The Vegetational Fatherhood: A Cautionary Tale Warning Humanity to Respect Nature

What I find most interesting about The Vegetational Fatherhood is that the story begins with a young woman being what can only be described as raped by a rose. This seems to represent a role reversal in the relationship between humanity and nature. Human's have long exploited (or raped) nature, greedily using up its resources without care or concern for how nature will be affected. In The Vegetational Fatherhood the rose uses the young woman's womb to link humanity and nature together by creating a hybrid being. This exploitation of the young woman to serve the will of nature is no different that humanity's exploitation of nature to serve its one purposes. It is simply the norm we are used to being turned on its head.

The hybrid being, a beautiful young girl, symbolizes the way in which nature is exploited by humanity. Nature usually regarded as mysterious, graceful, and, most importantly, feminine. Humanity and cultural advancement are usually regarded as powerful, factual, and, most importantly, masculine. The young girl is mute, unable to assert a voice in order to protect herself just as is nature. Dr. Rosenberger is a scientist who intends to bend his young bride to his will. He assumes she is pious but instead of respecting who she is he plans to "break her of this habit." Dr. Rosenberger clearly represents humanity and its demands while his young wife represents the innocence and vulnerability of nature.

Because Dr. Rosenberger is careless and disrespectful of his young wife's wishes he ultimately destroys her. He does so inadvertently, yet this could have been prevented had he respected her. His wife's death results in the destruction of Dr. Rosenberger's own life as well. This can be seen to comment on humanity's disrespect for nature. If humanity continues to drain the world of it natural resources and disrespect nature's right to flourish, nature will eventually be destroyed. And because humanity cannot exist without the support of nature, if humanity destroys nature it is effectively destroying itself.

The narrative voice

What I find interesting about "The Vegetational Fatherhood" is the dichotomy between Realism and Fantasy, as worlds or even as personal beliefs. The story certainly takes place in a world where magic is NOT expected or normal, as opposed to what is generally the case in fairytales. The mother is not only horrified by her daughter's transformation into a rosebush before bed, but absolutely confused. The condemnation of the mother and doctor to an asylum is the ultimate in realism: not only does this world discount magic as an alibi, but the verdict (or treatment) is so very clinical.

The storyteller, however, knows better. He tells the story as if these poor people simply do not know about magic, that they sadly do not understand that the world is of COURSE full of magic, and implies that the reader ought to know their flaw as well. The tone is coy and knowing, and as a reader, just thinking about any aspect of the story as though the world WERE NOT magical is to feel very stupid indeed. This makes the tale very potently, albeit uniquely, a fairytale.

Social Critique in "The Vegetational Fatherhood"

Mynona (aka Salomo Friedlaender) wrote in early 20th century Germany during the Dadaist and Expressionist movements. I think "The Vegetational Fatherhood" can be read as containing certain social critiques consistent with these two movements. A certain kind of ironic tone seems to come through the narrator's voice in the story, which could be Friedlaender's method of adding social critique to this tale. For example, at the end the narrator notes, "Dr. Rosenberger is an anatomist. Could he have been so cruel as to have conducted bestial experiments on her before he threw her from the balcony? Will the truth ever be known?" (587). This commentary seems to point out the absurdity of explaining the abnormalities in the daughter's body by blaming Dr. Rosenberger. However, another explanation, that she really was part-rosebush, seems just as absurd. By using a fairy tale form, Friedlaender can use characters whose features cannot be explained away by science and by using such examples, he can highlight the subjective side of life that cannot always to be easily explained.

