The scene in which the king requests his three daughters' confessions of love towards him, intending to pass his throne to one of them, but is offended by Maruska's response, is a reference to Shakespeare's King Lear. In this play, King Lear asks his three daughters to declare and prove the extent of their love for him in order to inherit part of his kingdom, but he is offended by Cordelia's response.
The King Lear story originates from an old, common folk motif that appears in countless variants of the Cinderella tale. In these stories, a Cinderella-like daughter angers her father by comparing her love to something humble yet essential, like salt. Love Like Salt is a romantic tale classified as type 923 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index. Examples include Cap-o'-Rushes (England), Sugar and Salt (England), The Dirty Shepherdess (France), The Turkey Herdress (France), As Dear as Salt (Germany), The Most Indispensable Thing (Germany), The Goose-Girl at the Well (Germany), Princess Mouseskin (Germany), The Necessity of Salt (Austria), Slut-Sweeps-the-Oven (Belgium), Pepper and Salt (Belgium), Van Sloddeken-vuil (Belgium), Like Salt (Belgium), The Value of Salt (Italy), Like Good Salt (Italy), Water and Salt (Italy), La Sendraroeula (Italy), The Story of Candlestick (Italy), The Screw of Salt (Italy), Rotten Eyes (Italy), The Tale of the Screw of Salt (Italy), Dear as Salt (Italy), The King and His Daughters (Pakistan), The Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt (India, Greece), Salt Is More Worth Than Gold (Slovakia), Los fustots (Spain), Johnny of the Bark (Spain), The Wand of Virtues (Spain), As the Viand Wants the Salt (Spain), La Zamarra (Spain), Salt and Bread (Sweden), The Goose Girl Who Became Queen (Hungary), Salt and Water (Portugal), As Much as Salt (Netherlands), Salt Above Gold (Czech Republic),The Salt at Dinner (Romania).
