The fairy tale "The Canary Prince" by Italo Calvino deals with a young princess who is kept in isolation inside a forsaken castle in the middle of a forest by her envious stepmother. Although the princess is not allowed to leave the castle or even look outside the window, she soon befriends a young prince who regularly goes hunting in the forest. After their first encounter, he comes to visit her regularly. When a witch gives the young prince a magic book "with yellow, smudgy pages," the princess is able to transform the prince into a yellow canary, which enables him to fly to her window. Once there, she turns him back into a prince. The prince (in the shape of a bird) eventually falls victim to a plot devised by the princess's envious stepmother. The theme of envy plays a major role in the story and is symbolized by the reoccurring motif of the color "yellow," which is traditionally associated with Envy. However, as I would argue, in the context of this story, yellow does not just symbolize envy but also happiness. Moreover, the "smudgy," tainted yellow of envy is juxtaposed with the bright yellow of the canary, which symbolizes happiness.
The first time yellow is mentioned in the story is when the prince - dressed in yellow - sees the princess standing by the window. The text states, "The maiden saw the prince too, dressed in yellow with hunter's leggings and gun, and smiling at her, so she smiled back at him." This passage indicates that their meeting is pleasant and thus the color yellow signifies on happiness that like the yellow of the sun brightens their day.
The second significant instance in which yellow is mentioned is when the witch gives the prince the magic book with "yellow, smudgy pages." Although the book will bring the young couple happiness, as it enables them to be closer together, "smudgy" indicates that their happiness will eventually be tainted.
The yellow canary into which the pri...