Essay on “The Hundredth Dove”

            “In honor of my bride, the Lady Columbia, whose name means dove and whose beauty is celebrated in all the world, I wish to serve one hundred of the birds at our wedding feast” (Yolen). That was the task given to Hugh, the fowler; to gather one hundred doves and bring them to the king. He had no problem getting ninety-nine gray doves. It was just the ultimate desire to have the beautiful white dove with sparkling black eyes in his possession. This is a fictional romance written by Jane Yolen. During “The Hundredth Dove”, Hugh is a loyal bird hunter who has trouble capturing a white dove, which escapes from the net like a mouse from a cat. He finally is able to catch it, but has a man vs. self conflict trying to determine whether or not to kill it while he has the chance. He certainly makes the correct decision by being faithful to the king.    

           While Hugh has a controversy with the dove, he is able to make a good resolution. It teaches him a good lesson, and causes him to start a new beginning with his relationship to birds. This is what makes this short story a romance. It all starts out with a mild conflict, which is his difficulty with catching the gorgeous, white dove. The problem increases slightly, and Hugh is considering whether or not to take the dove to the king’s wedding with the other ninety-nine gray doves. The conflict turns quite large, and the white dove begins to speak to Hugh. It tells him that if he lets it go, the queen will be his true love. The fowler wants this badly, but knows that his loyalty to the king should be even greater. Hugh decides what is right, kills the white dove, and sends it to the wedding with the rest of the doves. A new beginning takes place, and Hugh treats all birds with respect.

     Hugh is very committed to pleasing the king, and tries to help carry out his requests. An example is when he gives up an option to have the queen as his own true love, in order to please the king. That took a lot of nobility for him to do that, and it was very difficult for him. Many people today wouldn’t give up the option to be with the person they love to get something for their leader. Hugh is also very determined, for when he decides what he wants, he will keep trying until he gets it. When Hugh sees the magnificent white dove, he knows that he must get it. He spends days trying to catch it, and it is easy to see that he has a lot of patience. He finally succeeds, and holds his prized possession.                                                                                    

     Hugh certainly thinks that the dove is beautiful, but he also has strong feelings for the queen. It is clearly recognizable when he first sees her, and kisses her golden ring. Is this magnificent queen the white dove? After all, Hugh notices the same ring that was on the queen’s finger on the white dove’s leg. The dove also has the same sparkling black eyes as the queen. Later in the story, the dove begins to talk in the queen’s voice, and this tells you that the white dove is definitely the queen.

      Hugh has a hard time with the difficult decision on whether to follow the king’s orders to take the white dove to the feast, or to let the dove go and fall in love with the queen. He knows what he wants but also knows what is right. In the end, he makes a good decision. From then on, Hugh is very kind to all birds, but never saw another dove. He, without doubt, learned a good lesson, and became a better person.

Bibliography

Yolen, Jane. The Hundredth Dove. n.d.