Generally speaking, both Dadaism and Expressionism were a response to rule of Kaiser Wilhem II.. Many authors at this time focused not only on the subjective, but also on the importance of thinking for one's self. A major problem many intellectuals saw during the Kaiserzeit was the inability of subjects to think for themselves and instead blindly followed whatever the Kaiser prescribed. I think "The Vegetational Fatherhood" can be interpreted as having a similar goal in creating a fairy tale that makes the reader question the relationship between nature and the human world. The tale challenges the reader to see nature in a different light than most people do in order to stimulate the reader's imagination. Additionally, the end of the tale seems to challenge the reader to question the explanation society offers for the incident between Dr. Rosenberger and his wife. Friedlaender seems to be urging people to think critically for themselves while also recognizing that the answer might not always be clear-cut.

The Vegetational fatherhood represents the ultimate communal with nature, where nature and man are able to become one and reproduce. The romantic movement was very influenced by the beauty and mystery of nature, so it seems natural that a writer would go as far as to want the two entities to breed. It seems that the combination of the roses and the woman has created an even better creature. Unfortunately her demise can show the opposition to the romantic movement. Her husband, a doctor and therefore a man of science throws his bride out the window because she looks like a rose bush. Perhaps the author wanted us to begin thinking about nature as human, that the life of a rosebush has the same value as a human life. When the girl looks like a rose bush the doctor throws her out the window without care, because to him she looks like a worthless plant. In fact it is his lovely bride, and by getting ride of the plant, he kills his wife. 

The mother's dream in which the rose bush actually transforms into a man gives the reader the idea that nature and plants have the ability to take on human form. By transforming into man, nature shows us the readers that we two are not that different, that we have the same needs and desires, as well as emotions. The child is devoted to her father, and therefore turns into a rosebush every night. She is the perfect child because she is half way between nature and humanity. She is able to experience both worlds and live in a true Romantic state, able to reach the sublime.

Nature and Humanity - a Dangerous Combination

One of the main things that struck me about The Vegetational Fatherhood, was how Mynona comments on the relationship between nature and humanity. Nature is not just a silent entity that provides for humans, but has some sort of enticing or hypnotizing power over humans. The introduction showcases the example of plants with power over humans, the "man-eating plants" (583). This tinges the tale already towards a more evil, threatening characteristic of the the relationship between plants and humans/animals. Then, the young woman who is held entranced and almost drugged, is basically raped by the rose, and so this sinister nature is fully established. With the eventual death of the daughter of this slightly horrific coupling, the warning is full-fledged by the end of the tale.

I believe Mynona uses this aspect of the tale as a warning to the power of vegetation over the lives of humans, as well as to say that the intertwining of plants and humans is doomed - unnatural - destructive. Also, most evident of all the messages, that humans should respect and be wary of the power of nature.

Assignment 10 - 7. April 2009

Hi Brian, Amy-Lee, Caitlin, Lydia and Briana,

For this week, read the tale The Vegetational Fatherhood and try to interpret this tale.

You could talk about the idea behind the story, the characters, the fact that it does/does not fit into the catagory ,,Kunstmärchen", the message it wants to convey/fails to, or about anything other thing that catches your attention...there are no specific expectations...you can work with this tale any way you want.

Looking forward to your posts!

Ann

Kunstmärchen - Wackenroder's A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint

Wackenroder's A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint, unlike many traditional fairy tales, is not perfectly clear on the moral message of the story. One gets the idea that the message is to enjoy life and not dwell upon the aging process, but this is debatable at best. And although the character is described as a Saint, the theme is not overtly Christian, if it even is at all. It emphasizes the significance and power of love. Although the ending is not particularly unhappy, as many Kunstmärchen endings are, it is not particularly happy either. The Naked Saint just moves on with his life, for the first time ever.

In my opinion, the music written on the the page is extremely weak. It evoked little emotion and thus the Naked Saint's strong reaction to it seemed out of sync with the story to me. Poetic language is never as powerful as music, however, when the music must be read rather than heard, poetic language is superior.

