Essay for Week 14: Marriage in Grimm Tales (Crane)

                This week I read the Grimm Unit of tales translated by Lucy and Walter Crane. One thing that I really found interesting about this unit was the motif of marriage and marital problems that could be seen throughout the unit. I will examine four of the stories from the unit in this essay: The Fisherman and His Wife, The Robber Bridegroom, King Thrushbeard, and The Three Spinsters.

                I will begin by examining my favorite story of the unit, The Fisherman and His Wife. In this story, the couple is already married and lives in a small hovel, but the fisherman finds a magic fish. Throughout the story, the wife tells the husband to return to the fish to ask for things to improve their living status. The wife’s greed is insatiable, and the husband reluctantly goes back to the fish each time the wife has a new request. This can be seen as an example of many husbands’ need to fulfill their wives’ desires.

                In the Robber Bridegroom, we can see why it is important to really know someone before you agree to marry them. The robber bridegroom and his pals were a horrible lot, and would have led the miller’s daughter to destruction if it was not for the help of the old lady. The miller promised his daughter to the robber bridegroom because he “knew nothing to his disadvantage.” The miller should have been a tad more selective and gone past first impressions.

                KingThrushbeard was another favorite of mine. In this story, we see a princess who is too prideful to take a suitor. She believes that not one is good enough for her. This story shows us that we can’t expect perfection from our potential spouse; everyone has faults.

                Finally, The Three Spinsters was a humorous tale. I thought it was funny how the girl and her mother lied the girl’s way into marriage with the prince. Not only that, but the girl suffered no consequences for it. I did not find a moral to this story, but it is an example of how funny the world can be at times.

The Three Spinsters by Walter Crane. Web Source: Un-Textbook

Storytelling for Week 14: King Thrushbeard and the Beggar

There once was an old king who had a daughter who refused to be married. She was the most beautiful woman in all the land; however, she was full of pride and conceit. In her eyes, there was no man good enough for her, and every eligible bachelor who came to ask her for her hand in marriage was sent away with the sound of laughter and mocking.

The king even put on a grand ball, in hopes that one suitor would sweep his daughter off her feet. However, the princess would not dance with a single one of them; she found something wrong with each man who asked her to dance: one was too fat, another was too skinny; one was too short, another was too tall; etc. There was one handsome, noble king whom she made a big mockery of. She claimed his chin was pointed like the beak of a thrush bird. The name, King Thrushbeard, stuck with him from that day on.

Thrush Bird. Web Source: Wikipedia

 

The old king was furious with his daughter. He apologized to his guests and politely dismissed them. Then, in his anger, he swore that he would marry his daughter off to the first beggar that came to the castle door.

It was not long before a man dressed in rags came to the castle asking to play a song for the king and his daughter. The king agreed, and the beggar played beautifully on his small harp and sang a lovely song. Then he asked for a small sum for reward. The king did not offer the beggar money, but instead offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. The princess was in complete shock. However, her father could not break his word. A wedding was held immediately and the princess became a beggar’s wife.

The beggar then led his wife out of her old home. She asked him where his carriage was, but was saddened to find out that they would be travelling on foot.

The two passed through a large forest. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the forest. He explained that it belonged to King Thrushbeard, and it could have been hers if she had taken him for a husband. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he knew of her mockery of her suitors.

The two passed through a beautiful, green meadow. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the meadow. He explained that it too belonged to King Thrushbeard, and it could have been hers if she had taken him for a husband.

The two then passed through a large city with many fine building. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the city. He explained that it was King Thrushbeard’s kingdom, and it could have been hers if she had taken him for a husband.

Finally, the two came to a very small cottage. The beggar’s wife asked him who owned the wretched hole, fearing the answer he would give her. He explained that it was his home, and it is now hers that she has taken him for a husband.

 

Author’s note:

This story is based on part one of King Thrushbeard from the Grimm Brothers Unit. The story continues and has a surprising ending. I do not wish to spoil it here, because I plan to include both parts in my storybook, Pride Cometh Before Destruction. I really enjoyed the original, so I only wished to condense the story and not edit any further.

 

Bibliography:

King Thrushbeard from Household Stories by the Brothers Grim, translated by Lucy Crane (1886)

Reading Diary for Week 14: Grimm Tales (Crane)

Grimm Tales (Crane)


The Fisherman and His Wife: I can relate to the fisherman a bit. While my wife is content and happy with our apartment unlike the wife in the story, I can tell that she has more of a desire to buy a home than I do. I would be fine living in the apartment for many years, but like many husbands, I want to fulfill my wife's desires and so we will probably buy a house sooner rather than later. However, while my wife would probably ask me to ask the fish for the cottage, that would be the end of it. She does not want anything extravagant like a castle or power over the moon and sun, just a nice home to call our own.




The Robber Bridegroom: What an evil little group of men. I like how she kept repeating, "Sweetheart, the dream is not ended," while she was telling her story. I was imagining the bridegroom nudging her to stop talking throughout the story.


King Thrushbeard: This unit definitely seems to have a focus on marital problems. This story really surprised me! I did not expect the beggar to be king Thrushbeard. This may be the one I rewrite. It would make for a nice ending to my storybook. Death could end with encouragement that you can learn from your mistakes and learn to humble yourself.


The Three Spinsters: This story was pretty funny. I loved the way the prince told her not to spin anymore in fear of her becoming like the three spinsters. I bet her mother is furious with the situation, though. That the daughter was constantly rewarded for her laziness.