Reading Notes: Week 06 "Bengali Folktales" Part B

    There were a lot of stories I liked in this unit. Most of them were really interesting, or concepts within the stories were really interesting. Two of the concepts I liked from Part B were the Ojha (exorcist) and rubies transforming from drops of blood because they hit Siva's head.

    Something that really caught my attention in Part B was the story "The Bald Wife." The basic idea of the story isn't new. I'd say there's at least one story like it in every culture.

    Premise

    There are two females (sometimes girls, sometimes women). 

    One is good, kind, and selfless, and the other is evil, cruel, and selfish. 

    The good female makes a hard journey.

    On the hard journey her kind, selfless, humble qualities endear her to magical things (plants, animals, spirits, people, etc.).

    At the midpoint in her journey, she is given the largest blessing of all and sent back home.

    (This is the change the bald wife underwent because of the blessing)

    When she arrives home, the evil female follows the good female's path.

    While on this path, the evil female either ignores or actively harms all the previous magical things which then proceed to either give the evil female nothing or a curse.

    At the same midway point, the evil female is then given a curse that equates the blessing in goodness, i.e. the curse is just as bad as the blessing was good.

    When the evil female is sent home, she is scorned and is then treated badly in the same way she had previously treated the good female.

    This premise isn't new, but it is one I quite enjoy. Each country/culture puts its own little twist on it that makes it just delightful. "The Bald Wife" got me thinking though.

    In each story, the good woman goes back to the evil woman and to any other abusers. I get it more when the good female is a child because the father always comes to his senses and kicks the evil woman/women out. If it's a wife or adult woman going back, it drives me nuts!

    I want the gentle, loving, selfless woman to choose to love and care for herself instead of going back to the abuser in hopes the male figure will see the error of his ways and love the good female better as he should have the entire time.

    What would be part of the justice for me is the male figure getting stuck with the awful female(s) he willingly let into his house and willingly let her/them abuse the good female. That would satisfy the need for justice even more for me.

    If I do a re-telling of this story, I think I would have the elder wife realize, "Hey, my husband sucks, I deserve way better!"

The Bald Wife from Bengali Folktales by Rev. Lal Behari Day

Image: The Bald Wife, Wow What a Change. 1912. Warwick Goble. (Source: Folk-Tales of Bengal)