Week 13 Story: Britomart's Decision

This was the moment that Britomart had been waiting for. She gazed up at Artegall's face and felt... nothing? Well that was strange. Britomart looked again, to be sure. Yep, everything checked out. Strong jawline, wavy golden locks, hunky blue eyes. It was all there, just like the mirror showed it would be. So why wasn't her heart all aflutter like it was supposed to be? Maybe she wasn't doing this right. Britomart tried squinting her eyes but nothing changed. She just didn't see anything behind those eyes. He seemed like a nice man, but no different from all the other men who were wooed by her good looks. She had known from a young age that she was more than just a pretty face, and it was a rare man who saw that in her. She had been sure Artegall, the man prophesied to be her love, would be one of those men. It was heartbreaking to think that she had to settle for a man who only valued her for her beauty.

But wait, why did she? So some stupid mirror told her she was supposed to be with him. He was a famed knight, there were maidens falling all over him. He would be fine, and she owed it to herself to find a love that was good by her standards, not some wizards. Britomart kindly said goodbye to the love-struck knight, and set out on a new journey. Her best friend, Amoret, had gotten lost in the desert, and wandering around in the desert finding her sounded like the perfect way to readjust her views on love. While also nursing her sore heart, Britomart had to admit to herself. It was a little sad that the dream of her knight didn't pan out the way she thought it would. But Britomart shook her head, put on her helmet, and set off towards the desert.

Author's Note: In the original story, Britomart saw Artegall's image in a magic mirror and Merlin told her that was the love of her life, so she set off on a grand quest to find him. She finally finds him and they get married and live happily ever after. She makes a best friend along the way named Amoret, who does get lost in the desert but Britomart leaves that to other knights to find her. After Britomart gets married she kind of stopped being the bad ass princess warrior to me, and just altogether running after a dude you see in a mirror seems a little stupid to me. So I decided to retell it where when Britomart actually meets Artegall, she realizes he is not what she thought he would be. But that's okay, because she has other things in her life that are important to her and she is going to worry about finding those.

Florimell's Flight by Washington Allston

(Wikipedia)

Story source: Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916).

Week 12 Storytelling: Lancelot's Proposal

She could not believe he was here. It had been years since she had seen him, but he still looked the same. His shoulders were not quite as broad, his hair had grayed, and he had a haggard look in his eyes, but the eyes were still the same blue they had always been. She could not look at them too long or she became distracted. Guinevere felt stirrings in her heart that she had not felt in a very long time, since before Arthur had been slain. The pain of his passing had not faded, and it still stabbed at her heart with an angry ferocity. She still woke up in the mornings and did not recognize the surroundings of her small room at the nunnery. It was so different from the grand palace she had lived in for so long. She did not mind the nun's habit, or the plain food, but she did miss the human contact.
Guinevere realized that Lancelot was speaking, beseeching her to run away with him. Wait, that couldn't be right. They were not children anymore, and their affair had ended many years ago. She scoffed at his proposal, but then he moved in closely to her and the memories flooded back. She remembered why she had betrayed the grand Arthur to be with him. But that was a long time ago, and Guinevere's heart had grown hard. She was a widow now, and a woman of God. She had begun to feel aches and pains in her bones, and age was quickly coming for her. It was time for Lancelot to go. She shoved him away, hard, and could barely stand to see the hurt in his eyes. Lancelot screamed that she was all he had left in the world, but Guinevere turned her back and walked towards the chapel. She did not look back.

The Parting of Sir Lancelot and Guinevere by Julia Margaret Cameron 

Wikipedia

Story source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).
Author's Note: Guinevere is the wife of Sir Arthur, King of Camelot. While they were married she had an affair with one of Arthur's closest knights, Sir Lancelot. After Arthur was slain in battle, it was written that Guinevere went to a nunnery and became renowned for how pious and devout she was. While she was there Lancelot came and saw her, but she sends him away. I wanted to elaborate on that encounter, because they have so much history and I think the emotion of their old affair combined with the pain of losing her husband is intriguing.

