diabolical plan, Despereaux goes after her, even though it means risking his life that deep, dark, scary dungeon with rats who want nothing more than to eat him up. The mouse has pledged his loyalty; he has no choice but to rescue her.
The storyteller values loyalty so much that she interrupts the story to ask the reader to recall the meaning of the word "perfidy." (Shmoop helpfully looked it up for you—it means betrayal, which is the opposite of loyalty.) She's even got a chapter titled "Perfidy Unlimited." Little Despereaux's our hero because of his complete and undying loyalty.
Questions About Loyalty
- Do you think that Despereaux remains loyal to his princess throughout the book?
- How does Despereaux's family betray his trust and love?
- Why doesn't Furlough let Despereaux go when he's leading him down to the dungeons?
Chew on This
Despereaux is loyal to the princess because he knows very well what it's like to be betrayed.
Not being loyal—betraying or abandoning the people or creatures you should be caring for—is about the worst thing you can do in this story.