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I think the flower metaphor is used to show how differently flowers (and the properties and powers vested in it by Mynona) are seen by men and women. While a flower is something hypnotizing to the later mother-in-law, enough to put her in a dream daze, enough power to eventually get her pregnant, for the male, there is a different connotation. Dr. Rosenberger
(I am sure there is a pun on that name) is scared of the flower when he sees the flower bush on his bed. Enough so that he tosses it down to Emma. Men therefore are threatened by flowers and woman are infatuated by them.
A flower is something a woman wants and a male can never embody. Everything a flower stands for is emasculating and yet it is something hypnotizing to woman.

Posted by Hunter at 9:02 PM

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April 7 Post

“The Vegetational Fatherhood” was by far one of the most bizarre stories I have ever read. However, I have come up with a few explanations/interpretations:

1. The young woman represents the Virgin Mary in which not man but “nature” impregnates the young woman, therefore making her rose bush-transforming daughter a representation of Jesus.
2. If the daughter is a representation of Jesus, then Dr. Floris Rosenberger is a representation of the Romans, those who are believed to have killed Jesus since it was Dr. Rosenberger who killed his wife (whether intentional or not).
3. The mother is locked away in an asylum, representing the general belief of the pubic about Mary in reference to her miraculous conception.

As you can see, there can be an extreme religious undertone to this story, or like Ekbert the Blond, I could have just made this all up.

Posted by sloanesc at 9:40 PM

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Vegetational Fatherhood

I think this story is a cautionary tale about lying to a partner in marriage. At first glance, I initially felt that this was another story like Blackbeard, which casts a bad light on falling for somebody "different" (with the racist overtones of the time), but attempted to bury it with the appearance and sweetness of flowers.
However, I thought about it further and realized that the murder is brought about because the husband does not know about the nightly metamorphosis. Had she or her mother been honest with the husband, the murder would have been prevented.
Also, I noticed the reference to a reverse "Lucia di Lammermoor". I looked this up, and found out that it is an opera about forbidden love that ends with Lucia going hysterical after her wedding and killing her husband. The opera itself seems to be about marrying people for the wrong reasons and the consequences that it brings about, so I think this reference strengthens the idea.

Posted by Michael Hetrick at 10:48 PM

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Vegetational Fatherhood and Science 4/7

It is interesting what the role of science plays in the tale Vegetational Fatherhood. While the beginning of the tale is decidedly unscientific with a personified rose and the girl who turns into a rosebush each night after reaching puberty, the end of the story relies heavily on the idea of scientific evidence. Dr. Rosenberger and the girl's mother are deemed insane because they claim an event that is beyond the realm of scientific understanding. Dr. Rosenberger is described as a 'learned man of science' and astonishes all by supporting the mother's claims that the girl transformed into a rosebush each night. It is only after an autopsy, a scientific procedure, is performed that something strange is considered. However, it is not magic but horrific experiments by Dr. Rosenberger, the anatomist, that are thought possible by the general public.

Science both conceals and explains the events of the story. Science hides the actual event of animal-plant transformation that occurred from the public by making it seem impossible. Science, in turn, reveals that something strange was going on but too late to help Dr. Rosenberger or the girl's mother, and the evidence is misinterpreted anyway. Science in the story seems to become a hindrance to the truth not the enlightening quest for knowledge that it is usually thought to be.

Posted by AudraC at 8:29 PM

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Throw out the metronome

Tick, tick, tick. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. This is what a metronome sounds like. It creates a constant beat so that a musician can keep time to his/her music. One and two and three and four and….. To anyone who has played an instrument this is a common sound. After class today, I went back and reread the story “….Of a Naked Saint.” The second time reading it I saw the story as a contest/comparison between the structured and the unstructured, between the rehearsed and the unpracticed, between the absolutism of the Enlightenment and the unplanned of Romanticism. In the beginning our “naked saint” is living in a cave terrorized by the wheel of time. All he was able to hear was the wheel. It sounded in his mind “eternally, eternally without a moment’s pause.” The author is trying to tell us what music is not and how not to listen to music. Music is not simply a rhythmic pattern (one and two and three and four and….). In other words music is not the wheel of time (which reminded me of a metronome). There is much more to music than simply the beat of time. In the second half of the story, our “naked saint” hears true music for the first time, the music of the lovers. He is released from the prison of his mind by this music. We are being told what music really is. It is the sound of lovers; it is the sound of heaven and nature. In the case of this story, however, the language only serves to point to the music. I think Wackenroder would agree with me, nothing compares to music. He is telling us how to appreciate music, but after reading this story we must go out and listen.

In terms, of Wackenroder’s story being a fairy tale, it shares many elements with the oral fairy tales we have studied, such as a transformation and the mysterious, far-off setting. However, it is definitely a Kunstmärchen. The language particularly shares little with a fairy tale. The language is clearly in the romantic style and differs greatly from the straightforward language of the fairy tale. We get a story that is much more descriptive and imprecise. The story contains a description like this “The stars glittered on the dark-blue firmament like golden ornaments on an expanded shield. The moon beamed a soft light from the bright cheeks of its visage, while the earth bathed itself in the rays.” This is very reminiscent of the Romantic period. In a fairy tale a reader would see a more precise, direct description. Also, this story seems to be concerned with the heavenly, the unearthly, something beyond this world. Whereas fairy tales only concern themselves with the happenings of this world. Fairy tales deal with kings, peasants, princesses, famines, marriage, etc.

Posted by Maggie8711 at 11:20 PM


Keeping in Time

Music is structured from notes that fall in time to a rhythmic beat, and its parts can be dissected into chords and stylized notes that follow repetitive patterns. At the same time, however, when the parts are assembled as a whole entity, music can be so much more than a strand of notes. By listening to how the music uses space and time to convey an abstract illustration of emotion and creativity, listeners can transcend the boundaries of rigid music theory into the realm of intense emotional connections with the acoustical message of the artist.

Wackenroder's "A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint" is a literary explanation of the listener's experiences with music. The tale starts off with a man that was one of "the wondrous recipients of a higher genius" who suffered from what doctors would diagnose as schizophrenia and epileptic seizures. This naked saint desperately tried to listen to delusions of the "wheel of time roaring and turning in his ear," and his fixation on this particular sound was both a source of fascination and paranoia for him. His systematic reasoning in trying to comprehend the uncomprehensible "sound" of time reflects a listener's struggle with trying to understand every single nuance that comprises a piece of music. I think Wackenroder depicts the naked saint as a man trying to grapple with the "natural order" of time and sound just as an Enlightenment thinker would try to approach a piece of music in order to explain/ critique a piece of music. However, because a systematic approach using music theory cannot explain the full emotional spectrum music can create, Wackenroder illustrates the maddness that this naked saint suffers from as a result of his the limitations of his understanding of the roaring sound of time. Wackenroder therefore tries to use a rational explanation of the man's sufferings by describing him by almost diagnosing him with epilepsy and schizoprenia.

It is when the naked saint yearns to stop pursuing the rationality of the sound of time and approach the unknown peace of nature outside the realm of time that he is freed from his clinical afflictions and assumes a fantastical form. By abandoning reason, the naked saint is capable of fully understanding sound and time as the artform of the two lover's music. This transformation of the saint as a rationalized thinker into a ideal Romantic genius that fully comprehends the essence of music as an expression of love and the human soul is reflected in the release of the supernatural spirit from the physical body of the saint. It is also reflected in the literary sense by switching from prose to poetry within the story. Poetry is typically associated more as a musical form of literature, and Wackenroder's employment of poetry within his prose reflects his abandonment from the strict division between poetry and prose. Wackenroder's use of poetry within prose shows that music can be a spiritual/philosophical experience within the confines of musicality and music theory. The physical structure of music is not exclusive of the spiritual essence of music, and Wackenroder wants to show that understanding the emotional aspects of music has to come from a wholistic approach in understanding the structure and meaning behind the notes that compose music. Therefore, he incorporates the more melodious nature of poetry into the descriptive nature of prose.

As a result of Wackenroder's inclusion of a fantastical transformation of the naked saint, this tale becomes a sort of literary fairy tale, or a Kundstmarchen. The fascination with the ethereal elements of sound, time, and the human soul is reflected in the author's use of the Orient as an exotic setting. More so, the transformation of the saint occurs at night, a time which is usually more associated with magic and the unknown. Although this tale does not have the typical obvious heroic and evil figures like in more traditional folk fairy tales, the struggle to overcome the "evilness" of rationalization and transform into the herioc (and supernatural) figure of the Romantic musical genius is a fairy tale.