Week 11 Story: Brave's Fright

There was once a little boy named Brave, who was the son of the Chief of a great tribe. Brave was quite brave and strong, and everyone expected greatness out of him someday. However, he was also impulsive and mischievous, and quite known for getting into trouble. He had a band of six boys who followed him around like puppies and oohed and awed at his every stunt.
One day Brave came across a hollow in the ground, which he did not know was the grave of an old medicine woman. Assuming it was just the place of a dried out puddle, he tried to walk over it and tumbled and fell back. Confused, he tried once more and fell back on his face, with his bottom high in the air. At this point he could swear he heard the trees shaking their leaves in laughter and the wind giggling behind him. Brave shook his head and went home. The old men of the village told him that that was the grave site of an old medicine woman, and his six friends insisted he show them the next day.
The next day, Brave decided to play a prank on his friends and crawl in the grave to scare them. So he told them he would meet them at the grave, then went and painted his face white as a ghost and crawled in the grave. As he was waiting for his friends, he started hearing a faint chanting. The chanting grew louder and then an old woman whispered in his ear, "WHO ARE YOU?" Brave screamed and bolted upright. Right at this time the six boys had come upon the grave, and ran screaming through the woods as they thought they had saw a ghost. Brave followed them, scared senseless, and as he looked over his shoulder he saw a crinkled eyed old woman smiling and waving behind him. Brave ran screaming and crying into the middle of the village, to the waiting laughter of the old men.

Source

Author's Note: This is based on the original story A Little Brave and a Medicine Woman. In the original story a boy does tumble and fall, but there is no ghost or laughing. Furthermore, the woman does not whisper in his ear, although the boy does think he hears chanting. I thought it would be fun to make Brave a little more cocky and to also give the grave a ghost with a sense of humor

Story source: Myths and Legends of the Sioux by Marie McLaughlin (1916).

Week 10 Storytelling: The Girl With Three Fathers

There were once three brothers and one sister who lived in an isolated cabin. They loved each other dearly, and when their parents passed on they became each other's only companion. One day, the sister came upon a man in the woods, and immediately fell in love. The two were wed and had a child within the year. However, tragedy struck and the couple was killed shortly after the child was born in a terrible flood.
Thus, the three brothers were left with this little baby girl. The men had no idea how to raise their niece, and no women around to help them. However, they did their best and through love and patience on both ends, the little girl grew into a beautiful,  intelligent young woman. As she grew old, she understood that she could not live in the cabin with her "fathers" forever, and one days she told them of her plan to go explore the world and find her fate. They hated the idea of her going out and learning the truth of how evil and hard the world was, but they understood it was her decision.
Soon after the girl began her journey, she met a strong, confident man who lived in a grand house high on a hill. The man seemed to know everything and welcomed the girl into his grand life with open arms. But soon their lives took a dark turn, and the man who had seemed so grand and kind soon became dominating and cruel. The girl did not know what to do, and she missed her home and her fathers dearly.
One day when her husband was out, she send a letter to her fathers, telling of her woes. However, she instructed them that they could not write back or try to overtly rescue her for the man knew everything and everyone and would certainly exact revenge. When the fathers received this news they wept with sorrow, until one of the men came up with a grand plan. He said, "There is a woman who lives not far from here that is known for her skills in bringing about childbearing. We could ask her to go rescue the child under the pretense of consulting on childbearing." The other men agreed that this was a grand plan, and they quickly went to the woman to beg for her help.
The woman felt sorrow in her heart for the poor dear's plight, and quickly agreed to help. She went to the house and told the man why she had come, and he ushered her in eagerly. She instructed him that she could not work with any male presence within 30 miles of the home, and he should leave for the night and come back tomorrow. The man, although skeptical, packed a bag and left. The woman and the girl quickly fled, and rushed back to the girl's fathers. The fathers then realized that their fear of the world would hurt their daughter, and the foursome set off to find a new life away from the evil man.

Image Source

Author's Note: This story is very loosely based on the Arapaho tale Splinter-Foot-Girl. In the original story, a child is born out of a wound and lives with seven young men. The girl when grown is wooed by a buffalo bull, and goes to live with him. The girl's seven fathers miss her, and use a mole and badger to sneak her away from the bull. The bull then chases them to try to get the girl back. When I was reading the tale it reminded me of a girl running away from an abusive relationship, so I tried to tell it more like that.

