Appearance is always the fundamental theme of fairy tales, notably in “Donkey's Skin”, “Cat's Skin” and “The Princess in the Leather Suit” . The appearances of the girls provoked many actions committed by the other characters. For example, the incomparable beauty of princesses made their fathers or an old man want to marry them. But appearance isn't just about how beautiful people are; it’s also about social appearances. It seems that others' views of princesses changed as the girls changed social classes. The girls worked hard through the difficult life of a maid and ridicule, but in the end, they reached the true "happily ever after" life. Even after a horrible life, the girls were still graceful, beautiful and fair. In all the adaptations you may read, the emphasis will always be on appearances. The reason these tales focus so much on appearance is because it connects beauty with good and ugliness with evil. The attractiveness of princesses was directly linked to social class and how people treated them. The way the princesses present themselves and themselves is what creates intrigue. In every adaptation, appearance is the main reason for many actions performed by the characters. The importance of appearance in “Donkeyskin” is immediately emphasized from the beginning of the story. “Neither the court with its many beauties, nor the countryside, nor the city, nor the neighboring kingdoms where one toured could have such a woman. Only his own daughter was more beautiful” (Perrault 110). The king of "Donkeyskin" became mad with the desire to marry his daughters because Donkeyskin was the only woman who surpassed his mother's beauty. This caused Donkeyskin to run away, which is... middle of paper... true 'love'. When people thought princesses were ugly even though they had nothing, when they saw that girls had these incredible material possessions, they became beautiful. Not once in these stories did they talk about inner beauty and how caring and selfless the princesses were. Appearance was what really mattered, what the characters cared about. It's just like what Perrault said, as long as you have wealth, you will be a prince charming and live happily ever after. Works Cited Bushnaq, Inea. “The princess in the leather suit” Tatar, Maria. Classic fairy tales. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print. Jacobs, Joseph. “Cat skin.” Tatar, Maria. Classic fairy tales. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print. Perrault, Charles. “Donkey skin.” Tatar, Maria. Classic fairy tales. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1999. Print.