Reading Notes-Week 2: Anthology

The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922)

The Three Roses:

• I was immediately drawn in by the title of the story as well as the background information provided. 
• The "Once Upon A Time..." aspect of the story formula portion also was an intriguing tidbit. 
• The vagueness of the items that the other two sisters want is an interesting way to have the reader think of something that they associate as a feminine gift, as opposed to deciding what the gifts are for the reader.
• The mother showed no hesitation to the third daughters request, and was willing to pull herself up through exhaustion just to get the gifts for her daughters. 
• The vivid descriptions of the roses really highlighted the main object of the three roses without forcing the reader to have no personal imagination. 
• The story makes a harsh turn that comes without much description or warning when the main antagonist, the Basilisk, comes and demands the woman's daughter in exchange for the picked roses.  
• An interesting use of overtly harsh words are used when describing the punishment of not giving the Basilisk what he wants. 
• It is surprising that the mother's emotions are not shown, and yet the daughter's lack of emotions are pointed out.  
• It is also interesting that the two greedy daughters are not mentioned again in the tale. 
• It is strange that Mary must nurse the Basilisk as a sort of payment for her stay at the castle, but yet again Mary doesn't seem to put up much of a fight.
• I was surprised that the Basilisk used violence in order to force Mary to commit an act of violence, not once, but twice. 
• Mary is less hesitant to cut off the head of the serpent, but there is not a clear given reason as to why she was more hesitant about the Basilisk head she had previously cut off. 
• A little bit of information is thrown in regarding the keys to the castle before the big transformation of the groom. This gives the reader more closure overall alongside the final sentence of the great wedding. 

Three Roses of Love by Pernilla Rydmark

*I chose this image of three roses because like Permilla states on her Flikr caption, they commonly represent the three words "I Love You." I found it interesting that the roses could symbolize either the love between mother and daughter, or daughter and beast-turned-human.