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Reading Notes: Jataka Anthology

Jatakas - Goblins

Story source: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse.
The story of the city of She-Goblins is very interesting, but it fails to make proper use of the shocking realization that the men are trapped in marriage to the goblins. This would be a devastating thing to learn, however the story almost glazes over it, since we, the readers, have been informed from the get-go that these are she-goblins that eat people. I have a few ideas that I think could help enhance the suspense in the story while staying mostly in line with what is already written.

  • Follow the point of view of the stranded men
  • Have the sailors be travelling in search of an island of goblins, hoping to slay them and earn renown
  • When their ship crashes, they're rescued by the women of the island, who take them into their homes in similar manners as the original story
  • Have the men notice something slightly off about the island and some of the people living there, especially the other men. Not enough to talk to each other about it, but just enough that it just doesn't feel right
  • Imply that all the men are quite happy with their new lives, content to give up on their quest to kill the goblins in order to live here on the island
  • After some time has passed, one of the men witnesses his wife returning from her midnight snack on the flesh of some other poor man, still in her goblin form
Escape on the Winged Horse, Source: H. Willebeek Le Mair

In my opinion, the end of the story works fine, and I don't even think I really want to change anything besides sprucing up the horse's entrance just for the sake of being cool. The main change I want to make is to amp up the reveal of the true nature of the she-goblins to reflect the shock that the men would feel upon realizing their wives are the goblins they sought to destroy.

I think I will probably try and briefly flesh out the character of the man who first learns the truth, in order to make the reader unconsciously more connected to him, which would in turn make the reveal of the wive's true nature more shocking. First and foremost I'll actually give him a name and a brief background to make him engaging and relatable enough to enhance the tragedy of the situation.
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