The Ogre (aka Mr. Ogre) is an ogre living in Tamir. His wife is the Ogress.
Background[]
The Ogre and his wife are nasty characters. Those traveling through Tamir must avoid them at all costs. They do nothing to help others, and their dog is dangerous to those who might try to enter their house. It is suggested that people be "beware of the dog".[1]
There is a story that tells of the ogre. Once a boy names Jack, climbed to the top of a magic new stock. There he met an ogre's wife who fed Jack breakfast and hid him in her oven so that her ogre husband wouldn't catch and eat him. When he arrived home, the ogre sniffed around and recited:
- Fee, fi, fo, fum
- I smell the blood of an Englishman!
- Be he live, or be he dead,
- I'll grind his bones to make my bread!
Actually, the ogre wanted Jack roasted or broiled, but he couldn't come up with the proper rhyme. Finding no one about, the ogre ate a few calves, counted a few bags of his gold, and then fell asleep. Jack stole the gold and escaped home. When the gold was all spent, Jack went up a second time and stole the hen that laid the golden eggs from the sleeping ogre. Again he escaped. This wasn't enough for his greedy mother, who sent Jack back a third time. On his last trip, Jack stole a golden harp that kept screaming "Master! Master!" as it was carried away. This time the ogre followed Jack down the beanstalk, but Jack was able to cut the stalk through with an ax in time to plunge the ogre to his death. He and his mother lived happily ever after.
It would seem that perhaps ogre had not died, but he and his wife actually withdrew into the World of Daventry, where they settled in Tamir. He was able to recover the Hen that lays golden eggs, how it came to be in the hands of Genesta is not known.
Behind the scenes[]
The Ogre in KQ1 on Apple II, actually makes growling and bestial noises (similar to a lion or tiger growl).
The ogre in KQ4 is known as the 'The Ogre' in KQ4 Hintbook, both he and his wife are collectively known as 'The Ogre and Ogress'. The Official Book of King's Quest refers to him as Mr. Ogre and 'Mrs. Ogre of the Ogre Family.
In KQ1SCI, the ogre in Daventry is referred to as 'an Ogre'/'This Ogre', and is a separate character.
It's suggested that the ogre race in KQ4 is a giant race in the KQC. This may be based on the fact that ogress is described as a "giant ogre", and a "giant ogress" in KQ4.[2] The ogre himself is based largely off the cloud giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. This goes back to ancient mythology where often trolls, ogres, and giants were of the same creature, but the names originated from different languages.
The original story portrays a "hero" gaining the sympathy of a man's wife, hiding in his house, robbing and finally killing him. In Tabart's moralised version, a fairy woman explains to Jack that the giant previously robbed and killed his father, which justifies Jack's actions as retribution. (Andrew Lang follows this version in the Red Fairy Book of 1890.)
Personality and traits[]
Titles[]
- The Ogre
- Mr. Ogre
Quotes[]
- "Fe, fi, fo, fum! I smell the blood of a...", "...an Englishman! Be he live, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread!"
- "Wife! Bring me my hen!"
- "Lay!"