This story is part of the Native American Marriage Tales unit. Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

Week 9 Story: Hilary's Voice

Hilary could not believe how selfish her sisters were being. I mean, she had just booked her first world tour, its not like she was Beyoncè or anything. Melissa and Katy just wanted to mooch off of her because they did not think they were making enough at their boring jobs. It wasn't Hilary's fault that she was born with this killer voice. It wasn't her fault that she had signed a record deal when she was 21 and had had 10 chart-topping hits in the two years since. But Hilary's sisters had just come to her and seemed irritated that she had not offered to help them out. They both had kids, and Hilary knew that had to be expensive, but it wasn't Hilary's decision for them to have kids. And she was young, she did not know how long the fame would last. She needed to keep her money and make sure she could take care of herself.
Hilary was in her dressing room, taking her 30 minutes of meditation before dress rehearsal for her next show. Suddenly, she heard a low voice whisper, "My child, come to me". Hilary began shaking with fear, asking "Who is this?" The voice whispered back, "All will be revealed soon my child. But you must follow." Hilary did not know why, but she knew she must obey the whisper. She followed the sound of shuffling paws out the door and into courtyard of the hotel. There, she peered into the fountain, and saw an amazing sight- mermaids were swimming around in an underground kingdom! Hilary blinked her eyes but the image did not go away but only became more incredible. Suddenly the waters began to part, and Hilary was pulled into the fountain.
Hilary opened her eyes and found herself sitting on a throne surrounded by mermaids. All around were blue and purple towers made of shimmering shells, and fish swam freely around her. One of the mermaids swam up to her and gently said, "Our honored guest, we have prepared a feast for you. Please join us." Hilary noticed now that there were decadent trays loaded with food and drink all around her. But for some reason Hilary had a gnawing feeling in her stomach that she should be afraid. She tried to politely decline, but the merpeople became more insistent. Finally, she took a sip of a glass offered to her, and noticed a burning sensation in her throat. When she tried to tell them what was happening, no sound came out of her mouth. The mermaid who had first spoke to her came up and said, "Hilary, I am Sovana, leader of the mermaids. We saw how you were treating your sisters, and for your selfishness you have now lost your voice. Return to your land." Hilary began screaming, but no one heard it.

Image Source

Author's Note: This story is based on the Congo story The Fetish Sunga. In this story a man is a great fisherman but he does not share his fish with his family, he lets them rot in his house before he will share them with his family. Then a fetish (spirit) brings him to a lake and gives him a big feast, which takes away his voice. She does this to punish him for his selfishness. I took this story to modern times but still kept the part where she loses her voice. 

Story source: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

Week 6 Story: Scheherazade's Plan

           "Just breathe deeply. You can do this, just remember the plan," Scheherazade thought to herself as she sauntered into the bed chamber. She knew she would not sleep at all tonight. As she laid down on the floor pillows, she wondered how many women had slept in that spot. Correction, not slept. Laid awake next to a monster, waiting to be strangled the next morning. Scheherazade could not imagine a worse way to die. Just as fear threatened to take over her body, she looked over and saw her sister Dinarzade staring at her. Dinarzade gave her a small smile, and it filled Scheherazade with hope. The smile turned into a stone-faced grimace as they both heard shuffling down the hallway, and the sultan stumbled in the room. Luckily he was so drunk from the festivities that he passed out snoring a few feet from the girls and did not try to touch either one.
            Scheherazade thought of the conversation with her father earlier in the day: "Father, I can do this! I am clever and brave, and if there is any woman that can stop this endless tirade of murder, it is me. If I die trying, it will be for an honorable cause. Dinarzade and I have come up with a plan that will work. I will beg the sultan to let Dinarzade be with me on my last night. An hour before dawn, before he plans on killing me, Dinarzade will wake us and beg me to tell them a story. I will weave a story so enticing, so interesting with such a cliffhanger that the sultan will have no choice but to let me live until the next night to finish the story."
             "That is all fine and well daughter," said the grand-vizir, "but what of the next night? Or the next? You cannot possibly continue to spin stories for the rest of your days! Furthermore, I will not let you marry such a man, when you could have any bachelor in this land!"
              "Father, this is beyond my marital needs. This is beyond even my life. Women are dying, every day. This cannot continue, I cannot hear their screams every night as they lay there waiting to die. I can do this, I can continue the story by adding layers and layers. The sultan only hates women so much because his first woman deceived him so badly that he had to kill her. I just have to keep spinning stories until I can show him that he can love me, a good woman who will not deceive him. With my beauty and my wit, it should not take too long. Father, this is important. I feel it in my heart that this is my duty."
             Scheherazade felt a tear slip out of her eye as she thought of the way her father shook his head in a resigned manner. She knew the toll bringing girls every day had taken on him, and the last thing she had wanted to do was add to that burden by letting him think he was losing his daughter. Scheherazade gave herself a little shake. This was not the time for emotion. She saw the sky begin to turn a faint purple, and Dinarzade begin to stir. It was time to begin her tale.

