Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part A
I do not know much of the country of Congo and much less on their stories and folklore. What I found interesting in these readings is that marriage is an important aspect in a majority of these stories.
The first story that I really enjoyed reading was that of the Jealous Wife. In some of these stories, multiple wives were a common occurrence and in most they appeared to be fine with there being other women. In this story, the jealousy roots from the child of the other woman being smarter. I would like to modernize this story but I am still unsure on how to approach the story to make it more realistic. The tale is interesting and provides its own plot twist when the women killed her own child by mistake. I'm not sure how I could make it fit in modern setting when the main plot point is accidental murder, I might be able to weave this tale into a somewhat dark comedy.
The second story that I liked was the tale of the Twin Brothers. I really enjoyed the trope of mistake identity in this story and I feel that it can be easily included in a modern retelling. This story has the characteristic to be transformed into a possible fantasy story with magical charms. I enjoyed reading this story because it was intriguing, I had yet to read a folktale where the main characters were twins. I liked that part of the story relied greatly on that fact. I think that with this one, it can be modified to take place in a modern setting but still maintain those spiritual/magical features.
Another story that I read was that of The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than Then The Elder. The part of this story that I enjoyed the most was the ending, which is something I definitely plan on incorporating if I retold this story. I feel as though this story can be presented in a more comedic sense but still maintain some of the seriousness in the plot.
Bibliography:
Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett, link to reading online.
The first story that I really enjoyed reading was that of the Jealous Wife. In some of these stories, multiple wives were a common occurrence and in most they appeared to be fine with there being other women. In this story, the jealousy roots from the child of the other woman being smarter. I would like to modernize this story but I am still unsure on how to approach the story to make it more realistic. The tale is interesting and provides its own plot twist when the women killed her own child by mistake. I'm not sure how I could make it fit in modern setting when the main plot point is accidental murder, I might be able to weave this tale into a somewhat dark comedy.
The second story that I liked was the tale of the Twin Brothers. I really enjoyed the trope of mistake identity in this story and I feel that it can be easily included in a modern retelling. This story has the characteristic to be transformed into a possible fantasy story with magical charms. I enjoyed reading this story because it was intriguing, I had yet to read a folktale where the main characters were twins. I liked that part of the story relied greatly on that fact. I think that with this one, it can be modified to take place in a modern setting but still maintain those spiritual/magical features.
Another story that I read was that of The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than Then The Elder. The part of this story that I enjoyed the most was the ending, which is something I definitely plan on incorporating if I retold this story. I feel as though this story can be presented in a more comedic sense but still maintain some of the seriousness in the plot.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Bibliography:
Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett, link to reading online.
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