Reading Notes: Marriage Tales, Part A

The Bear Woman by Stith Thompson (1929)

• There was a young woman with a huge family who refused to get married. Her mother has passed away many years ago, and she lives with her father. 
• The woman had a bear as her lover, yet she tried to hide this from her family. 
• Maybe change to a forbidden man! I think keeping it as a bear shows the culture of native American tales.
• She would go "get wood" when her brothers and father went out hunter and find her bear lover. 
• As her little sister grew up, she was curious about her older sister's adventure. She eventually figured out the big secret that her older sister has been keeping from the family and told her father. 
• The father then told the rest of the camp, and they went out and killed the bear. 
• Why??? 
• The older sister found out and scolded the sister, ordering her to go out and get some flesh from the paws of the dead bear. 
• This was not clear why in original story. 
• One day, the little sister wanted to play with the older sister with the older sister appearing as a bear. However, the old sister told her not to touch over the kidney. 
• What was it about the kidney? 
• The little sister forgot and so the older sister turned into a real bear, killing a lot of people in the village. 
• Eventually, the bear transformed back to her original self and went home. 
• As the older brothers were returning from their hunting, they saw the little sister and asked where were all of the people of the village. She told them about the older sister and warned them of their great danger even though the older sister has returned back to her normal self. 
• Maybe add a reason for this hatred against the older sister by the younger sister. 
• The brother told the little sister that they will scatter prickly pears everywhere except for one spot, and this should be where she can pass through. 
• What was their plan and then leave it on a cliffhanger.

(Photo of a brown bear: Wikimedia Commons)