History Main / StubbornMule

Both these characterizations (ironically) come from the fact that donkeys and mules are ''more'' intelligent than horses and have a stronger sense of self-preservation. This makes them less obedient to humans, and therefore we perceive them as stubborn, but consider: you can ride a horse to death, but a donkey will stop when it's exhausted. Which is smarter?

* ''Literature/AnimalFarm'': Benjamin the donkey is never taken in for a moment by the pigs' false promises of Utopia, and refuses to undertake extra labor for it as some of the more idealistic animals do, but he also refuses to do anything to oppose the pigs.

* A scifi variation in "The Quest for Saint Aquin," a 1951 short story by Creator/AnthonyBoucher. The priest protagonist rides a "robass" ("robot ass"), a MechanicalHorse with ArtificialIntelligence that argues with its rider (it's an atheist) and tries to convince him to give up his quest.

* The French film ''Antoinette in the Cévennes'', released in Anglophone countries as ''Film/MyDonkeyMyLoverAndI''. Antoinette, who is obviously ill at ease with her newly purchased donkey Patrick, has enormous difficulty in getting the donkey to move. In one scene a highly agitated Antoinette starts yelling at the donkey to move, then lashes it with a whip, before bursting into tears and apologizing. She eventually figures out that the key is to walk alongside Patrick and constantly talk to him. At the end of the movie, Patrick has been sold to someone else but refuses to budge again, until Antoinette accompanies them Patrick and his [[FavorsForTheSexy (admittedly handsome)]] new owner [[HereWeGoAgain back the way she came]].

* The French film ''Antoinette in the Cévennes'', released in Anglophone countries as ''Film/MyDonkeyMyLoverAndI''. Antoinette, who is obviously ill at ease with her newly purchased donkey Patrick, has enormous difficulty in getting the donkey to move. In one scene a highly agitated Antoinette starts yelling at the donkey to move, then lashes it with a whip, before bursting into tears and apologizing. She eventually figures out that the key is to walk alongside Patrick and constantly talk to him. At the end of the movie, Patrick has been sold to someone else but refuses to budge again, until Antoinette accompanies them Patrick and his [[FavoursForTheSexy (admittedly handsome)]] new owner [[HereWeGoAgain back the way she came]].

* The French film ''Antoinette in the Cévennes'', released in Anglophone countries as ''Film/MyDonkeyMyLoverAndI''. The director was inspired by reading ''Travels With A Donkey In The Cévennes'' (see Literature) and realising how much it was like a RomanticComedy. As for the donkey Patrick, its stubbornness is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZmgl4TkFBc shown right there in the trailer]].

* Vast amounts of anecdotal evidence, plus at least [[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-008-0172-1 one peer reviewed study]], invert the "stupid" part of this trope.
** One of the chief advocates of the "smart ass" was UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman: "My favorite animal is the mule. He has a lot more horse sense than a horse. He knows when to stop eating. And he knows when to stop working."

* This is the reason they were used to carry equipment in mountainous terrain, horses were just too damned obedient to choose a safe path. They're also generally tougher than horses, making them a good choice for the military for getting to places where vehicles can't go (European mountain-based militaries have done so for centuries, and as they were abandoning them the USMC started using mules in Afghanistan).

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'': While traveling through Mexico, you'll occasionally encounter a peasant leading his donkey down the road. The peasant will loudly and repeatedly curse the beast in Spanish. You yourself can ride donkeys, but they won't jump, they can't run as fast as a horse, and you can't put a hogtied person on one.
** Mules return in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' and fulfill a similar 'low-rent mount' alongside donkeys. You can do a little more with them (in that you can take them hunting) but the animal is too ornery to bond with Arthur or take to the saddle. In this sense, the mule is smart enough to not be a desirable mount for missions and instead be far away from the action once any real shooting starts up.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Parodied in a cutaway gag in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS5E15BoysDoCry Boys do Cry]]", where after Brian says that conservatives are as stubborn as mules a mule is seen playing the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, and refusing to admit that he was in ''Film/{{Footloose}}''.

* ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'': Invoked in ''The Fairy Godmother''. A stubborn prince who behaves like an ass finds himself [[InvoluntaryTransformation transformed into one]]. His asinine behavior persists for some time until he loses some of his pride and subsequently reforms.