The Naked Saint and Music

Wackenroder frames his tale at the beginning much like a fairy tale in that the setting involves an indeterminate time and place. He also introduces a sort of magic into the story by describing the naked saints as “the wondrous recipients of a higher genius, who have taken on human form after having drifted from the realm of the firmament and consequently do not know how to act like human beings” (296). However, much like other fairy tales, Wackenroder does not try to explain this phenomenon any further to the reader. The naked saint is also subject to some sort of a curse because “the constant roar of the wheel of time did not allow him to rest and do anything on earth – to act, to effect, to be productive” (298). Much like curses in other fairy tales, the naked saint’s spell was broken through the fulfillment of a longing, which in his case was to hear music. Then after the spell is broken, in the tradition of fairy tales, the naked saint undergoes a transformation through which he becomes a spirit “woven from a soft vapor” (299).

I think that both music and poetic language can be very powerful but in different ways because they appeal to different senses. Music appeals to our sense of hearing in a way that I do not think poetic language can, even if it is read aloud. The fact that music can affect us even without words makes it very powerful in a way different from poetic language. Poetic language can also be very powerful and can display musical qualities in the meter, diction, and so on, yet it can never take the place of music. I think Wackenroder’s attempt to show the transformative power of music in this tale falls short of his intentions. I am not sure that poetic language could ever be successful in demonstrating the power Wackenroder believes music holds. The difference between hearing beautiful music and reading beautiful poetic language is best demonstrated by Wackenroder’s description of the music in the story. He writes, “Sweet horns and countless magical instruments enticed a whirling world of tones to ring forth, and a song arose from the undulating music” (298). This sentence provides an excellent example of beautiful prose and sets the scene nicely, however it cannot create the actual music for the reader and thus remains less powerful than to the music itself. The transformative power of the music for the monk is quite obvious from Wackenroder’s description but with only words to describe it the music cannot have the same effect on the reader as it does for the monk.

Kunstmärchen and other umlaut-like things.

Certainly "A Wonderous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint" is much different than the tales we are used to. Structurally, it breaks many of the rules of the fairytale genre. There are no sets of three, no magical gifts, no distinct "hero" role. However, there is magic. The protagonist does become enlightened by the end of the tale, and certainly the way this comes about is fantastical, as is the premise of the story to begin with. So in the sense that a character set in a fantastical setting (without questioning its whimsy) is changed by magical happenings and does presumably live happily ever after, this is a fairytale.

In regards to music, while the italicized lyrics do a good job of verbalizing music, of representing music as words, it doesn't take the place of music. As a musician and a writer, I can imagine that Wackenroder intends us to imagine a song, and does his best to recreate that in written word as best he can, but the lyrics don't replace the music. They are separate, and it is still music that we are intended to experience, however imaginitively.

Naked Saint Response

Translated by Jack Zipes, A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint contains many elements characteristic of the fairytale genre. The story has the unreal element of the naked saint who is turning "the powerful rushing wheel" of time (298). The naked saint is also a rather mythical/uncommon character - he did "not know how to act like [a] human being" and is described as being "trapped in the whirlpool of his wild confusion" (296, 297). He has a magic and symbolic task or quest of having to always turn the wheel of time. And although he tries to resist the pull, he cannot until he hears the enlightening element of music. The most strikingly obvious shared characteristic with the fairytale genre is the transformation that overcomes the saint after hearing music for the first time. The tale also addresses cultural and historical aspects of the Orient and their legend of the "naked saint." The Kunstmarchen subset is defined as a more literary and artistic form of the fairytale genre - this is certainly found in A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint where the tale seems like it started from an oral tradition but was embellished upon extensively.

In terms of this tale, the relationship between poetic language and music is intertwined in my opinion. Music does set the naked saint free of his insane turning of the wheel of time, but we don't witness a loss of poetic language in the tale itself. After hearing the lovers music, the naked saint transforms into an ethereal being who dances "up and down in heavenly delight, back and forth upon the white clouds that swam in the airy space" (299). Although the saint does not talk anymore after the music enters the tale, the language of the tale itself is still quite beautiful and poetic. For the saint specifically, I do not think the power of music is also accessible in language, with "his wild garbled speeches" and "wild, loud laughter" (297). But perhaps for the other characters there is that possibility. Especially after them having "watched the nocturnal wonder with astonishment" (299). His transformation might clue them into the power of music in personal enlightenment - moving them away from the rudimentary troubles of worrying about time, to being able to enjoy the heavens of the world they exist in.

