The great pastor and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once remarked, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” I think that this quote captures what is at the heart of Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux. Throughout the novel, DiCamillo uses the imagery of light and dark to symbolize the different forces at play. Indeed, I think that these forces are the exact ones spoken about by Dr. King. The light and the dark have residence in the halls of the castle and in the dungeon (respectively). Those who live in the light wrestle against the darkness within their own hearts. Lester wrestles with condemning his son to death and the king wrestles with the darkness of deep sorrow. Nevertheless, the light is home to characters with great capacities for love and forgiveness like Despereaux and Princess Pea. In contrast, the dungeon is a place where individuals wrestle to salvage the little light with exists in their souls. Roscuro struggles with his desire to live in the light while the dungeon prisoner wrestles with his past evils hoping for the day he could make right. In addition, characters like Botticelli are happy in their world of hate. In the end of the novel, we truly see the words of Dr. King coming true for the characters. Roscuro is defeated and in a way redeemed not by the returning of hate by Princess Pea but by the act of love. Lester is able to escape from the burden of guilt by Despereaux’s act of forgiveness. While unusually small, Despereaux’s ability to cast great light makes him a true knight in shining armor.
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