Week 06 Story: The Bald Wife's Happy Ending
The Bald Wife's Happy Ending
The woman, a wife who used to be bald, sat beside the muni at his behest. She wanted to ask what he required of her but stayed silent until he was ready to talk. The sun set and rose once more before he uttered a single word to her.
Her long dark hair flowed in the breeze and the birds in the leaves sang of her charm, but she reveled not in her newly bestowed beauty but in the beauty around her. All was peaceful in the holy grove where the muni lived. The woman silently supposed that anywhere the younger wife wasn't yelling at and beating her was considered peaceful.
When the sun had risen enough to be blocked by the boughs of the trees, he spoke.
"By your kindness and obedience, you have been granted blessings," the muni said. "That is not easy to accomplish."
The woman bowed low. "I do not deserve such words, Father Muni," she said, "for I was doing what anyone should do."
The muni smiled. "And yet hardly anyone does." He bade her stand up straight, then said, "There is made someone for everyone. Do you believe you have been successfully matched to yours?"
The woman was caught off guard by this and stood silent. The muni waited until she climbed over the question and answered him.
"I should hope so," the woman said. "My husband has been good to me. He has given me a house and clothes and food. I could not ask for more."
The muni thought on this. "And should a husband let his wife be tormented by others?"
The woman fell silent once more. Every time she brought up objections, they were silenced by the echo of the muni's words in her head. This went on for some hours until she finally gave up and said, "My husband has given me a house and clothes and food. I could not ask for more."
The muni thought on this. "And should a husband let his wife be turned out from that home even in his absence?"
Again, the muni's words silenced the woman. It was another several hours until she spoke. "My husband has given me clothes and food."
The muni thought on this. "And should a husband let his wife dress poorly or allow his wife's clothes to be taken away from her?"
The woman had no words for him. Again, several hours later, she said, "My husband has given me food."
The muni thought on this. "And should a husband let his wife eat the scraps left from himself and the dogs?"
Finally, there was truly nothing the woman could say. The muni asked again if the woman believed she had been matched with the one meant for her. The woman said nothing with her body, but her heart whispered a very tiny, "No."
And yet the muni still heard it.
"Go back toward the path you came from," the muni said.
"But that is back...that is back to my husband."
The muni shook his head. "It is back to your husband, yes, but before you reach the house you will see your true husband, the one you were stolen from, and you shall live happily and have many sons and daughters. Your new husband will be good to you. He will give you a house and clothes and food and will think you are a queen for how much he will love you."
The woman waffled in doubt. "Will he not love me for only my beauty?"
"He will recognize you and gain courage from yours for he has loved you in secret for years."
The once bald wife wept tears of joy, thanked the muni, and started toward her new life.
Author's Note: This story is based on "The Bald Wife" from Bengali folktales. Originally, the bald wife goes back home and becomes the favored wife of her husband and is then treated really well. I wanted to retell it in a way that the bald wife actually got a husband who didn't have conditional love, respect, etc. for her. It's something that always bothered me about this type of story, the good one always went back and the abuser(s) suddenly saw the Error of Their Ways, and I wanted to change that.
Bibliography
The Bald Wife from Bengali Folk-Tales by Rev. Lal Behari Day
Image: The Sacred Hindoo Grove near Chandod on the Banks of the Nerbudda. 1782. James Forbes. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Hi there! I also think it's frustrating when the bad guy suddenly has a drastic change in personality and behavior,, how realistic is that? That same old story has been told in every possible way. I appreciate that you saw this commonality and decided to do something about it! I think your story was really well written. I like how you paid a lot of attention to the wife's character trait, loyalty to her husband, throughout the whole story. It was a struggle for her to admit his neglect and you illustrated that!
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie!
ReplyDeleteI liked your story a lot!
I think it was really cool how you had the muni slowly help the woman realize the flaws with her husband, and that he really hadn't been giving her the things she'd said he had.
I also like the concept behind this story, in order to give the woman a proper happy ending.
Hey Natalie, I liked your story. I think changing it so that the woman left her abusive husband was really good. In the original, having her go back to him felt very strange, but maybe that's a product of your story being written for a modern audience. The error definitely wasn't with the woman and making it so that she leaves and finds someone who actually appreciates her sends a better message.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading through your story and found it very fun. I thought it was cool how you used the story to shape the woman's life when realizing her husband was not good to her. I am glad it ended well in a proper manner for her as well. Look forward to reading more.
Hi Natalie!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about disliking stories where the abusive character is rewarded for offering conditional love to the obviously much better narrator. It was nice to get a story where the woman ends up with a better man than the one that is treating her badly. I would have liked to meet this new, better husband of hers though!
Have an awesome day!