Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins Part A

Reading Notes
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Twenty-Two Goblins Part A

(the goblin in the tree)

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The Three Lovers

    This story/riddle was interesting because it, much like its title, kept with the rule of threes. There were three men, who did three different tasks, and ultimately fought over the tasks to reclaim their beloved Coral. Maybe I could retell this story using a different writing style rule? Also it might be interesting to explore the king's answer to a greater extent.

Brave, Wise, Clever

    What I would want to elaborate more on the most in this story is the meeting of son and the brave man as well as the mother and the wise man. I feel as though the clever man's first meeting with the father was the only one that properly described why he could be seen as a clever man. While with the other two men it was a short sentence and that's it. 

The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother

   Maybe if I were to further explore the reasoning behind her husband's and brother's willingness to take their own lives I could find a different motivation in the story? The idea that the head is the most important member of the body is a good life lesson that could be spun into a childhood fable.

Food, Women, Cotton

   The specialist in cotton was the most intriguing character in this story by far. As noticed by the king, it is only the specialist in cotton that could have not known beforehand and thus is the most clever. More than that though, it is baffling on how a singular piece of hair could make a mark on his skin. For some unknown reason, this reminded me of a jinni, an arab deity (probably because of the burning of the mark into the skin). Maybe I could work in a way to combine the two?

The Four Scientific Suitors

   I feel like this story in particular would benefit the most from a gender-swap. Especially when you consider the king's answer being one of hyper-masculinity, that only the science that had a decent amount of manhood in it could be considered worthy of Grace. 

The Three Delicate Wives

    One thing I found interesting throughout all of these riddles is the obvious names each of the characters is given. If the son is meant to be braver than the rest, his name is Brave. If the daughter was born beneath the moon, her name is Crescent. I am unsure of how to shape this into a writing style that I could form a whole story about but it is at least an fun idea to play with when retelling each story. 

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All reading notes based off of Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).