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| (Mr. Shannahan walking in the night) |
And with that, the old gentleman was off into the night. He took a lantern, his coat, a scarf, and a his warmest hat. He quietly slipped off into the night on a search to find is wife.
I believe I'll stop by the market first. Perhaps some of the shop owners have seen her....
The man walked into the first shop that sold fabric.
"Excuse me! Mrs. Jones...have you seen my wife?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Shannahan...I'm afraid I haven't seen her since this morning...She stopped by after having brunch with Mrs.Davis and Mrs. Linn."
"Thank you, Mrs. Jones! I'll move along so you can finish closing. I have good night!"
The man left Mrs. Jones' store and wandered next door to Mr. Davis' butcher shop.
"Mr. Davis! Mr. Davis, are you still here?"
"Yes! I'm in the back! Who is it!?"
"It's Mr. Shannahan! May I please have a word with you?"
"Of course! Come on back!"
Mr. Shannahan went to the back of the shop where he found Mr. Davis cutting meat for the next day. They chatted about their wives and Mr. Davis told him that his wife had stopped by earlier, but that was a long time ago. He was almost certain she had gone to see the priest after she left his shop. She definitely should have been home by now. Mr. Shannahan was starting to worry that something bad had happened to her. Feeling discouraged, he started his way back home to wait for her.
That was a very weird encounter I had with the priest last night...I do not remember ever loaning him my winnowing basket....and why did he return it so late? This is all very strange to me. He seemed so nervous last night when he woke me up. If he really was just returning it, then why was he so nervous to do such a noble thing?
The old gentleman had it in his mind now that he was going to go ask the priest if he knew anything about where his wife was. He headed straight to the priest's house and knocked on the door...but there was no answer. However, the door was open. Mr. Shannahan decided to walk in and check on the priest to make sure he was okay.
"Hello?! Is anyone home?"
There was no answer. The Mr. Shannahan made his way deeper into the priest's house. He looked into the kitchen and saw his wife's winter coat.
Wait a second....that's my wife's coat!
And with that, the old gentlemen understood what was taking place behind his back. He ran into the bedroom and caught the two in an affair.
"HOW DARE YOU! After all I have done for you this is what you do to me? I can't believe this!!! AND YOU SIR! HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN OF GOD!"
And with that the man turned his collar up to the cold and stormed off door to door letting everyone know about his wife's infidelity and the priest's part in it. The two were banished from the village and never heard from ever again.
Author's note: This story is based on The Villager, his wife, and the Priest which is out of the Heptameron unit in the untextbook. In the original story, the priest comes to tend to the older gentleman's sheep and has an affair with his wife while he's away. One night, the man comes home before the priest leaves so he has to hide. He hides up by the man's winnowing basket and stays there until the man falls asleep. When he goes to leave, he knocks the basket down and wakes the man up. The wife assures the man that the priest was only returning what he had borrowed from the man and the old man bought it. I chose to write about what happened when the man found out what his wife and the priest were doing. I was very upset while reading this and really wanted the man to catch them in their act.I definitely felt like the old man in this story deserved better and wanted to retell it so he caught them. I also went back into my original story when I added it to my portfolio and gave the characters names and made the Mr. Shannahan's hunt for his wife a little longer to build suspense.
Bibliography: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly (1855).
Hi Karisa!
ReplyDeleteYou put together a great retelling of the original story. I find it really interesting that you decided to tell the story from the husband’s point of view. I loved how you made him into a relatable character. I’m a little confused that you chose a picture of a shepherd with sheep to represent your story. But great job!
Oh man, this was a rough story, but you did a great job telling it! I was afraid that there was going to be something bad happen. Poor husband, no one deserves to be cheated on. I really liked how you did it from his point of view, it made it such a compelling story, where the audience really felt for the main character. Great job, keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Karisa! Great job on your story this week! I really liked how it read like a old times private investigator story. It was very ominous and mysterious and really made you want to know what was going to happen to the old man and his wife. You did a really good job fleshing out the old man's character--he was really relatable.
ReplyDeleteI really like the style you chose to tell the story in. The internal monologue made it feel very crime noir! Writing from the husband's POV as a continuation of the story made for a rather satisfying conclusion (him finding out instead of being left in the dark, the two receiving punishment). Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Karisa! I enjoyed reading your story this week. I liked the way you built suspense in the story by having the main character visit a few shops before discovering his wife's affair. I think you did a good job of putting your own spin on the story. If anything I think that adding the wife and priest's reactions would make the story more dynamic. Overall, I think you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really great story. I feel sorry for Mr. Shannahan because no man should ever have to witness his wife having an affair especially with a priest. Your choice of switching between italics and normal font was a great way to tell the story. It also made it easier to read. You did a great job adding suspense to the story. I think that your story is a lot better from the original since you did the old man justice of having his wife and the priest kicked out of the village. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteHi Karisa, wow I really enjoyed the beginning of your story. It really caught my attention early and excited to read the rest of the story. I think it was a really creative way to begin. I really enjoyed this story and retelling of it. You did a really great job and it was really enjoyable to read. Have a great winter break.
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