Posted by Marion at 9:21 PM


A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint

I know that we are specifically meant to be discussing the language of the poem at the end of the story, but I am going to deviate for just a little while. One of the first things that I noticed about this story was the evocative language - it just seemed so different to the language of the other tales we have been reading in this class. Even if the plot lines of the other tales were aimed at adults rather than children, their language remained basic and childlike. However this story had great imagery and onomatopoeia - as the sentence structure became more and more garbled and confusing, I could almost hear the wheel of time turning. The long winded sentence structure describing the saint's feelings towards the wheel made me feel nervous as I was reading it. For instance, this sentence really stood out to me: "...poured itself eternally, eternally without a moment's pause, without a second's pause, this was the way it sounded in his ears, and all his senses were geared to this roaring." The repetition and the way the sentence quickens in pace was very effective. Through the language, I could understand how anxious and stressed the saint was feeling. This difference in language made the tale more of a literary Kunstmärchen than a simple folk tale. The language was too refined and well thought out to simply be a tale passed down theough the ages by word of mouth.
However, we are meant to be discussing the relationship between the music and the poetic language, so I will move on to that. The music which eventually transforms the saint into a spirit cines durectky frin the intrinsic connection between love and the pure beauty of nature. It seems almost religious - God has finally given this soul a respite and transformed him into an angel through his beauty and love. Although the poetic language of the song adds to the transformation and no doubt helps the saint to transform, "the song arose from the undulating music." It was the sheer beauty and joy of the music that transformed the saint - the poetic language was merely an added bonus. I therefore believe that the power evoked by the music is not truly accessible to the language, rather the power of the music itself creates the poetic lyrics.
There are elements of this tale that make it fairy tale like. We first encounter our hero (the saint) , he then encounters a problem (the never ending noise of the wheel of time), he suffers through the noise, then the solution arrives in the form of the beauty of the night and the lovers (perhaps God) and his problem is solved as he transforms into a spirit and leaves the Earth to live eternally (happily ever after) in heaven. However, even though it follows the folk tale format, it is definitely a literary tale. The language is much more evocative and well developed than the language of any folk tale - which is simple and mundane in comparison.

Posted by Ruth Kinsey at 10:34 AM


Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

It seems to me that poetic language, like a lot of other things in Wackenroder's "A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint," stems from music. poetic language cannot exist without it. Look at the first half of the story. Sure, the narrative is fairly (B,B+) poetic as far as language. It is literary, although this passage probably will not make it into any Norton anthology that does not have "Kunstmärchen" in the title anytime soon. But the spoken words within the narrative are far from poetic. Our naked saint gives "wild, garbled speeches." After he kills people for being so foolish as to try and chop wood when the wheel of time needs turning, he speaks "in a garbled manner" until he lets off enough steam. The naked monk's "desperate yearning for unknown beautiful things" goes unfulfilled until that special night with the two lovers comes along.

But even here, where the connection between music and poetic language becomes much more apparent, music seems to precede poetic language. Wackenroder mentions that "The penetrating rays of the moon had illuminated and unraveled the dark depths of their souls for each other. Their most tender feelings flowed together and formed tidal streams that no bank could contain." Wackenroder is dabbling with a pretty powerful metaphor in these lines, but that is not the important part of the passage. These two lovers are communicating on an incredibly deep level, one that only tidal flows and not mere words can communicate. Ethereal music starts flowing (or rather bumping as it is almost assuredly techno) from this boat. Only from this techno finally rises a lyrical song. Embedded in these lyrics is the idea that "Love's sweet tone does now resound./ Every note lulls love's sweet beauty/ To the sleeping palms and flowers." Love is talking in music, not in sonnets. It is notes and sounds, not words and semicolons that make love's sweet beauty sleepy. This song solves the naked saint's problem of garbled "crazytalk" and is utterly freeing. Music seems to be the cause of poetic language; without music poetic language would have no source.

What I find more interesting is the extended metaphor I see for the effects music has on life in general. It is no stretch to see our naked friend's constant turning of the invisible wheel of time as a metaphor for living a monotonous life. His perpetual work is driven by a great fear. It sounds like " a waterfall with thousands and thousands of rushing streams" that blots out all other noise. This life, living the rat race if you will, grows more and more violent, and "he wanted to bring all the energy of his body to bear on the blistering wheel, so that time would never be in danger of standing still." He is completely devoted to turning this wheel. However, the narrative makes it clear that "the wheel of time did not allow him to rest and do anything on earth-to act, to effect things, to be productive." Wackenroder is quite clear about the fact that this constant turning of the wheel produces nothing of any actual value. But even with all this wasted effort, our saint still feels a "desperate yearning for unknown beautiful things."

