u/Bakakura

Just me? Primarily in shops.

Have you read this story? If not, the post contains​ spoilers even though I've tried to keep it largely free from them.

PLEASE READ MY UPDATED POV AT THE END.

I absolutely did not like the story. It made little sense and was hard to read. It gave me no insight into the ways and cultures of the people it claims to be based on. Except a bit about cents of course. And of course, the flavour of the sea was there a bit, but not really much of a consequence; he was a sailor and he could have been a sailor who was from elsewhere as much as he was from Hawaii.

I'm well aware it's a very old classic and my feminist side dislikes the narrative - to be very honest the fact that men don't seem to have grown at all through the ages is what aggravates me more - Keawe might as well have been a modern man, only now actively identified as toxic. The girl, his wife, the way the author has written her, makes me angry at the author too. She is the only one who gains nothing and her's is the sacrifice most glorified. "Sacrificial love cannot be bought" - while this seems to be the theme per internet summaries, i don't see that anywhere in the story. She is obviously impressed by his wealth. He needs to use the bottle twice to "possess" her. Beyond their sacrifices they are unable to happily love each other till they are rid of the very devil they used to be so happy together. I do not see the merit at all in this narrative.

I also wonder if the drunk at the end is supposed to signify something that would have made more sense in the religious symbolism of those times regarding alcoholic sin? Or perhaps not? Perhaps the poor imp finally has a companion? Everyone curses the bottle so, but not a single person hesitates it's benefits. The only person in the entire story who does not gain anything from the bottle is the girl.

Despite all my viewpoints as a reader, i still read this story, and want to know if there is anything to gain from it, anything to appreciate that i perhaps missed. Perhaps, like many classics, it's read for some sort of insight?

UPDATE: My SO gave me the pov that being truly happy with each other required that BOTH of them selflessly purchase the bottle, devoid of any personal desire or anything to ask of the imp. When both make that sacrifice for the other and truly understand each other, they are finally able to really be together (in love) beyond the official bond of marriage. And that this parallels real life and always will. We also discussed the alcoholic, who did not ask for riches but just a bottle of rum, which he was willing to share - his most prized rum - and how happy he was to have the imp. Whether he comes to regret it or not, the parallel with real life, the essence of the character, is very well written and accurately portrayed. We also wondered if this story was originally a play, because of the author's note in the beginning, and if it was, it would be really entertaining to watch and the love story and the hawaiin setting would add such charm to it while most other characters would likely add humor. Thanks to my SO's pov, I really appreciated the characterization and how everyone's feelings were consistently relatable even if the story was fantastical. Infact it was exactly this that caused such strong reactions in me - the characterization was so relatable that I did not notice that I was getting caught up in expecting a better narrative, one which was not the scope or point of the story to begin with.

What do you think?

I just had to talk about it. It's been driving me insane (with hilarity. Put a Plushie pet in there with a swirling windstorm background and tickle your funny bones) XD