Reading Notes: Week 2 Reading Anthology
Week 2
Reading Notes: Origins, Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson (1899) "The man in the Moon"
This reading felt very earthy. Starting out the blacksmith wanted to be with the trees and the mountains. When he discovered that wasn't where he felt comfortable he wanted to be one with something else. He wanted to be a stone cutter instead and ventured on the become that. The blacksmith going through these changes seems all in all like a lesson. We often seek better because we think we are uncomfortable or unhappy when we really miss our opportunity to enjoy life the way it is. Going through all of these changes and coming back full circle is what sounded to me as a missed opportunity. I also could feel the presence of this blacksmith experiencing all four elements: Earth, wind, fire, and air! I liked that because he started off as a simple blacksmith and was able to take form as all of these things. Things that we actually can't take form as but we can experience. He found that experiencing these never made him fully happy and he wanted to return as his job as a simple blacksmith. The wise man gave me the idea of how you shouldn't let others control your life or where you want to be. They could ultimately be the reason you end up somewhere forever. With that being said I don't think the blacksmith would ever settle on anything if it weren't for the wise man making that decision. Seeing the "man in the moon" is a beautiful thing. We look at it, we admire it, It's (somewhat) untouchable. No stone cutters, no sore feet, just beauty with the moon. I especially liked this story because it involved earthy elements and a man who's story can be related to humans. I liked that the man was only granted a few wishes and now is stuck on the moon -but I interpreted it in a beautiful way. A way of life.
Reading Notes: Fairy Tales, The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922)
This fairy tale was NOT what I was use to! Which is a realistic and good thing. Most fairytales aren't like the ones Disney puts out. They're somewhat more horrific. I found it intriguing that a mom was a huge part of the story. She also has a good relationship with her daughters that she would do anything to bring them back what they wanted. The daughter was selfless and didn't want to trouble her older mother into buying all these things that she just asked for roses. This is where I find the story to get so weird. The basilisk demanded the daughter in exchange and the daughter was okay with it. Her gift ended up being the most costly of them all. The daughter did what she had to do though and of course did whatever the beast told her to do. She had to cut off it's head, which is so different from any other fairytale i've read before. When she cut off his head a second time she didn't hesitate at all. She didn't seem scared or anything of the beast. She also had no idea what to expect and didn't know he would change the way he did. She basically was able to "cut" the rage out of him and her selflessness was able to let the real him emerge. His way of thanking her was to basically give her the castle and marry her. I loved that there was a beast in this story. The characters of the three daughters and the mom being the main character was also important to me because a lot of stories don't involve that many women. Everyone in the story was doing a lot of things for themselves and I found the youngest daughter to be the one choosing to do things for other people. I find beauty in that and in the roses she longed for. In the end those roses were the reason they came together and she was able to help everyone out. The image below is the one provided for the basilisk story. I thought it was honestly so beautiful!
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