Before music comes along and saves the day, Wackenroder makes one pointed comment about the state of human nature. He says "The people, no longer blinded by sunlight, lived with their eyes fixed on the firmament, and their souls were mirrored beautifully in the heavenly glow of the moonlit night." People are blinded by sunlight, which can be read as the trivial daily work of the world numbing their senses to the firmament that they should actually be mirroring. The naked saint too is obviously blinded to the beauty of the firmament by the turning wheel of time. The toil we as humans do in the sunlight blinds us to the finer things in life. But music saves us. "As soon as the naked saint heard the first notes of the music, the rushing wheel of time disappeared. This was the first time that music had ever been sounded in this remote place." Simply hearing the music for the first time breaks the spell over us, so we are freed to mingle with the greater beauty in the world.

So is this story a fairy tale? Well, Jack Zipes certainly thinks so. But it has several traits in common with more traditional fairy tales. The ones that stick out most clearly to me are the indeterminate time and place in the story and the obvious transformation that occurs. However, the spiritual elements in the story are less legible in a Christian moral framework than they are in a social critique. The point I made about music freeing us from the drudgery of life backs me up on this one. Also, the transformation is to a higher plane, a very "kunst" trait. The transformation is not a taboo transformation into an animal like we encountered in the "folks" tales. There is also a sense of longing between the lovers, which is another important trait in "kunst" style tales.

Song of the blog: "My life would suck without you" by Kelly Clarkson. The "you" in the title refers to music.

Posted by Chester at 7:09 PM


On Poetry and Music - March 31st

In many ways, music is just the ultimate form of poetic language. It is universal, and easily understood by all. All emotions can be expressed, while the effectiveness lies in the skill of the arrangement. If we are to think of the musical scale as almost everyone knows it, we can easily think of "Do Re Mi". "Do Re Mi" is a neat summation of the link between music and language. Here, we have nonsense syllables that are not exclusive to any one language, yet represent so much by their juxtaposition.
I had the great luck of going to an international drum camp while I was in high school. There, I was able to see a performance by an Indian Tabla master. To Indian drummers, music is learned as a separate language, with its own "grammar". Drum hits and rhythms are assigned syllables, like "ta" and "ki". To illustrate this, the drummer spoke in this language, and then performed it back on the drum. As he spoke, his sentences gained more and more complexity, but it was clear that it was not just gibberish.
While this establishes the clear link between music and language, music and poetry are separated by one simple fact: music is a physical art. Poetry is entirely a mental and emotional process, while music also adds the aspect of performance to the mix. Furthermore, poetry is human invention. While music is natural and primal, poetry is the product of representing music with language.
I think that in Wackenroder's story, the saint's nudity illustrates that the author was aware of this link between the body and music, while also driving down the point that music is part of our natural being. He also calls this character a "saint," I think not only to illustrate the perfection that is associated with music, but also so that we do not mistakenly think that this nude character is a beast.

As for the story itself, I feel that it is a fairy tale for two reasons: there is a major, supernatural transformation at the end, and the story is entirely about an outsider who is superior to the society that doesn't understand him.

Posted by Michael Hetrick at 7:52 PM

A Very Brief Overview

In the Tomb of Hermes, posters contextualized social situations as well as film production and considered the devil’s potential as a playmate.

Over at the Court of King Mark, bloggers pondered whether the devil is just another capitalist pig, humorously discussed the film’s humor, and got especially musical.

The Swindlers’ Cave focused uniformly on the not-so-hidden socialist messages.

Members of the Peasants’ Hut ridiculed the film’s ridicuolousness and noted deviations from the Grimm version.

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The Tomb of Hermes
la bête avenant

One of the most striking changes from the de Beaumont version of 'Beauty and the Beast' to Cocteau's "La Belle et la Bête" is the transformation of the Beast into a gussied up version of Avenant. After some extensive wikipedia-ing and babelfishing research, I have found a couple of interesting things, firstly, the actor who plays Avenant also plays the Beast, and he was also the 'lifetime companion' of Cocteau. Take this as you will, but it makes a lot of sense to give the most important parts to such an important figure in your life. But also, the name Avenant in itself is French for "pleasant or good looking." Is it not funny that the beast turns into Handsome for his Beauty? At first I thought this transformation was a bit ridiculous. But the more I think of it, the more I believe that it was a genius decision.
The beast became over time, more and more human. He tried to suppress his need to hunt and kill. He treated Beauty well, and pined for her when she left. As he lay dying, he accepted all his shortcomings and felt sorry for them. However, over time, Avenant became more and more like a beast. He, too, tried to woo Beauty into marrying him, to no avail. But he went from a handsome friend, into an evil muderous plotter, once he heard of the Beast's fortune. Once the two halves of the same man were in the same place, they had to become unified. The Beast, the wild animal, died for the love of a woman, a human romantic ideal. Avenant, the human, died at the hands of Diana (goddess of the hunt, coincidence? I think not), as he tried to steal the wealth of another. They changed places, and by doing so, The Beast was able to be reborn as his true self, handsome, and pleasant, Avenant. Even at the end, when the Beast asks Beauty if she minds that he looks like Avenant, she plays the same game she used to play with Avenant himself.
The beastly parts of Avenant died with the body of the Beast in the Temple of Diana, while the ugly parts of the Beast melted away to reveal the handsomeness of Avenant. Both men unified created a man worthy of Beauty in character, virtue, wit, wealth, and appearance. Together with Beauty, their story transcends all age and time.

Posted by Moriah at 5:23 PM

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The Swindlers' Cave
Of Beasts and Men

Cocteau's portrayal of magic was quite intriguing in comparison to de Beaumont's bland version of fantasy, and I found that through his particular use of magic, Cocteau was able to characterize the human nature much more so than did de Beaumont. The majority of insight that he provided to examine humanness occurred at his conclusion of the story. After thinking about the question posed in class about where the border of distinction between humans and beasts exists, I thought this movie did a much better job at examining what makes us human and how our actions define whether or not we deserve our human essence.

Cocteau achieves this insight by manipulating some of de Beaumont's character and plot portrayals so that by the end, the goodness of the beast and the beastliness of Avontue (I forgot his name, but Belle's other "human" suiter) earn each character their just reward. Interestingly, Cocteau adds this other suiter to the storyline to contrast the nature of the beast. de Beaumont's version makes very vague references to prior suiters for Belle, and none of them hold any grudges against Belle- at least de Beaumont makes no mention of it- that would drive them to go hunt down the beast to kill him and take all his wealth. In reference to the Beast's wealth, Cocteau creates this "sacred domain" where the Beast's true wealth is stored where both the Beast and Belle are forbidden to enter. Inside is where the magical statue of Diana keeps guard of the Beast's treasure and protect's it from any intruders. This statue is also very interesting because it incorporates two of de Beaumont's story elements into one: the good fairy and turning the older sisters into statues for their cruelty. Instead of the statue symbolizing the punishment for ill will and greed, the statue is the dictator of punishments for the same characteristics and acts as the fairy to protect the happiness and virtue of the deserving characters.

The combination of these changes to the de Beaumont version acts in synchrony to show that to be human requires that a person be able not only to recognize his or her own faults, but also be able to convey the true worth of his character. Beast is fully aware of his shortcomings, and he patiently accepts his "beastliness" until some woman is able to recognize the true merit of his character. The human suiter, on the other hand, is lazy, gambles all day, and is way too confident in his good looks to realize that Belle needs more than just a handsome face. Not only that, but he also doesn't stop and consider what he is doing when he attempts to steal the beast's treasure. Because of the Beast's and the suitor's character (flaws), each character earns their true appearance.

Posted by Marion at 4:31 PM

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The Peasants' Hut
Loving looks vs. marriage

One difference that I noticed between de Beaumont’s version and Cocteau’s film was act which was required for the Beast to turn into a handsome prince. In Cocteau’s film, someone must give the Beast a loving look for him to transform. This is interesting because the Beast tells Beauty not to look him in the eye when she firs enters the castle. On the other hand, in de Beaumont’s tale, which reminds me a lot of the Disney movie, someone must promise the Beast their hand in marriage for him to transform. When I researched the dates of these two pieces, I found that Beaumont’s version had to be written sometime in the 1700s, while the film came out in 1946. I may be over-analyzing this, but perhaps the change in the story reflects changing beliefs of the times. Like Shavit’s argument that fairy tales reflect the concept of childhood, I would like to suggest that perhaps fairy tales also can reflect the status of marriage in a culture.

