Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

 

Rose Photo: Ameen Fahmy

Story Source: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922)

Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Basilisk



The story I would like to examine this week is The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis. This interesting twist on the classic story of Beauty and the Beast jumped out at me the most. I actually highlighted this particular story in my Week 2 Reading Overview assignment as the reading I was the most excited about so I love that I got to read it weeks earlier than planned!

To be completely honest this story initially caught my attention because of the inclusion of the Basilisk. As someone who raves about Harry Potter non-stop, I was immediately feeling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret vibes at the mention of a Basilisk. Being a lover of all mythological, science fiction, and fantasy writing, I love a good creative remake of a super well-known story. It's such a good way to keep people interested in a story they may hear all the time by changing the plot up and keeping the reader guessing! I always felt like there was a darker side to the beloved childhood Disney stories we all know and love. We've gotten a few glances of this side in live-action remakes like Snow White and the Huntsman or Red Riding Hood. These stories show the less-visited side because of the dark nature not made for children. I enjoyed the story of the Beauty and the Basilisk because every time I felt like I knew what would happen next, I was proven wrong! So many twists and turns!

I found the mother in this story to be particularly interesting. She barely put up any fight for the exchange of her daughter. She simply said, "there was no help for it, and went home" after only offering one alternative which was to give back the roses. This was nearly completely the opposite of how Belle's father reacts in the original story, he didn't give up trying to get his daughter back and nearly got sent to a mental hospital for how much he was crying out for help.

The daughter's reaction surprised me the most. She was so incredibly unbothered about her mother trading her to a crazy and dangerous creature, who by the way came out of a bush, and didn't even protest! I would've been fighting tooth and nail! She also didn't fight the basilisk when he told her she must nurse him for three days. She didn't even ask any questions, I would've demanded to know why.

Though all of these things were definitely strange, I enjoyed the different approach to the story, I was surprised and kept asking what in the world will happen next? I was fully convinced the basilisk was going to end up killing the girl, but I'm happy he didn't, I don't know if it'd be able to handle that big of a twist!