Assignment 9 - 31. March 2009

Hi Lydia, Brian, Caitlin, Amy-Lee and Briana,

Here is this week's assignment. Please take note of the deadlines.

Read Wackenroder's A Wondrous Oriental Tale of a Naked Saint and do the following:

1. Using elements from this tale, explain how it fits into the Fairy Tale/Kunstmärchen genre.

2. Trace the relationship of music and poetic language. Is the power evoked by music also accessible to language or does language merely point out to music and/or what music does.

Deadline for posts: 10.00 a.m. on Wednesday

Deadline for comments on a minimum of two posts: Midnight on Wednesday


Looking forward to your posts!

Ann

Great to see all your posts in, on time!

The contextually disobedient wife. Don't hit me.

"Rich is the man whose wife is dead and horse alive"

This is an anonymous proverb from Agricultural France, back in the day not long before Bluebeard would begin to be first told. While today, the tale speaks volumes about the man's treachery and blatant criminal record, the society from which this tale comes is one where family and marriage were only just worth the procreation that they enabled. According to sociologist Edward Shorter, in France a husband would likely be publicly humiliated for not having control of his wife by riding an ass backward through town. The death of a child was so common that it hardly caused sorrow, and in fact infanticide or [close to it] the abandonment or giving away of children was not uncommon. Thus, it is unlikely that emotional attachments existed to any great degree like they do today. (Sociology 101 text, by Rodney Stark)

Put in this [breifly described] setting, the crime of Bluebeard's murders and the crime of his wife's disobedience can be met at a much more level plane. Perroult's morals back this as well: while "Curiosity... can bring with it serious regrets," and "women succumb," "You will understand that this tale is one that took place many years ago. No longer are husbands so terrible".

Another proverb from the same time and place to end on -
"The two sweetest days of a fellow in life,
Are the marriage and burial of his wife."

Question 2: Heroine in Fitcher's Bird

This version of Bluebeard seems to only scold curiosity without forethought. The third sister thought to put the egg in a safe place rather than keeping it on her person at all times. She also remained calm enough to reassemble her sister's body parts and bring them back to life. Then she devised a plan for getting them, and eventually herself, safely away from Bluebeard. In addition to protecting herself she even tricks Bluebeard into carrying her two sisters home on his own back. This clearly exemplifies how this heroine took her role beyond a celebration of self-preservation and to a new level of cleverness.

Sally in "Bluebeard's Egg"

Perhaps the most interesting and complex Bluebeard tale we read was Margaret Atwood’s “Bluebeard’s Egg.” This modern interpretation of the Bluebeard tale is interesting in the greater complexity in the character of Sally, Ed’s wife. Possibly because her character is more developed, it seems harder to assign a label to Sally as either a model of self-preservation and cleverness or as a disobedient female. I would argue that she is far from a disobedient female because of the amount she depends on Ed but it is interesting to explore the level of self-preservation and cleverness in her character. The story is told from a third-person point of view that is limited to telling the reader Sally’s thoughts only, which becomes is a very important element of the story because much of Sally’s internal dialogue revolves around her inability to really know what Ed is thinking. The narrator observes, “He’s constantly developing, like a Polaroid print, new colours emerging, but the result remains the same: Ed is a surface, one she has trouble getting beneath.” The reader may therefore be biased somewhat in his opinion of her since he is only provided with Sally’s observations and interpretations. From Sally’s point of view it seems rather obvious that she sees herself as a model of self-preservation and cleverness, especially in contrast to Ed who she views as outright dumb. The narrator notes, “On good days she sees his stupidity as innocence, lamblike, shining with the light of (for instance) green daisied meadows in the sun.” However, Sally’s ability to judge Ed’s intelligence is called into question after she observes him with Marylynn in a moment that might be indicative of an affair between the two. Sally’s inability to predict or even suspect such an affair casts doubt over the truth of her opinions about Ed and her relationship with him.

