Reading Notes: Turkish Fairy Tales, Part A

Fear

Because the main character in this story is curious when his mother is afraid, sets out to find fear, and just doesn't get scared of anything, my first thought was of that lady who can't experience fear. A character with that kind of condition would get into all kinds of interesting situations, I think, though I might also use a different narrator to view that person as a secondary character.

That said, my favorite part of the story was actually the end, when it's revealed that the three different individuals who tested and completely failed to scare him--the graveyard hand that reached out to him, the little girl who almost strangled him, and the Daughter of the Sea--were actually three shape-shifting maidens in disguise, who reconvene and then drink to the youth's health, admiring his fearlessness. The idea of living embodiments of fear who go around trying to terrify people is a fun one, and I'd be curious to see it from their point of view, in a sort of Fates or Gorgons kind of way.


Fear (Part II)

In probably the shock of the century, it was (again) the dynamic between the youth and the fear maidens that I found most interesting in this story. Besides the fact that it was mildly hilarious when he heard them toasting him and announced, "Yeah, that's me. You're toasting me," I thought the way the maidens received him was really interesting: they rushed up to hug him, and then led him to their cave of treasures and begged him to stay with them. I could get behind the idea that they were all like him once, and that this is how creatures like them are found and made--that he would come stay with them and eventually become one of them.


The Wizard-Dervish

Whenever parents bargain away some part of their future kids in exchange just for having those children, I always wonder what it's like from the kid's point of view. I might take that element from this story, place it in a different context, and look at what ends up happening to the kid once s/he's bargained away, and why s/he was wanted by the person who proposed the bargain in the first place.

Also, though, I found the dynamic between the dervish's daughter and the protagonist interesting; I think it could translate well to a story with a Beauty and the Beast or Secret Garden flair, in which he's brought to a place and she gives him pointers on how to survive in the hopes that he can help her escape, too.


The Wizard-Dervish (Part II)

In this story, I took inspiration from the part where the youth and the maiden were hiding from the maiden's mother, and the maiden used her abilities (daughter of a wizard and a witch, after all) to transform and disguise them every time they were in danger of being caught. I think a story about a couple of runaways, with a similar ability to disguise themselves, could be fun; I'd probably give it an urban fantasy or light sci-fi setting.


The Fish-Peri

The shape-shifter in this story--a fish who can transform into a maiden by shedding her coat of scales, and vice versa--reminded me quite a bit of a selkie, another kind of mythological creature I've always found interesting. But one striking twist this story made on that idea was the maiden's reaction: in most stories, when the selkie gets stuck as a human because her seal coat was destroyed, she's devastated. The fish-peri, though, basically just shakes her head at the guy who destroyed her fish skin, then says, "Well, you shouldn't have done that, but what's done is done." It makes me wonder if she wasn't always a fish in the first place, and if he's called down some kind of trouble on himself for helping her break a curse or something. Either way, it could be an interesting story to retool.


The Crow-Peri

The idea of this wise counselor appearing in times of trouble and advising the protagonist, like the crow does for the protagonist in this story, does catch my eye. If I were to do a piece inspired by this story, I think the advisor would either be an imaginary friend, or someone only the protagonist can see, who's hoping to gain the protagonist's trust so the protagonist can help take the steps to set the person free.


The Crow-Peri (Part II)

I love the idea that the crow really was using the bird-catcher this entire time, even while she was helping him--it makes me want to do a story about a trickster figure under a curse, with just a few redeeming qualities (like some form of limited loyalty, at least as far as the protagonist is concerned).






Bibliography: Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos. Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.
Image Source: Illustration from the story "Fear," by Willy Pogany. Source: Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos.