The Legends Behind the Characters of “Banned from Heaven, Barred from Hell”
The Legend of Stingy Jack (The Origin of the Jack O’Lantern)
The carving of faces into vegetables is a practice that has been conducted for centuries around the world. The name “Jack-o-lantern” dates to 17th century England. We may never know exactly when the warding off spirits with carved vegetables began in Ireland, but we do know the legend associated with the practice.
The Legend of Stingy Jack originated several centuries ago in Ireland. In the legend, there lived a drunkard known as Stingy Jack. Jack was known throughout the land as a deceiver or manipulator. On a fateful night, Satan overheard the tale of Jack's evil deeds and silver tongue. Envious of the rumors, Satan went to find out if Jack lived up to his vile reputation.
Over the next ten years, Satan was repeatedly outsmarted by Jack by varying means, culminating in Jack demanding that Satan never take his soul. Satan acquiesced.
When it came time for Jack to die, he was barred from entering through the gates of Heaven due to his sinful lifestyle of deceitfulness and drinking. He then went to Hell, however, Satan fulfilling his obligation to Jack, could not take his soul. Instead, he gave Jack an ember to light his way. Barred from entrance into both Heaven and Hell, Jack is doomed to roam the world with only an ember inside a hollowed turnip to light his way.
In the America’s we no longer associate the jack-o-lantern with the “Legend of Stingy Jack.” The more popular usage in American folklore comes from its inclusion in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” While most retellings include the horseman with either the pumpkin for a head or carrying said lantern, the original story only mentions the shattered pumpkin at the site of Ichabod Crane’s hat the morning after his supposed encounter with the spectral legend.
The Legend of the Flying Dutchman
When you hear the words “The Flying Dutchman” several different thoughts may come to mind. For some it may be of a giant ghostly ship calmly sailing the seas, for others it might be a ship sailed by the damned with red billowing sails accompanied by one of the most recognizable overtures in opera history. Perhaps you think of the version sailed by Davy Jones across the Caribbean hunting Captain Jack Sparrow with his mighty Kraken or perhaps as the Brian Doyle Murray voiced character in Spongebob Squarepants. Regardless of how you may have been introduced, The Flying Dutchman is one, if not, the most famous ghost ship of all time.
Legends of The Flying Dutchman originate in the 17th century, during the golden age of the Dutch East India Trading Company. Stories of a doomed ship cursed to sail the ocean forever spread quickly across the globe. As the legend grew, so did some of the quintessential characteristics that we associate with the ship. It can never make port. It glows with an eerie glow. Seeing it is a sign of doom.
In our production, Senta and The Flying Dutchman, draw inspiration from not only the classic legends, but also the Wagner opera. The character name Senta comes from the Richard Wagner’s opera. At the conclusion of the opera, Senta throws herself into the sea, claiming that she will be faithful to the Captain unto death. This breaks the Captain’s curse causing the spectral ship to disappear. The opera concludes with Senta and the Captain ascending to heaven.
The Soldier and Death (A Russian Folk Tale)
The Soldier and Death is an early Russian folk tale. Many in the west may be familiar with this tale from either the English retelling by Arthur Ransome or the adaptation by the Grimm Brothers entitled “Godfather Death.” The original folk tale centers around a soldier returning home after 20 years of war, with three biscuits in his knapsack. On his way he meets three beggars to whom he gives the biscuits; in return one gives him a ruby whistle, one the jolliest dance, and the final man, who gets the last biscuit despite the soldier being hungry himself, in return gives him a pack of magic playing cards and a sack that has the power to trap anything ordered into it. The soldier uses these newly acquired skills to help himself in life.
Eventually, in order to save the Tzar, he makes a deal with Death. The soldier swaps his life in exchange for the Tzar's. Death takes his offer and gives the illness to the soldier, curing the Tzar. Lying in his death bed, he summons Death into his sack and stops death from happening everywhere. Eventually, the Soldier frees Death, who fears the soldier and his sack so much that he refuses to take the soldier's life, cursing him with immortality.
The folk tale of “The Soldier and Death” is probably most well-known from its inclusion in Jim Henson’s 1989 television series “The Storyteller.” In this version, the soldier is played by the British actor, Bob Peck. One might easily remember Peck from his portrayal of Game Warden, Robert Muldoon in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993). A scene from the Jim Henson version of “The Soldier and Death” can be seen by clicking the button below.
As said in the show, the tale of “The Soldier and Death” is “not a short story.” If you are interested, we highly recommend watching the Jim Henson adaptation. It condenses the story into a visually beautiful 30 minutes.
The Legend of Cartaphilus, later known as Joseph
Legends of a man cursed by Christ is almost as old as Christianity itself. The Legend of Cartaphilus began to become more well known in the 13th century. The core of the legend revolves around a man who taunts Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and becomes cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. The exact nature of the indiscretion varies in different versions of the tale, as do aspects of his character.
The name Cartaphilius comes from the 1228 version of the legend found in Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover. It is from this version of the legend, where we get the curse that Jesus vocalized to Cartaphilius, "I shall stand and rest, but thou shalt go on till the last day."
We would be remiss if we did not mention an alternate title by which this legend is commonly known, being “The Legend of the Wandering” or “Eternal Jew.” Although for most of this legend’s history, the story was not directly used in a derogatory nature, instead being used to teach a lesson, we cannot deny that certain parties have twisted the legend to fit their anti-Semitic narrative over the centuries.
It has never and will never be our intention to present our version of this Cartaphilus in an anti-Semitic manner. Any references to Cartaphilus’s presumed religion were purposely removed at the beginning of the creative process, allowing us to focus more on a character’s poor judgement and lack of empathy that caused him to be cursed. As we say in the show, Joseph was a merchant “that pissed off the wrong son, of the wrong deity on the wrong day.”
(Image by Gustave Doré)