Week 13 Reading Diary: Italian Popular Tales

This week I decided to read the Italian Popular Tales unit and specifically focus on my favorite story, Catherine and Her Fate. I was immediately drawn to the story based off of the title because I enjoy stories and tales that have a message, especially when it comes to the idea of fate. I think fate is such a strong concept and I believe in fate and knowing that there is a higher power that has it all planned out for me.

I thought it was so clever to have the women be Catherine’s Fate. In many fairy tales I have read this semester there have been spirits or people who represent inanimate characteristics of the person’s life. When Catherine’s Fate asked the question: “when would you rather enjoy your life, in youth or in old age?" I thought to myself what would be the answer I would give. I think I would agree with Catherine and choose old age. If I choose youth, I would know that hard times would come in the future and it might be hard to enjoy myself in youth. But, in youth I could struggle and know that good is to come in old age. Although, Catherine suffered this torture from her Fate for seven years, which seems like a very long time!

It was amusing that the mistress tells Catherine to ask the mistress’s Fate to tell Catherine’s fate to stop the torture. It is such a strange concept to think that they are asking their Fate to be changed. I believe that we have some control over where we end up in life- going to school, getting a job, etc… but ultimately it a all part of a bigger plan we can not ask to be changed.

I LOVED the ending where the only thing that equaled the weight of the silk was the crown. Therefore Catherine must be made queen.

This was probably my favorite story I have read this semester! 

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After reading the introduction about The Three Goslingsbeing like the tale of the Three Little Pigs I was intrigued as to how the Italian story would compare to the version I grew up hearing. I made sure to keep an eye out for this story as I was reading the unit, and decided to focus my diary post on the comparisons and contrasts to the classical version I know.

The first thing I noticed was the absence of the word “Little” in the title. It made me wonder if this tale would not be as kid friendly as the tale I know.  

I had to look up what a Gosling was. (Google search tried to point me in the direction of Ryan Gosling- but I do not think that the fairy tale includes the actor). A gosling is actually a young goose, and makes sense as to why there would be three young geese who were afraid of the wolf. I thought it was interesting that the three main characters, the geese, were different than the characters I know, the pigs, but the wolf was still the enemy in both stories.

Another difference was the way in which the three main characters went about building their houses. The Goslings started off building the straw house for all three of them to live in, but the eldest kicked out the other two and sent them off crying. In the story I know of The Three Little Pigs, the pigs choose to each individually build their own houses.

There was also no house of wood or brick in this tale. The first and second goslings build their houses of straw and hay, and the third uses iron and rocks.

The ending was by far the biggest difference! The Three Little Pigs tale ends after the other two pigs flee to the last house and the wolf cannot blow over the brick house, so they all survive. This Italian version has the last gosling trick the wolf into sticking out his tongue, which the gosling burns with hot water and kills the wolf. The gosling then cuts open the stomach of the wolf where the other two goslings are still alive. I think this ending is especially interesting in comparing the tale to The Three Little Pigs because throughout the semester I have seen how stories from other places can be more violent and gruesome then the tales I know.