Posted by Brittany at 9:48 PM

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The Court of King Mark
Cocteau seems to have gotten "Beautiful" and "Creepy" confused

The element that interested me most when comparing Cocteau's film and Madame de Beaumont's version of Beauty and the Beast is how the castle is portrayed. Beaumont's description of the castle, although sparse, seems like a precursor to the Disney version of the castle. When Beauty's father arrives the first time, there is no one to be seen, but the castle seems very inviting, with a "warm fire and a table laden with food, with just a single place setting." I almost expected to read about enchanted teapot servants next. In contrast, when the father arrives at the castle in the film, the castle seems to have been inspired by a horror film. Creepy floating arms hold candelabras that magically light. There is a hand in the middle of the table that scares dinner guests before pouring drinks. The statues in the wall are obviously alive. Terrifying. Very different images from the ones Beaumont presents.

This creepy/beautiful theme also carries over to when Beauty sees the castle for the first time. In Beaumont's version, "She could not help but admire the castle's beauty, and...was dazzled by the radiant beauty of that (her) room. She was especially impressed by a huge bookcase, a harpsichord, and various music books." The castle is beautiful and entertaining to Beauty. Cocteau again portrays a castle with body parts sticking out of the walls holding candles. The changes to Beauty's room are also substantial. In the film, there are vines growing everywhere, which to me adds to the "wild v. civilized" influences in the film. There is also a lack of the bookshelf and musical instruments, removing the air of culture from both Beauty and Beast.

Cocteau obviously had to pay much more attention to the setting of the castle because he was making a film, something incredibly visual. However, I am boggled as to why he decided to portray a castle that is beautiful in the story as something so much more sinister.

Song of the Blog: "Cemeteries of London" by Coldplay
Posted by Chester at 11:20 AM

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From The Court of King Mark:

Creepy Fairy Godmothers

I looked at the illustrations of Cinderella on the Sur La Lune website. After looking at many of the different drawings done to accompany Cinderella I noticed that there were many different depictions of the fairy godmother. Some of the illustrations showed the godmother to be rather evil looking, almost as if she appeared as a witch. But we all know that the fairy godmother is good and actually helps Cinderella so I thought it was interesting to portray her in this dark, ominous way. For example in Arthur Rackman’s drawing the godmother appears darkly cloaked and boney, almost as one would picture the witch in Hansel and Gretel to look like. She does not appear jolly and bright like the Disney fairy godmother. There is another illustration done by Paul Woodroffe which shows the fairy godmother with a black witch’s hat on. She is wearing a red cloak and a tight black dress. Her face is very pale and almost skeletal looking and she hovers creepily over Cinderella. She really does appear more like an evil sorcerer than a gift bearing godmother. I wondered why the illustrators chose to draw the godmother in this way. If I were a child reading these stories and viewing these pictures I would immediately associate the pictures of the godmothers as evil due to the way the illustrators drew them. Perhaps these artists were hinting at the moral that Perrault highlights at the end of his story, that beauty isn’t everything, but rather graciousness and a good heart. Although these fairy godmothers appear wicked, they have inner goodness and grant dear Cinderella’s wishes.
Posted by Holly Meehl



From The Swindlers’ Cave:

Fair, Brown, and Trembling

Fair, Brown, and Trembling is a story from Ireland. It begins as a seemingly normal "Cinderella" tale, but has some strange deviations throughout in the text. One interesting aspect is that it concentrates on color throughout the story. Trembling (the Cinderella character) goes to mass (ball) three times, and each time, her attire is described in a full paragraph. Colors are included in every description, even insignificant parts. Not only are colors described in detail, but other small aspects o the story are intricately explained (for example, a specific mark of the belly of a whale...). Also, after the wedding of the prince and Trembling, the story is only half complete. There is an entire second story-line where the prince fights for the hand of Trembling and saves her from an enchanted whale. Yeah, I know. Weird. She is swallowed by the whale after her sister pushes her into the ocean (her sister is in love with her husband) and a little cowboy must alert the prince to rescue her. Finally, the story doesn't include a parental unit of any sort, which deviated from normal Cinderella stories, where the evil stepmother is a key player in the plot. This eliminates any oedipal ties that some Cinderella tales have and make it more about clear-cut good versus evil.
Posted by Emily Hogan