"The Sultan Pardons Scheherazade", by Arthur Boyd Houghton (1836-1875). Engraving on wood
Author's Note: This story is based on the Arabian Nights' narrator, Scheherazade. The sultan of the land had a wife whom he loved, but she deceived him terribly. So he killed her according to the law, but this caused him so much grief that he thought that all women were terrible and the world would be better if there were less women in it. So every night he ordered his grand-vizir to bring him a new girl and every morning he had her strangled. Scheherazade, the grand-vizir's daughter, who was well-educated and beautiful, begged her father to let her wed him and distract him with stories so that he would not kill her. This is how the Arabian Nights narration begins. I wanted to show the story from Scheherazade's point of view, because even though she was so courageous I cannot imagine how terrifying that would have been.

Story source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Week 5 Story: Ahura's Dream

         Ahura woke with a start. What a disturbing dream she had had! She wiped the tears from her eyes and immediately went to check on her child, Merab. He was sound asleep in his crib, with dark brown curls framing his red cheeks. Ahura let her heart slow down as she watched him sleep, but she could not get the sick feeling in her stomach to go away. She had dreamt of a wooden floor, and a force making her walk off of it and towards the water. Then she had drowned, but not after seeing her child floating in its depths. The dream had terrified her, and she had felt a prophecy-like quality to the dream that left her anxious. She heard footsteps behind her, and her favorite servant ran up and told her that her husband Nefer-ka-ptah was about to embark on a great journey to find the Book of Thoth, and that he wanted her and Merab to go with him. Ahura fainted.
           When Ahura awoke, she was laying in the arms of the one she loved most. "My husband" she said, "please, we cannot go on this journey. I have had a dream and this trip spells ruin for you and your family!" The man replied, "Ah, my sweet Ahura, do not trouble yourself. You simply had a bad dream, and if there were any chance of harm coming to you or my son I would have also been blessed with some kind of warning as well. I will protect you both, while also gaining all the power and magic in the world. What can go wrong?"
           Ahura tried to comfort herself with his words, but the knot in the pit of her stomach would not loosen. This trip would mean disaster for all of them, she just knew it.

Old Kingdom Egyptian princess Neferetiabet (dated 2590-2565 BC) from her tomb at Giza, painting on limestone, now in Louvre, France

Author's Note: This story is based on The Book of Thoth, in which Nefer-ka-ptah stole the book of Thoth, a god, in order to learn all the magic and knowledge of the world. In response, Thoth summoned the wrath of Ra and made all three of Nefer-ka-ptah's family walk off the edge of the boat. Ahura, Nefer-ka-ptah's wife, was against the trip to get the book from the beginning, and I wanted to give a little more backstory as to why.

Bibliography: Story source: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

Week 3 Story: Venus's Revenge on Psyche

        Venus had done her best to forgive the girl. She obviously made her son very happy, and she did love the grandson that was born out of their union. But every time she looked upon that wretched girl's face, she was filled with a rage that threatened to rattle the heavens! The girl had been made a deity, and this had only intensified her beauty and reputation among the mortals. Venus tried to shrug off the whispers of Psyche usurping her one day as Goddess of Love, but these rumors slithered around in the back of her mind like venomous snakes. She hated Psyche, and she could try her best to convince herself and others that she did not, but that was never going to change. And shouldn't Venus, one of the most highly-revered goddesses, not have to live tormented by this villainous girl for the rest of her days? No, something must be done. Venus paced her chambers, rattling her brain for a solution to the problem of her daughter-in-law. Suddenly, her violet-colored eyes flashed with a light that had not been seen since Psyche had set foot on Mount Olympus. She knew exactly what she must do and who to call to help her. In a puff of pink smoke she disappeared to Zeus's court.
           Zeus jumped, startled, when Venus appeared before him. He hated how his goddesses poofed to and fro, it was quite unnerving. Zeus's jaw set when he saw the expression on Venus's face. He knew it all too well from years of hearing Venus's wishes. He bellowed, "What is it you have come for, my child?" Venus reclined on one of the marble steps below his throne and replied, "No need to bellow, you old fool. It's just me. I have come to see about your love life. You seem very tense lately and as the Goddess of Love I feel it is my duty to make sure the King of the Heavens is well attended to when it comes to love and pleasure." Zeus shifted uneasily, stammering, "My love life is fine and none of your concern. I take any damsel I wish and my desires are sated. Maybe I am tense because I have goddesses like you running around causing trouble. I distinctly remember Olympus being turned upside down only a short while ago while you were looking for that daughter-in-law of yours."
          Venus waved away his comments with her slender hand. "The Goddess of Love knows the difference between sexual tension and other stresses, and it is coming off of you in waves. I remember when you used to take any damsel you wish, yes, you were much more relaxed then," the goddess continued nonchalantly. As Zeus began sputtering incoherently at this insult, Venus cut him off, "Speaking of my daughter-in-law, she is a pretty thing, isn't she? They say she is the fairest deity on Mount Olympus. A perfect damsel for the Tamer of Lightning, don't you think? I bet a pretty face like hers could relieve any and all tension those old bones have."
           Zeus cocked his head and asked, "What are you up to Venus?" The Goddess of Love leaned in with a feral glint in her eye, "I need the girl gone. She torments me day and night, and my reputation is in ruins while she is here. All I ask is that you awe her with your power and seduce her, and if Cupid happens to discover you two while in the act, then it is a sad coincidence that you could not help. That love-struck fool will not be able to bear the sight of her once she is soiled, and he will exile her somewhere where I never have to see her face again. Now, can you do me a favor and bed the most beautiful girl in the world?"

