Essay: The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn is a book written by Peter S. Beagle that depicts the life of a unicorn who may be the last of her kind left. She battles with a magician against a king who is out to get all of the unicorns. The story stars with two hunters searching through a forest. As they come across a certain part of the forest, one of the men talks about how it is supposedly magical. One of the men believes that a unicorn may live there but the other believes unicorns no longer exist. As they talk about it they realize there is one unicorn left, and it listens in as the men discuss whether it is the last or not.

 

They move on, while still being viewed by a unicorn who thinks about whether she is possibly the last of her kind. She is then drawn closer by a butterfly who sings to her. She tries to figure out if he at any point has seen another unicorn. He uses verses previously reporting that the other unicorns were taken away by a Red Bull that secured their tracks long back. He continues his way and takes off while still singing. The unicorn sets out to leave the security of her home to look for the others.

She travels for miles going to a through many farmlands. An older farmer tries to tame her because he confuses her for a white horse. This irritates the unicorn. She is disappointed the man only sees her as a horse and she continues on with her journey. Although she was disappointed from the encounter, she realizes there may be other unicorns left on the planet that are covering up as horses.

One night, while she’s sleeping, a vehicle driven by the witch known as “Mommy Fortuna” passes the unicorn. Fortuna puts a spell on the unicorn to keep her resting before placing her in an enclosure. She can see there are other animals in the enclosure who are being caged and seen as something they are not. Fortuna’s follower Ruhk shows spectators the animals kept in the cages. The unicorn gathers the interest of Fortuna’s magical performer, Schmendrick, who can see her for what she is. That night, Schmendrick utilizes his magic to free the unicorn who then sets free the other animals.

Everything escapes, except for a harpy which attacks her and Schmendrick. Mom Fortuna comes outside with Ruhk to see what’s going on. They are both slaughtered by the harpy while the unicorn and Schmendrick escape. Schmendrick goes with the unicorn on her journey to search for the other unicorns. He lets her know he is aware of a Red Bull that is possessed by a King known as Haggard, however nobody knows his location.

Soon after, criminals pass by, and Schmendrick is kidnapped while the unicorn hides. He’s taken back to their camp where he’s invited by the leader, Captain Cully and the house keeper, Molly Grue. Schmendrick shocks them all with effective magic. Bothered and freaked. out, Cully ties him to a close tree. Schmendrick tries to free himself with magic but ends up giving life to tree. The tree falls for him and almost covers him until the unicorn arrives and uses her own magic to free Schmendrick. Molly Grue ends up joining their group because she too can see the unicorn for what she really is. Molly goes with them as they continue on their adventure, although Schmendrick is not happy with it.

When they finally come across King Haggard’s castle, they are assaulted by the Red Bull, who tries to get the unicorn closer to Haggard. Schmendrick uses magic to change the unicorn into a human lady. Confused by the unicorn’s diverse shape, the Red Bull leaves. The change has negative results on the Unicorn, who is stunned when she feels no longer immortal as a human. The three proceed to Haggard’s castle, where Schmendrick presents the Unicorn as “Woman Amalthea” so Haggard has no suspicions. They figure out how to persuade Haggard to enable them to serve him in his court.

During their stay, Amalthea is romanced by Haggard’s child, Prince Lír. He gets their trust and ends up telling Amalthea that the unicorns are caught in the ocean for Haggard’s own pleasure. This is because unicorns are the only things that make him truly happy. He at that point transparently blames Amalthea for going to his kingdom to spare the unicorns and says that he knows who she truly is, however Amalthea has apparently overlooked her actual nature and her want to spare alternate unicorns.

The group ends up finding a passageway to the Red Bull’s lair. Haggard’s men attempt to stop them, but they figure out how to enter the red bull’s cage and are joined by Lír. When the Red Bull assaults them, Schmendrick changes Amalthea back to a unicorn. The red bull attacks the unicorn but Lír hops in its way and is trampled. From anger, the Unicorn drives the bull into the ocean. Other unicorns are set free, and they run back to their homes while Haggard’s castle falls to the ground. The castle disintegrates and it is if nothing were ever there.

The Unicorn brings Lír back to life with the touch of her horn. The Unicorn ends up going back to her home. She lets Schmendrick know she is not the as other unicorns now, since she has feelings and knows what love is. Schmendrick and Molly later run into a princess in a bad position who ends up being Lír’s lover. Schmendrick and Molly leave in a way where we can believe they have fallen for one another.