Beschrijving
The Man who Does his Wife’s Work. (Including the previous Type 1408A.) This type is usually a framework into which other anecdotes of stupid people are set. Its basic form is as follows:
Following a quarrel in which the husband complains that he works hard while his wife stays comfortably at home, a married couple agree to exchange work.
Or, the husband (son) is unable to work outside. His wife (mother) must do the outdoor work for him, while he does the housework.
Often, the wife gives her husband instructions about what work he should do. He does not pay attention and wastes half the day resting.
The man tries to do several chores at once, and does everything wrong so that he suffers a series of accidents, e.g. he leans over the well while he is carrying the butterchurn on his back, so that the cream falls into the water (previously Type 1408A), he lets wine or beer run out of the cask and throws flour on top of it to dry the floor [J2176.1] (cf. Type 1387), he lets the cow graze on the roof [J2132.2] (cf. Type 1210), bathes the baby in boiling water [J2465.4] (cf. Type 1013), or demands that the pots walk home by themselves [J1881.1.3] (cf. Type 1291A), etc.
When the wife returns home, she finds that her husband has made a mess and that everything is in chaos. The man admits that he had undervalued his wife’s work, and they agree that both of them should go back to their accustomed duties [J2431].
Or, the couple do not become reconciled: the wife beats her husband and drives him away.
Following a quarrel in which the husband complains that he works hard while his wife stays comfortably at home, a married couple agree to exchange work.
Or, the husband (son) is unable to work outside. His wife (mother) must do the outdoor work for him, while he does the housework.
Often, the wife gives her husband instructions about what work he should do. He does not pay attention and wastes half the day resting.
The man tries to do several chores at once, and does everything wrong so that he suffers a series of accidents, e.g. he leans over the well while he is carrying the butterchurn on his back, so that the cream falls into the water (previously Type 1408A), he lets wine or beer run out of the cask and throws flour on top of it to dry the floor [J2176.1] (cf. Type 1387), he lets the cow graze on the roof [J2132.2] (cf. Type 1210), bathes the baby in boiling water [J2465.4] (cf. Type 1013), or demands that the pots walk home by themselves [J1881.1.3] (cf. Type 1291A), etc.
When the wife returns home, she finds that her husband has made a mess and that everything is in chaos. The man admits that he had undervalued his wife’s work, and they agree that both of them should go back to their accustomed duties [J2431].
Or, the couple do not become reconciled: the wife beats her husband and drives him away.
Motief
J2176.1
J2132.2
J2465.4
J1881.1.3
J2431
Commentaar
Early version see Basile, Pentamerone (I,4).
Combinaties
This type is usually combined with one or more other types, esp. 1210, 1387, 1643, 1653, 1685, 1696, and also 1218, 1313, 1384, and 1642.
Oorspronkelijk Verhaaltype
1408
Subgenre
mop