* The French film ''Antoinette In The Cévennes''. The director was inspired by reading ''Travels With A Donkey In The Cévennes'' (see Literature) and realising how much it was like a RomanticComedy. As for the donkey Patrick, its stubbornness is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZmgl4TkFBc shown right there in the trailer]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'': Donkey is implied to be one of the stubborn donkeys from Aesop's fables listed below, as the first time we see him he is about to be sold into bondage by his owner, promising to never be stubborn again. After this, Donkey's stubbornness is mostly an InformedFlaw, as he's generally pretty agreeable and willing to do some dangerous feats. He is stubborn in one regard, though -- [[IJustWantToHaveFriends making friends with Shrek]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'': Donkey is implied to be one of the stubborn donkeys from Aesop's fables listed above, as the first time we see him he is about to be sold into bondage by his owner, promising to never be stubborn again. After this, Donkey's stubbornness is mostly an InformedFlaw, as he's generally pretty agreeable and willing to do some dangerous feats. He is stubborn in one regard, though -- [[IJustWantToHaveFriends making friends with Shrek]].

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Mules, donkeys and hill ponies/horses (moor-, Shetland- and Icelandic analogues) show up from time to time. Although not widely deemed as impressive as a warhorse, let alone a dragon, they are ''essential'' if you want to get around the wilder parts of the Seven Kingdoms in anything like decent time. For climbing up to the Eyrie or trekking around and beyond the Wall, you need reliable, hardy stubbornness that's both willing to balk at mutually suicidal directions and can just keep ticking along on dodgy forage, as Stannis finds out when he tries ploughing Southern-bred slabs of hay-guzzling muscle through autumn snow. The poor war- and draught-horses weren't bred or trained for that.

* ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' has a mule pull this act during the leaving of Egypt.

* VideoGame/DonkeyKong got his name in order to evoke the stubborn nature of a donkey. In his debut game, DK escaped from his master Mario and kidnapped Mario's girlfriend Pauline, forcing Mario to give chase through a construction site all while dodging the various obstacles the stubborn gorilla throws in his way.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Mules, donkeys and hill ponies/horses (moor-, Shetland- and Icelandic analogues) show up from time to time. Although not widely deemed as impressive as a warhorse, let alone a dragon, they are ''essential'' if you want to get around the wilder parts of the Seven Kingdoms in anything like decent time. For climbing up to the Eyrie or trekking around and beyond the Wall, you need reliable, hardy stubborness that's both willing to balk at mutually suicidal directions and can just keep ticking along on dodgy forage, as Stannis finds out when he tries ploughing Southern-bred slabs of hay-guzzling muscle through autumn snow. The poor war- and draught-horses weren't bred or trained for that.

It's a common stereotype for mules, as well as for their donkey sires, to be stubborn, recalcitrant, and uncooperative animals. This typically applies in the context of trying to use them as beasts of burden, with the animal in question stubbornly refusing to pull its cart or haul its load and firmly planting itself in its spot. If it will be convinced to move at all, it will only be by dint of much pulling, pushing, and cursing, and most likely after some judicious application of goads or stout sticks. Less commonly, the mule or donkey will be used as a steed instead, typically on a path to harsh for horses, and at an arbitrary point in the path suddenly refuse to move any further.

* The original {{Aesop}} had several fables centering on these:

[[folder:Religion]]

Despite the name, this trope is equally applicable to full-blooded donkeys as it is to mules. More rarely, hinnies -- the other horse/donkey hybrid; mules have a horse mother and donkey father, while hinnies are the other way around -- may be depicted this way as well. Compare MoodyMount (which is for rideable animals ''other'' than donkeys and mules being troublesome).

* The French film ''Antoinette In The Cévennes''. The director was inspired by reading ''Travels With A Donkey In The Cévennes'' (see Literature) and realising how much it was like a RomanticComedy. As for the donkey Patrick, its stubbornness is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZmgl4TkFBc shown right there in the trailer]].

* ''Travels With A Donkey In The Cévennes'', the 1879 travel memoir by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson. Mr. Stevenson has one of the first 'sleeping bags' for his camping trip, but it's so bulky he has to buy a donkey called Modestine to carry it. The donkey walks so slowly it drives Mr. Stevenson to frustration, but he sheds ManlyTears [[FireForgedFriends when he has to sell Modestine at the end of the trip.

* The French film ''Antoinette In The Cévennes''. The director was inspired by reading ''Travels With A Donkey In The Cévennes'' (see Literature) and realising how much it was like a RomanticComedy. As for the donkey, it's stubbornness is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZmgl4TkFBc shown right there in the trailer]].

* ''Travels With A Donkey In The Cévennes'', the 1879 travel memoir by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson. Mr. Stevenson has one of the first 'sleeping bags' for his camping trip, but it's so bulky he has to buy a donkey called Modestine to carry it. The donkey walks so slowly it drives Mr. Stevenson to frustration, but he sheds ManlyTears [[FireForgedFriends when he has to sell Modestine at the end of the trip.