Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Reading Notes: Tibetan Folk Tales, Part A

This week I decided to read Tibetan Folk Tales, and the tale that has most interested me thus far is The Story of the Two Devils.

I thought this story was so weird, just because the fortune teller was a quack and still ended up with so much. It seems like a weird moral for the liar to come out on top. Not to mention, his wife's greed also paid off. I really can't figure out the message this story is trying to send, besides, "demons are bad and eat people's souls." This definitely could be something to address in a rewrite.

I also found it strange that one woman marrying seven men wasn't more socially unacceptable. Speaking of...Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, anyone? That could be a really interesting crossover, actually, if Snow White were a demon, the witch the fortune teller, and the prince the yak. It would take some twisting of both stories to make it work, but I think the parallel may be too good to pass up. I'd maybe have to change the plot also, though, because I can't see the dwarves not getting suspicious if they let this woman into their home and suddenly started dying one by one. Granted, she is very charming and could have them ensnared. This would also be a fun opportunity to invert the traditional good princess and evil witch narrative. I'm not sure if I should give the witch a significant other or just merge the wife's greed into the witch. I could ditch that part altogether, though. Maybe she'll ask for a lot right off the bat. Oh, I need a king/prince to split the kingdom...hm. It could somehow be the huntsman? Or, again, I could just leave that part out. Either way, it's something to think about.




Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925). Source.
Image: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Source.

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