Dreaming of a romantic encounter in the woods where Donkey Skin lives, a young prince crosses a challengingly dense patch of undergrowth and has a strange encounter with a ‘talking rose’ that confirms that he is, indeed, on the right path to fulfil his quest. He then arrives in front of a sparkly hut where an invisible wall forces him to keep an uncrossable distance from the object of his desire.
He climbs up onto a ledge, peering through a rooftop window, finally seeing his true love, Donkey Skin, dressed in princesses’ clothing.
Seeing her at a distance like this has no element of sexual voyeurism, it is simply the first encounter he has with the girl he’s going to love. This distance symbolises the enchantment of delayed, romantic love which is worth the wait. In the little mirror that she’s using to look at herself, Donkey Skin sees him looking down at her through her skylight, but doesn’t let on.
As he walks away from the hut Donkey Skin sees him for a second time, through a broken window frame.
They have seen each other, but not at the same time. There was no exchange of glances. The structure at play is that the first person sees the second, who doesn’t see them, then the second sees the first, but the first doesn’t see the second looking on at them.
When he does turn around she flinches out of view, hiding herself from his gaze. But the viewer isn’t certain whether or not he saw her duck away.
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Dreaming of a romantic encounter in the woods where Donkey Skin lives, a young prince crosses a challengingly dense patch of undergrowth and has a strange encounter with a ‘talking rose’ that confirms that he is, indeed, on the right path to fulfil his quest. He then arrives in front of a sparkly hut where an invisible wall forces him to keep an uncrossable distance from the object of his desire.
He climbs up onto a ledge, peering through a rooftop window, finally seeing his true love, Donkey Skin, dressed in princesses’ clothing.
Seeing her at a distance like this has no element of sexual voyeurism, it is simply the first encounter he has with the girl he’s going to love. This distance symbolises the enchantment of delayed, romantic love which is worth the wait. In the little mirror that she’s using to look at herself, Donkey Skin sees him looking down at her through her skylight, but doesn’t let on.
As he walks away from the hut Donkey Skin sees him for a second time, through a broken window frame.
They have seen each other, but not at the same time. There was no exchange of glances. The structure at play is that the first person sees the second, who doesn’t see them, then the second sees the first, but the first doesn’t see the second looking on at them.
When he does turn around she flinches out of view, hiding herself from his gaze. But the viewer isn’t certain whether or not he saw her duck away.