Jupiter and Juno by Annibale Carracci

Story source: Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).

Author's Note: This story is an extension of Cupid and Psyche, a fairy tale written by Apuleius. Psyche is hailed as the fairest girl in all the world, and Venus, the Goddess of Love, becomes extremely irritated and jealous because the mortals are forgetting to worship her and believe that Psyche is Venus reincarnated. So Venus sends her son Cupid to curse Psyche to fall in love with someone terrible. But instead, Cupid makes Psyche fall in love with him. There is of course some turmoil including Venus trying to destroy Psyche with a number of tasks but the story ends happily ever after with Venus dancing at their wedding ceremony and Psyche turning into a deity. This did not sit well with me because Venus had this all-encompassing rage throughout the entire story that just ended at the very end quite suddenly. So I incorporated a seething grudge in this extension to show how Venus got her revenge. 

Week 2 Story: A New Metamorphosis

Light burst through my eyes, and I felt warmth through my body. I felt pressure on my skin- wait, I have skin? Suddenly someone was kissing me, and as I opened my eyes I saw a slightly older man staring at me in rapture. I stuttered, “Who, who are you?” and he replied, “I am Pygmalion. I carved you out of ivory because the women of this Earth were flawed and did not please me. Venus gifted you to me.” I found his voice to be brusque, but underneath I saw a tenderness and love that I found startling. Just as a stream of questions were bubbling up, a shimmering veil appeared to the left of us and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen stepped out. By the way the man called Pygmalion fell to his knees I assumed this was Venus. She addressed the man, instructing him to leave her alone with me so she could orient me to this world.

            “Hello, darling, my name is Venus and I am the goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, and a good many other things. I have brought you here for this man Pygmalion, but not in the capacity he believes. This is a very important mission I have for you, and in return for your cooperation I will grant you the boon of a goddess. Does this interest you?”

            I nodded quietly in response, my mind whirling. She continued, “This man carved a statue of your likeness out of stone because he considers the women of this world flawed and beneath him. While this type of mindset is not uncommon for this era, I feel in this particular case something needs to be done. So I have brought you, a woman with the independence, fire, and education of a modern woman, to woo him. If he does not like the women of this world, then he will love you. Hopefully this will bring some respect and humility to his heart, particularly when he loses his love. In return, I will take you to the modern world and grant you a wish. The most important part of this plan is that you do not get emotionally involved, got it?”

            This plan seemed cruel, but if this Pygmalion was as chauvinistic and harsh as Venus said, maybe he deserved it. I certainly did not want to stay here with this old guy who did not value women forever. So the girl agreed to Venus’s plan, and laughed at the idea that she could ever fall in love with Pygmalion…

Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann statue in Hermitage

Bibliography: Story source: Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000).

Author's Note: This story is based on Ovid's Metamorphosis, where Pygmalion carves a statue and falls in love with the likeness of a women who is then brought to life by Venus. They get married and live happily ever after. But as I was reading the story I was struck by the fact that the women never spoke, never thought, was never offered any kind of choice in the matter. In this version, I like giving the women in this tale a little more power.