Reading Notes: Week 04 "Jewish Fairy Tales" Part B


Ghost. Artie Navarre. (Source: Pixabay)

    My favorite story from the Part B readings was "The Higgldey-Piggledy Palace." The "Fairy Frog" was a distant second because of how Adam was incorporated. Plus, my curiosity was piqued when the frog said "fairy son." What's the difference between a son and a fairy son?
    Anyway. The Palace story is about how a spirit helps Sarah get away from becoming part of the pharaoh's harem. As the story goes, when Abraham and Sarah fled to Egypt, the king saw her and was so taken by her beauty he immediately desired her as a wife. Fearing he would imprison or kill Abraham for being her husband, Sarah said Abraham was her brother.
    The pharaoh paid for Sarah and separated her from Abraham. They both prayed for her deliverance from the pharaoh. Help came in the form of a ghost!
    Every time the pharaoh would make his moves on Sarah, the ghost hit him with a stick. He could not see the ghost and to anyone not who was not Sarah (she could see the ghost), it would've appeared the pharaoh was just suddenly toppling to the ground. This was not only deserved but hilarious!
    And the spirit did more than just whack him every time he tried to advance on Sarah, but every time he sat or lay down, the chair or bed would turn him out at the ghost's behest. This went on until the pharaoh could no longer stand it and paid Abraham and Sarah to leave.
    The Palace story really lit my mind, especially after having read "The Beggar King" the previous day.
  • The ghost is referred to with male pronouns
    • What if he and the genie from "The Beggar King" were friends or brothers?
    • Would they hang out and catch up and tell stories about the righteous mischief they've caused?
    • What if the spirit was actually a woman?
  • If the spirit was a woman, I think it would take the slapstick to a completely new level not only in comedy but in the significance of a woman saving another woman from what in reality is a very terrifying and frightening experience
    • If the gender for the spirit was swapped, what other stories could I tell?
Bibliography: The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace from Jewish Folklore by Gertrude Landa
                       The Fairy Frog from Jewish Folklore by Gertrude Landa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to the Person Running This Blog

Image
    Hi everyone! My name is Natalie, or Snail Mail Riot, and I run this blog for my Mythology and Folklore class.      I'm currently in my last semester as a student at the University of Oklahoma. I'm majoring in professional writing and minoring in history. My higher education journey has been pretty wild. During my first semester of college, I attended Oklahoma Baptist University. I chose this university because of its creative writing major and proximity to home. Unfortunately, OBU wasn't a good fit for me.     The next three semesters I spent attending St. Gregory's University. This one I chose because I swung to the opposite end of the spectrum. I had chosen OBU solely for its academics. SGU I chose for its life and found I fit in much better there, even though I wasn't happy with being relegated to an English degree instead of a writing one I wanted.     This time, when I changed universities, it wasn't by choice. In the fall of 2018, SGU made the announce
Read more

Week 07 Story: The Fate of Two Friends

Image
 The Fate of Two Friends           It was a peaceful day, even with Sun so close by. Bodhi was in mild shock something hadn't gone wrong because of his friend today. So far, there hadn't been pranks or tricks. No one had yelled. Sun hadn't gotten anyone riled up either. The weather was fair with a soft steady breeze flowing through every room.     Yes, it was a perfect day.     Bodhi frowned and rubbed his forehead. If it was so perfect, why couldn't he meditate? No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on it, he couldn't quiet and empty his mind today. He was tempted to blame Sun, but he really hadn't done anything today. Yet.     "That may be my fault," a man said.     Bodhi turned to admonish him who dared interrupt his prayers and meditation but stopped. Sitting serenely by him was a man dressed in glowing garments. Bodhi was stunned into silence. His brain catching up to him, Bodhi jumped up and bowed to the stranger.     "You are a celesti
Read more