Jürgen Hubert on Nostr: One of the creepier type of tale in old German folk tales is when beautiful women are ...
One of the creepier type of tale in old German folk tales is when beautiful women are punished for refusing the advances of all the men who try to court her.
Perhaps she has standards, or perhaps she just doesn't have any romantic interest in men in general. It matters not - the folk tale condemns her for being "prideful", and she gets punished for it.
In this particular tale from Styria, the woman is cursed by all the rejected suitors. This causes the Devil to appear in the guise of a huntsman, and he tells her:
"The curses of many men are upon you. Don't continue to act like this, but above all do not look back at me, for else you will turn to stone."
She is initially frightened, but curiosity overcomes her, she looks back, and is then turned to stone as promised.
Really, she did _nothing wrong_ here! It was entirely up to her whether or not to reject the advances of would-be suitors, and the fault lies entirely with the men who cursed her.
#Austria #folktale #folklore #sexism #Devil
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/252/mode/2up?view=theater
Perhaps she has standards, or perhaps she just doesn't have any romantic interest in men in general. It matters not - the folk tale condemns her for being "prideful", and she gets punished for it.
In this particular tale from Styria, the woman is cursed by all the rejected suitors. This causes the Devil to appear in the guise of a huntsman, and he tells her:
"The curses of many men are upon you. Don't continue to act like this, but above all do not look back at me, for else you will turn to stone."
She is initially frightened, but curiosity overcomes her, she looks back, and is then turned to stone as promised.
Really, she did _nothing wrong_ here! It was entirely up to her whether or not to reject the advances of would-be suitors, and the fault lies entirely with the men who cursed her.
#Austria #folktale #folklore #sexism #Devil
https://archive.org/details/mythenundsagenau00krai/page/252/mode/2up?view=theater