Sally worries about losing Ed, who had two wives before her, however she tries to reassure herself with observations of his supposed ignorance. Sally wants to know what happened to his first two wives and the narrator explains, “But it’s also a cause for anxiety: for if he doesn’t know what happened with the other two, maybe the same thing could be happening with her and he doesn’t know about that, either.” Worries about losing Ed ignite Sally’s self-preservation instinct and throughout the tale she seems to try to consciously act in a manner that will prevent any such loss. Yet, Sally can hardly be seen as a model of self-preservation because it seems that if she really wanted to survive she should not have attached herself to Ed in a manner that almost seems unhealthy. At one point, the tale points out, “She knows she thinks about Ed too much. She knows she should stop.” If she were really a model of self-preservation, she would do just that – she would stop. Additionally, Sally’s cleverness, which the story seems to explicitly tout through its narration that includes her own self-praising thoughts, is called into question especially after the incident with Ed and Marylynn. Sally’s categorization of Ed as “Ed Egg, blank and pristine and lovely. Stupid, too,” no longer appears applicable. At the end Sally notes, “…the egg is alive, and one day it will hatch.” The moment shared by Ed and Marylynn turns Sally’s whole world upside and makes everything even less certain. This change highlights Sally’s lack of self-preservation and also lowers her self-esteem and opinion of her own intelligence. Thus, it appears that despite her fervent hopes, Sally was delusional in her belief in her ability to preserve herself through her marriage to Ed and through her cleverness.

Question 1: Horror in Bluebeard

In my opinion the most horrific aspect of any of the Bluebeard stories was the first moral at the end of Perrault's version. Somehow this moral manages to turn a fairy tale about a male serial killer into a tool to place social constraints upon women. The Perrault and Grimm versions teach that a women should always obey her husband or else she will receive severe punishment. These stories offer the ultimate form of Victim Blaming. Because the wife disobeyed her husband and entered the forbidden room, she risks her life. The husband's crazed and murderous tendencies is excused while the wife's curiosity is chastised. The inhuman nature of the Bluebeard character is also shocking. The Grimms' versions and then Jacobs version actually goes so far as to describe the brutal murders of women.

Perhaps the best message that a woman could take from these stories is that she should marry for love. All of these stories involved women marring the Blulebeard character due to an arranged marriage; despite a feeling of hesitation. If you take time to get to know your future husband, you probably stand a better chance of avoiding a brutal death at his hands later on.

Horror in BlueBeard

The components of horror in the story are clearly the points of interest in the tale. This is evident by the descriptions they get, such as "clotted blood" and "bloody basin filled with dead people who had been chopped to pieces". This is similar to the exaggerated imagery of magic in fairytales. While the fact that blood exists for the purpose of pushing the narrative forward, the detail is there for effect.

Horror in Bluebeard Tales

I think that in most of the Bluebeard stories horror functions as a way to reinforce the image of the husband as evil. In Perrault’s “Bluebeard” and the Grimm’s “Fitcher’s Bird,” the room that the wife is forbidden to enter is described in a manner seemingly designed to shock the reader. Perrault describes the room as covered in blood with dead women hanging on the walls, while the Brothers Grimm story depicts a basin filled with chopped up people. Both stories seem to want to horrify the reader and thus make him reflect on the evil nature of a man who would commit such acts. Similarly the Brothers Grimm story “The Robber Bridegroom” and Jacobs’ “Mr. Fox” describe the gruesome acts of a husband-to-be who cuts up girls, including cutting off their fingers to obtain the ring on it. The horror in these two stories seems essential to the plot in order to validate the woman’s refusal to marry the man in question. After telling the story of atrocities she sees her future husband commit, which she frames as a dream in both tales, she is no longer obligated to marry him and her family takes care the bridegroom for her.