Conkiajgharuna, the Little Rag Girl (A Georgian Tale)

This tale is quite a departure from Perrault and Grimm's versions of Cinderella, although it has the element of the cow as a guardian seen in many of the Asian versions of Cinderella we read in class for this week. First, it is interesting to note that the tales including the cow as the mother-like provider of food and comfort were from Asia and the Middle East because many of those cultures saw the cow as a symbol of wealth and, in the case of the Indian version, as a sacred animal. Second, the story is not a riches-to-rags-to-riches tale as the Cinderella figure is the daughter of a poor peasant, not a gentleman. Cinderella is also not emphasized as the "most beautiful creature ever seen" like in many of the other Cinderella versions- she is not the slender female of the courtly French Cinderella. Rather, she is described as plump because of her nourishment from the cow, and her virtues rest in her ability to cope with her stepmother's abuse, her cleverness to get the king to notice her (by pricking him with a needle through the basket in which she is trapped), and her kindness to the devil woman (who is by every means a horrifying creature.) This Cinderella's hardiness, not dantiness, is what earns her her freedom from her mother and her rise in rank as a queen.

The effect of all these element acting in concert is that this tale is about a girl learning how to earn her own way in life by appreciating the things in life that will earn her wealth in her culture. When the girl takes care of the cow it is hard work, but she learns that her efforts pay off in nourishment and protection. Therefore, the cow becomes a symbol of wealth that has to be protected. The girl's encounter with the old devil woman is where the girl learns to appreciate the older generation's wisdom. Despite some of its knowledge of horrific events in the course of a lifetime, the wisdom of old women and their knowledge of how to become a successful woman in their culture is worth more than its weight in gold to a girl who has to learn how to become a woman on her own. It is with the old woman's wisdom of the springs that the girl acquires her ability to distinguish herself and to earn her greater wealth through marriage. The girl's cleverness is what enables her to take advantage of her newly aquired appreciation of wealth (from the cow) and wisdom (from the hag) by escaping the wiles of her stepmother through pricking the seat of her eventual husband.
Posted by Marion


From The Tomb of Hermes:

Conkiajgharuna, the Little Rag Girl

I read an Georgian version for my Cinderella version called Conkiajgharuna, the Little Rag Girl. It basically had the same story line as the conventional Cinderella that we are all very familiar with. The characters are similar as well, with a widowed father who lived with his biological daughter. He takes another wife that already had a daughter of her own, whom she loved dearly. And she comes to view the other daughter as something to hate and wanted to get rid of her. She lavished her own daughter and treated her stepdaughter, Little Rag Girl, miserably and tried to starve her. The fairy godmother from the conventional fairy tales is now instead a talking cow. Although the person in the position as the fairy god mother is different, they both still encompass that aspect of magic that helps to grant Cinderella/Little Rag Girl’s wishes. In this version, there is another pseudo fairy godmother, the old woman devi. Little Rag Girl is very much like Cinderella for she was filled with goodness in her heart. Just in like the Perrault’s version where Cinderella forgives her evil sisters and offers them lodging at the palace and even marries them off to great lords of the courts. Little Rag Girl helps the old woman devi clean her head of the worms- the conduct pleased her so she tells Little Rag Girl to washed her hair and her hands. In doing so, her hair and hands became golden. There is a more religious aspect to Little Rag Girl, as they are going to a church instead of a ball at a palace. But she still drops a golden slipper that becomes the standard and way of choosing a wife. Two very different aspects of this version of Cinderella is that it mentions race- the evil step sister becomes dark and African in ethnicity when she is tricked to washed in the black river and Little Rag Girl is more proactive and takes matters into her own hands by pricking the king with the needle- she didn’t just hide in the corner while her step sister tried on the slipper. She made herself known and went for what she wanted.
Posted by vanessayu

Assignment: 24 February 2009

Look through the sites below and choose either an illustration(s) or a version of the Cinderella story which we have not read for class and respond to it.

• D. L. Ashliman’s folktale site
• Sur La Lune
• The Cinderella Project at the University of Mississippi

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Good luck on your exams!