Skip to main content

Reading Notes: The Indian Storybook by Richard Wilson Part B

This reading was the story of Shakuntala as interpreted by Richard Wilson. His title is "Shakuntala and Dushyanta." This tragic but ultimately happy story was told so poetically - I am sad that I did not discover Mr. Wilson or Ms. Devee's interpretations earlier on in the semester when I had more time to mull over them. I've bought both books though, so hopefully in the future I'll be able to enjoy them like they deserve.

This story of Shakuntala is a bit different from the one in Ms. Devee's book, but still essentially the same. While she had more detail than the others I had read before her, Mr. Wilson really turns it into more of a novel, which I appreciate. The story moves a lot more smoothly in the way he tells it. 

I can't imagine the despair Shakuntala had to have been feeling at first of all being left behind for so long, and then knowing for sure that the love of her life had forgotten her. Her strength throughout all of it and her graciousness earns her the spot she holds in Nine Ideal Women, as well as the many retellings of her story. Mr. Wilson does her justice, and this interpretation was a pleasure to read. 

This is a depiction of Shakuntala trying to show her baby to the king and convince him that they are married, and him being like NOPE.
Source of reading. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to a Nonprofit Enthusiast

I am studying Nonprofit Administration, and graduating in May. I come from St. Louis, MO, where I've spent just over half of my life. I have two siblings, a 9 year-old brother and a 2 year-old sister, both the best little humans to grace this earth. I've enjoyed my time at OU, during which I spent a semester at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea. During my time there, I was able to hike many of the mountains surrounding Daegu, visit some gorgeous temples and sites of historical significance, and also hop over to Japan for a little less than a week. I've also been to Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and surrounding towns in Germany. I love both places.     My most recent international travel took me to Monterrey, Mexico, with my fiancĂ© and his mother. He was born there, and still has a large part of his family living there. It was lovely to meet them, and they were kind enough to take me all over the city, visiting museums and parks, and eating lots of amazing foo...

Reading Notes: Nine Ideal Women Part E

This will be the last of my reading notes on Nine Ideal Indian Women, so I'll be going over the last stories about Damayanti and Uttara, but mostly just talking about the book as a whole and wrapping up my thoughts about it. Damayanti was the miracle daughter of a maharajah who had not had children for most of his life. A phrase that I really loved in the beginning of the story that described his happiness all blighted by this one sorrow of being childless:      "A crumpled leaf lay in his bed of roses, and whichever way he turned he felt it, for no child had come to bless his manhood and his whole being yearned for the joy of hearing the name of father fall from baby lips" (page 175). I loved that quote because it was the most poetic and graceful way of showing the sorrow of being childless I had seen out of all of the multiple instances in the stories I've read throughout the semester.  This story was also more poetic than most of the others throughout. It remin...