One story that stands out as different from the others in its use of horror is “Bluebeard’s Ghost” by Thackeray. Thackeray seems to use horror as the device to prompt Bluebeard’s widow into making a decision between Mr. Sly and Captain Blackbeard. The horror manifests itself in the visits made by Bluebeard’s “ghost” to his widow during the night. When the widow finds out the real source of these supposedly supernatural visits, she learns the true nature of Mr. Sly and is able to pick Captain Blackbeard without any qualms. In “Bluebeard’s Ghost” the horror provides almost the only action in the story and also propels the most important conflict in the story to its resolution in the widow’s picking of Blackbeard.

Clever Bride in "The Robber Bridegroom"

In the "Robber Bridegroom," the female protagonist is portrayed in an intelligent, clever manner. She shows foresight in filling "both her pockets with peas and lentils to mark the way" to the bridegroom's house - thereby listening to the feelings that make her "dreadfully frightened" when she "was supposed to leave." The girl also places her trust rightly in the matronly old woman, who saves her when she tells the robbers to " 'come and eat,'" efficiently distracting them from trying to find the finger that flew into the girl's lap. Even though going through the gruesome ordeal of witnessing a murder, she also does not faint or scream when hiding behind the barrel, and is only said to be "trembling and shaking." The girl then escapes with the old woman and immediately tells "her father about everything that had happened." She has the werewithal to keep the chopped off finger and ring to present as evidence later during the wedding celebration. The girl is never described as overtly curious and she does not disobey anyone's orders. Therefore, I would say that she is depicted as possessing a high level of intelligence and self-preservation.

Elements of Horror Comparison

When comparing the elements of horror used in "The Robber Bridegroom" and "Fitcher's Bird," several differences can be seen. In "The Robber Bridegroom" there are two main instances where horror is used: "when the ungodly crew...tore off [the maiden's] fine clothes, put her on a table, chopped her beautiful body into pieces, and sprinkled them with salt" and when one robber "took an ax and chopped the finger off" to get a "gold ring." The first instance is used to both startle the audience and move the plot along, whereas the second instance mainly functions to move the plot along. The second plot element is used later so that the clever bride can prove that her story is true, and also save herself from her soon-to-be murderous husband.

In "Fitcher's Bird," the two main uses of horror are with the description of the sorcerer's secret chamber with the "large, bloody basin filled with dead people who had been chopped to pieces," and when the first wife is murdered by the sorcerer - "he threw her down, dragged her in by the hair, chopped her head off on the block, and hacked her into pieces so that her blood flowed all over the floor." Both of these elements are used to shock the reader, and to elaborate on the storyline to express the horrifying qualities of the sorcerer. Not only does he kidnap young women, but he also murders them gruesomely.

I believe that certain stories such as the grimm brothers' Fitcher's Bird is a story that celebrates the heroine's ability and cleverness to escape the evil sorcerer/bluebeard rather than a tale of female disobedience. More than half of the story is spent on the third wife's clever deception, rescue and escape from bluebeard. The heroine is a deeper character, dedicated to family and she is rewarded with life, and punishes not only the evil sorcerer, but also his whole "crew". The bride in Fitcher's Bird creates the most complicated lies and seems to be the most intelligent of the bunch, but she is also the only bride not to receive a whole bunch of money in the end. The other brides who were more victims than heroines where rewarded for their pacifically by all of bluebeard's treasure. In Fitcher's Bird the bride is able to destroy more evil, but she is punished for her cleverness by not being monetarily rewarded. So, i think i've changed my mind, and that the story punished female disobedience, even though she did save the day.

Horror in Bluebeard

The two types of horror in he bluebeard stories are the dead severed hand and the floor covered in blood. The hand with the ring is a physical horror because it is lifeless, bloody, and a way for the evil, bloodthirsty bluebeard to find and kill the heroine. The hand is especially frightening because it's existence and place meant in the heroine's lap is her closest brush with death. There is the dramatic suspense when bluebeard is looking for the hand (and the ring), that catches their breath and brings them within an inch of death. The floor covered in clotted blood, reflecting the images of the dead women or chopped-up people is a much more gory and traditionally horrific image. The blood and guts are gross, but i think the suspense linked to the severed hand is much more horrifying. With the hand, the heroine loses control. Her life or death is entirely up to chance, and that is terrifying.

Assignment 8 - 24. March 2009

Hi Brian, Caitlin, Briana, Amy-Lee and Lydia,

For this week, please complete two separate posts.

Question 1: Compare the elements of horror in the various versions of Bluebeard that you read for today. Please name the elements you are comparing and discuss how they function in the story. Do they help move the plot along? Elaborate the story? Startle the audience? etc.

Question 2: Tatar offers two readings of the heroine's character: either as a celebration of self-preservation and cleverness or as a disobedient female. Using a version other than the Perrault, consider how the heroine gets presented. Use quotes to support your reading.


DEADLINE for Posts: Midnight on Tuesday

DEADLINE for Comments on atleast two other posts: Midnight on Wednesday

Again, please post two separate entries!

Ann

The DEFA film "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs”

The DEFA film "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs” comments on how the upper class has a tendency to exploit the lower classes. In this sense, the upper class engages in immoral and even criminal behavior and unruly behavior of the lower classes is thus somewhat justified. This would clearly appeal to the middle classes, serving to grant them a sense of importance and empowerment. Also, I should be considered that the film was made at a time when the Nazi regime in Germany would be a not too distant memory. The linking of the monarch with the devil may be a metaphor for Hitler and his ties to evil. Like the Snow White film the DEFA film "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs” utilizes obvious physical humor. This aspect of the film incorporates younger members of their middle class target audience; perhaps hoping to influence them early on.

DEFA Films

There are obvious parallels between The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs and DEFA’s Schneewittchen. The emphasis on work in The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs becomes apparent in the opening scene at the blacksmith’s shop because the scene seems longer and more detailed than necessary. The idolizing of anything “good” or “hardworking” also manifests itself early in the film, as it also does in Schneewittchen with the scene in the kitchen that cinematically values the work done by the kitchen help. Another similarity between the two films lies in the mockery of the monarchy and disparaging of the vices enjoyed by the monarchy, which include food and money. In The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs, the film seems to associate the monarchy with debauchery (the king’s drunkenness in the forest), along with stupidity (the refusal to believe in the existence of robbers). Interestingly, one major difference between The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs and Schneewittchen is the more chaotic and hectic atmosphere in The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs compared to Schneewittchen, in which the chaos seems confined to scenes involving the monarchy.

The target audience for The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs might have been children in East Germany, whom the government hoped to teach important lessons with the film. The slapstick humor seems like it would have appealed most to children, because it appears a bit too juvenile for an older audience. However, some of the lessons embedded in the film might be hard for children to interpret so maybe the film is also meant for the parents watching the film with their children.

This film is easily spotted as a DEFA production based on its slapstick style. In each that we have seen so far, there was a heavy reliance on physical humor, akin to our American 3 stooges. The audience, therefore, was likely a young adult audience, who could appreciate the adaptation of a simple and probably familiar storyline, as well as enjoy the crude-ish humor of the film. This sort of adaptation would likely only be effective in a visual medium, as opposed to written, and so this filmic rendition serves us well.

Assignment 7 - 17.March 2009

Hi Caitlin, Brian, Amy-Lee, Briana and Lydia,

Here's the assignment for this week. Please note that the deadlines are different from the usual.


