Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Beauty and the Basilisk

For this first week, I am taking notes on The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922). This story primarily interested me because I love the different approach to the beast. No long imprisonment and true love necessary. Just feed him for a few days and then cut off his head a couple times and you're good. I mean the whole "bring me your daughter" is still creepy. I'm sure there is definitely some level of Stockholm syndrome at play with the nursing but, overall it seems marginally better. 

Basilisk by Friedrich Johann Justin Bertuch (1747-1822).


Basic Plot

    In this story, a mother goes out to a market in a town nearby. She asks her three daughters if they would like anything. Her two superficial daughters ask for a myriad of gifts. Her third daughter ask only for three roses if it is possible and not inconvenient. As she is returning from the market with the large load of items, she gets lost and stumbles upon a castle with a rose garden. She decides to pick the roses for her daughter whose gift she had forgot. Once she picked the roses, a basilisk appears and demands her daughter in exchange. The mother tries to refuse but it is no use. She returns home and tells the daughter that she must go to the basilisk. The daughter agrees and is made to nurse the basilisk for 3 days. On the third day he has her cut off his head. A serpent grows in it's place, and she is made to cut that off. Naturally, a beautiful man appears and states that they must be married because she freed him.

The Good Daughter

    As a character, the main character, who I refer to as the good daughter, is pretty simple but still interesting. Her defining characteristic is her seemingly good heart and willingness to help others. She does not want for much. It is not said, but I imagine she is the oldest daughter. She goes willingly to the basilisk with no fuss. She willingly nurses the basilisk. The only time she refuses an act is when she is asked to cut off the basilisk's head, theoretically killing him. She isn't greedy, puts on a brave face for her mom, feeds the hungry from herself and refuses to harm. She only harms without question when it becomes clear to her that cutting the basilisk doesn't actually kill it and seems to help it. In the end, she is rewarded for this kindheartedness. If you see immediately being betrothed to some random guy in a castle in the forest as a reward, of course.

Setting

    While the author doesn't paint detailed pictures of the setting, I think the mood in each area lends itself to describing the setting. Given the supposed extravagant gifts the two daughters ask for and the market is a whole town over, I imagine that this family lives in a rather modest home out in a small village. They're likely not poor. They're not wealthy either. They're middle class citizens who sometimes crave a taste of the high life when the salesmen come near and can offer treats from the larger cities nearby. 
    I imagine the forest the mother gets lost in as an incredibly dark and overgrown beast. The trail and roadways are easily lost at night and the predators of the area can be heard gathering their dinner. This helps add to the way I feel the castle was described. The castle and its rose garden exist as a lost oasis in this dark, terrifying forest. The mother stumbling onto its grounds is like someone falling out of locked closet into a bright room. 

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