Godfather Death
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A POOR man had twelve children and was forced to work night and day to give them even bread. When therefore the thirteenth2 came into the world, he knew not what to do in his trouble, but ran out into the great highway, and resolved to ask the first person whom he met to be godfather.3 The first to meet him was the good God who already knew what filled his heart, and said to him, "Poor man, I pity thee. I will hold thy child at its christening, and will take charge of it and make it happy on earth."4 The man said, "Who art thou?" "I am God." "Then I do not desire to have thee for a godfather," said the man; "thou givest to the rich, and leavest the poor to hunger." Thus spoke the man, for he did not know how wisely God apportions riches and poverty.5 He turned therefore away from the Lord, and went farther. Then the Devil came to him and said, "What seekest thou? If thou wilt take me as a godfather for thy child, I will give him gold in plenty and all the joys of the world as well."6 The man asked, "Who art thou?" "I am the Devil." "Then I do not desire to have thee for godfather," said the man; "thou deceivest men and leadest them astray." He went onwards, and then came Death7 striding up to him with withered legs, and said, "Take me as godfather." The man asked, "Who art thou?" "I am Death, and I make all equal." Then said the man, "Thou art the right one, thou takest the rich as well as the poor, without distinction;8 thou shalt be godfather." Death answered, "I will make thy child rich and famous,9 for he who has me for a friend can lack nothing." The man said, "Next Sunday is the christening; be there at the right time." Death appeared as he had promised, and stood godfather quite in the usual way. When the boy had grown up, his godfather one day appeared and bade him go with him. He led him forth into a forest, and showed him a herb which grew there,10 and said, "Now shalt thou receive thy godfather's present. I make thee a celebrated physician. When thou art called to a patient, I will always appear to thee. If I stand by the head of the sick man,11 thou mayst say with confidence that thou wilt make him well again, and if thou givest him of this herb he will recover; but if I stand by the patient's feet, he is mine, and thou must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no physician in the world could save him. But beware of using the herb against my will, or it might fare ill with thee." It was not long before the youth was the most famous physician in the whole world. "He had only to look at the patient and he knew his condition at once, and if he would recover, or must needs die." So they said of him, and from far and wide people came to him, sent for him when they had any one ill, and gave him so much money that he soon became a rich man. Now it so befell that the King became ill, and the physician was summoned, and was to say if recovery were possible. But when he came to the bed, Death was standing by the feet of the sick man, and the herb did not grow which could save him. "If I could but cheat Death for once," thought the physician, "he is sure to take it ill if I do, but, as I am his godson, he will shut one eye; I will risk it." He therefore took up the sick man, and laid him the other way, so that now Death was standing by his head. Then he gave the King some of the herb,12 and he recovered and grew healthy again. But Death came to the physician, looking very black and angry, threatened him with his finger, and said, "Thou hast overreached me; this time I will pardon it, as thou art my godson; but if thou venturest it again, it will cost thee thy neck, for I will take thee thyself away with me." Soon afterwards the King's daughter fell into a severe illness. She was his only child, and he wept day and night, so that he began to lose the sight of his eyes, and he caused it to be made known that whosoever rescued her from death should be her husband and inherit the crown. When the physician came to the sick girl's bed, he saw Death by her feet. He ought to have remembered the warning given by his godfather, but he was so infatuated by the great beauty13 of the King's daughter, and the happiness of becoming her husband, that he flung all thought to the winds. He did not see that Death was casting angry glances on him, that he was raising his hand in the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. He raised up the sick girl, and placed her head where her feet had lain. Then he gave her some of the herb, and instantly her cheeks flushed red, and life stirred afresh in her. When Death saw that for a second time he was defrauded of his own property,14 he walked up to the physician with long strides, and said, "All is over with thee, and now the lot falls on thee," and seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand, that he could not resist, and led him into a cave below the earth.15 There he saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning16 in countless rows, some large, others half-sized, others small. Every instant some were extinguished, and others again burnt up, so that the flames seemed to leap hither and thither in perpetual change. "See," said Death, "these are the lights of men's lives. The large ones belong to children, the half-sized ones to married people in their prime, the little ones belong to old people; but children and young folks likewise have often only a tiny candle." "Show me the light of my life," said the physician, and he thought that it would be still very tall. Death pointed to a little end which was just threatening to go out, and said, "Behold, it is there." "Ah, dear godfather," said the horrified physician, "light a new one for me, do it for love of me, that I may enjoy my life, be King, and the husband of the King's beautiful daughter." "I cannot," answered Death, "one must go out before a new one is lighted." "Then place the old one on a new one, that will go on burning at once when the old one has come to an end," pleaded the physician. Death behaved as if he were going to fulfill his wish, and took hold of a tall new candle; but as he desired to revenge himself, he purposely made a mistake in fixing it, and the little piece fell down and was extinguished. Immediately the physician fell on the ground, and now he himself was in the hands of Death.17#p# 1. Godfather Death: AT 332 (Ashliman). Source is Mie Wild (Paradiz 121). 