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“ | That cannot be! Why would I be the last? What do men know? Because they have seen no Unicorns for a while, does not mean that we've all vanish. We do not vanish. There's never been a time without unicorns. We live forever! We're as old as the sky, old as the moon! We can be hunted and trapped! We can be killed if we leave our forrest. We do not vanish. | „ |
~ Amalthea as a Unicorn. |
“ | I wish you had let the Red Bull take me. I wish you had left me to the harpy! I can feel this body DYING all around me!! | „ |
~ Amalthea breaking down in tears after being transformed into a human being |
The Unicorn, better known as The Last Unicorn and by her human identity Lady Amalthea, is the titular main protagonist of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, and its 1982 English-language American film based on it. She made a return in the sequel Two Hearts as a supporting character.
She is a beautiful and immortal white unicorn who is the protector of her forest home and was believed to be the last of her kind. This drove her to find the other unicorns, who are rumored to have disappeared until it was later revealed that they were herded to the far ends of the world by an elemental entity known as the Red Bull.
She was voiced by Mia Farrow.
History[]
The Unicorn was born in a forest somwhere in Ireland. She leaves the safety of her forest upon learning that she is the last unicorn in the world, with information about the Red Bull as her only clue. When she first encounters the Red Bull, Schmendrick manages to inadvertently change the Unicorn into a human female to confuse the Red Bull and force its withdrawal. Schmendrick calls her "Lady Amalthea" so as not to arouse King Haggard's suspicions.
Personality[]
The Unicorn is free-spirited and open-minded, showing concern and compassion to all around her. Her personality changes as her story progressed; she also becomes saddened when she discovers the fate of her kind and when she turned into a human by Schmendrick, she greatly suffered from shock to the point where she broke down, claiming that she is more afraid of her mortal form than even the Red Bull. She is very much a lost, lonely, frightened soul who seeks to find what matters most to her in the world.
During her time in Haggard's castle, she initially ignored the advances Prince Lír, Haggard's son, but as she had been in her human form for a long period of time, the Unicorn (as Lady Amalthea) gained the ability to feel love, as she eventually fell in love with Lír while also forgetting her true identity at the same time. Her love became such, that she was even willing to stay human and abandon her quest for the sake of even marrying him.
Even after being reverted back into her true form, her love for Prince Lír remained intact and will continue to love him eternally. Though she was frightened of being in human form earlier, however, in the end she admits that she is glad of being given the chance to experience being human, as it allowed her to experience love and regret and finding the meaning in her life, something that no other unicorn has or will ever know, though this, along with the burden of regret and the taint of mortality prevents her from properly rejoining with her kind. Despite this, the consequences of being human no longer matters to the Unicorn, as the return of the unicorns into the world is now all that matters to her.
Relationships[]
During her journey, the Unicorn met and maintain a friendly relationship with Schmendrick and Molly Grue, but her biggest relationship is with Prince Lír. At first, she ignored his advances but when she begins to forget her identity, she softens towards him, and when Lír expresses his love for her, she falls in love with him as well. Later, when her true identity is revealed to Lír, his love for her remains, which prompts her to stay human and abandon her quest. Lír, however, disapproves, and believes the quest can't be left. The Red Bull appears, and Lír tries to defend her, while she is turned back into a unicorn in the process. When the bull kills him, the unicorn forces the bull into the sea and the other unicorns run free. On the beach, she revives Lír and leaves for her home. Schmendrick tells Lir that the unicorn will love him for the rest of time.
Trivia[]
- Despite being the main protagonist, she has never smiled, even during the happy ending.
- The only time Amalthea has ever smiled in the movie was on the 2004 DVD cover.
- Peter S. Beagle notes that he took the name "Amalthea" from a Greek deity with the same name. Actually, Amalthea was the goat whose milk was given to the infant Zeus.
Gallery[]