Youngest Son



The Youngest Son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers (or sisters), and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters. In a family of many daughters, the youngest daughter may be an equivalent figure.

Description
Prior to his adventures, he is often despised as weak and foolish by his brothers or father, or both — sometimes with reason, some youngest sons actually being foolish, and others being lazy and prone to sitting about the ashes doing nothing. Sometimes, as in Esben and the Witch, they scorn him as small and weak.

Associations

 * Youngest Daughter
 * Seventh son of a seventh son

Folklore/Mythology

 * David (Judeo-Christian Mythology)

Literature

 * Prince Ivan (The Death of Koschie the Deathless)