2. Therefore the thirteenth: There is a belief that if there are 13 people eating dinner together then one (or the last one to sit down at the table) will die before the year is out (Opie and Tatem 397). The belief comes from two different stories. The older story comes from Norse myth. The god Loki was the thirteenth member of a banquet in Valhalla, and the god Balder died (Evans 1075). The second story that reinforced the belief is the story of the Last Supper with Christ and his twelve Apostles (Opie and Tatem 397). 3. To be godfather: The tradition of godparents is borrowed from non-Christian religions (Fahlbusch 442) and dates, at least, to the second century where godparents vouched for adults during baptism (Fahlbusch 442). When infant baptism became common "godparents assumed the task of asking for baptism on the children's behalf, in their stead promising renunciation of sin and making confessions of faith" (Fahlbusch 442). Starting in the eighth century, godparents were examined to make sure they were fit to serve the office (Fahlbusch 442). Besides the religious aspect, and after the Reformation in particular, godparents helped the godchildren by contributing money, goods, and education for the children and, if needed, adopting them (Fahlbusch 443). Evans also points out that godfather are "sometimes chosen for the sake of the present they are expected to make to the child at Christening or in their will" (471). Because of the father's rejection of two potential godparents, he seems to be performing some type of godfather examination. Return to place in story. 4. Make it happy on earth: The offer is a spiritual/emotional one. There is no promise of riches or power. 5. He did not know how wisely God apportions riches and poverty: Tatar points out that this phrase was added by the Brothers (194). The change makes the tale less subversive (Tatar 194). 6. Gold in plenty and all the joys of the world as well: The Devil offers material gain but the focus is on money and physical (non-spiritual) enjoyment. Basically, the Devil is offering a version of his traditional pact. 7. Then came Death: Tatar writes, "As the great leveler, Death represented a democratic principle in a world that was ruled by strict hierarchies that divided the rich from the poor and that made life seem unjust" (194). The idea of Death as the great leveler started during the Middle Ages (Biedermann 91), where Death was seen as a skeleton in picture depicting The Dance of Death (Biedermann 91). The death figure in this story seems to be a cross between the skeleton like death and the death from early medieval representations. There Death is seen as "masculine: powerful, pitiless, omnipresent" (Windling). The Grimms' Death has feeble legs, but he strides. 8. Thou takest the rich as well as the poor, without distinction: Tatar in her annotation of the tale points out: The powerful contrast between God's way of treating people and Death's manner of making no distinctions based on social class reflected growing skepticism about the comforts of religion. Social justice would have to come through means other than piousness and prayer. (196) Return to place in story. 9. I'm going to make your child rich and famous: Death offers fame and riches but not the happiness offered by the Lord. 10. Into a forest, and showed him a herb which grew there: The forest can be a place of danger and change (Biedermann 158). In the 1812 version, Death gives his godson a flask (Ashliman). While the herb is not identified, there were at least two herbs that were credited with magical healing powers. The first is vervain, also called Herbra Sacra {Divine Weed} by the Romans (Evans 526). It was believed that vervain could cure any manner of ills including the plague, bites of rabid animals, even magical attacks (Evans 526). The Romans had a festival, Verlenalia, to honor it, heralds wore it, and Druids prized it (Evans 526). There is also dittany. It was thought that if a deer wounded by hunters ate dittany the arrow would fall out and the wound would heal (Biedermann 92-93). 11. If I stand by the head of the sick man: There was a belief that standing by the head of a dying person would stop the soul from leaving (Opie and Tatem 117). As for the foot, there is the saying "One foot in the grave" which means dying (Evans 428). 12. He gave the King some of the herb: While his godfather practices equality, the hero does not. He chooses to cheat Death for a king's life, not a maid's; perhaps out of desire for a greater reward. 13. Infatuated by the great beauty: She's not just a king's daughter; she also has the beauty. Tatar points out: The physician's failure to recognize that he is subordinate to his godfather, and that despite his privileged position as godson he too is mortal, leads to his downfall. Note that he is not satisfied with wealth and power, but now strives to marry a princess and win a crown. What is considered a legitimate goal in tales of magic becomes a mark of hubris in this tale. (198) Return to place in story. 14. Defrauded of his own property: There is a possibility that physician could be seen as violating his job as well as disobeying his godfather. Terry Jones and Alan Ereira write, "Unlike modern doctors, he {a medieval physician} did not try to stop a patient dying at all costs . . . rather if death seemed inevitable, he was duty-bound to try and help him or her die in the best possible way for their immortal soul" (135). While the Grimm story is published far after the middle ages, it is possible that this view influenced an earlier version of the tale. Stories of doctors cheating death and getting punished were around in Greek myth. Return to place in story. 15. Cave below the earth: The cave could be a reference to Hell. There is also Plato's metaphor of the cave, of being unable to see the light (Biedermann 61). A cave can also mean a return to the womb (Biedermann 62). 16. Candles were burning: One candle is lit in baptism in the Catholic church (Catholic University of America 24). 17. He himself was in the hands of Death: Death does not forgive but punishes and tricks. Tatar notes : Death is chosen as the godfather precisely because of his exquisite sense of social justice. Unwilling to snuff out one life even for his godson, he points out just why he is unable to act on the physician's desire. (200) Tatar also notes that the tale ". . . reveals the complete powerlessness of the hero against death" (196). Bruno Bettleheim points out that the death of a would- be-hero can symbolize that the person lacks the needed maturity to complete the task (180-181). The hero in "Godfather Death" does not know when to listen to his godfather and tries to gain even more than he has. |