After having viewed the DEFA film "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs", do the following:

1. Try to interpret from the movie, who the target audience might be. Keep in mind, that the film was made in 1977 in East Germany.

2. Compare the movie with the DEFA version of Snow White.

3. Explain how the medium 'film' is used to tell the story. You could consider talking about the plot, dialogue, etc.

Do try to touch upon all three points in your blog.

Deadline for posts: 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday

Deadline for comments on at least two posts: Midnight on Wednesday

Looking forward to your posts!

Ann

The Ending

I thought that the difference in the endings of the two versions was very interesting. I guess as with all movies, this one somewhat simplified the original story considering the sisters faced no consequences as the did in the book ending. In the De Beaumont version the sisters are turned into stone while in Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast they receive no punishment. Perhaps this was due to an edit for the time however I believe that the fact that the fairy states that the sisters can free themselves if they realize their mistake is very important. This clearly makes their plight their own fault and absolves anyone else of responsibility. Good is offering evil a chance to free itself.

Returning to the Beast

One difference I noted was the reason Belle did not return quickly to the Beast. In the written story, it seemed to imply that she was at fault, that she was too glad to be back to remember her commitment. In the film, however, it was her family that plotted to keep her there so that they could reap the wealth of the Beast. The film therefore keeps the innocence of Belle and keeps the focus on her, rather than on the Beast. Yet another instance of the male character being less deep or important than the girl.

The ending of Cocteau's la belle et la bete has always stuck out to me, especially the image of beauty and the beast flying away. It is a very strange and beautiful image with the billowing fabric is a much more powerful image than returning to the palace. The film cuts our the whole reunion with the family, although it is mentioned that belle will reunite with her father, and her sisters will be demeaned. The lovers fly off in clouds and smoke, embracing and almost dancing, free from their previous restraints; belle's family and the beast's ugliness. 

I also particularly like the line that Belle says: c'etais moi le monstre - i was the monster. This places more blame on belle than de beaumont's story. Belle does not apologize for letting his ugliness overweight his kindness. Instead she encourages him to fight for his life and her love, and it becomes a discussion on what a man vs. a beast can do for love- a man can fight, but a beast can only grovel at his love's feet. 

There is also the whole added plot line of Avenant, her brother's friend who wants to marry belle, and who belle admits to loving. I have always found it a bit creepy that Avenant and la bete are played by the same actor, but it makes sense that when seen in the plot line that the beast is only turned back into a man when Avenant is kill/transformed. It is interesting that he tells belle that he changed because of a loving look, when the director seems to point to the diana statue shooting Avenant and transferring the curse to another, with the beast taking on Avenant's appearance.

Beauty and the Beast

One part of the Cocteau film that stands out in my memory is after the Beast is transformed back into a man and Belle notes that he bears a strong resemblance to her brother’s friend who proposed to her in the beginning of the film. This exchange struck me as rather odd because it did not seem to fit in with the rest of the scene, and I did not remember this detail from any other version of Beauty and the Beast. In de Beaumont’s version of the tale, for example, there is no mention of a resemblance of the Beast to anyone in Belle’s life. This then led me to wonder what the significance of this detail could be in the film. The conversation between Belle and the Beast about his similarity to her brother’s friend seemed rather stilted and then ended rather abruptly when Belle answered that it did not bother her that there was a resemblance between the two. It seems to me that the addition was most likely made to enhance plot or character development. I remember earlier in the film the Beast becomes very upset when Belle admits that she had been proposed to by another handsome man. Thus, maybe the detail of the Beast’s resemblance to this very man might be supposed to create a sense of fulfillment such that he no longer needs to feel inferior to another man in Belle’s life. It is interesting that in the de Beaumont version, Belle’s only question after the Beast’s transformation is where did the Beast go; she does not seem to have any concerns about his appearance besides the fact that he no longer looks like a beast.