Note 55 — Chapter V · The Grateful Dead and The Ransomed Woman.

Of these two variants, Oldenburgian is much better preserved than the Tyrolese story (Simrock V.). The latter is dressed in a homely fashion, which probably accounts for some of the changes, since the gap between the visits to market and the romantic or miraculous features of the couple’s later adventures was too wide to be easily bridged. The disappointed suitor is not mentioned, which leaves the attempt on the hero’s life without motivation, and clearly indicates some loss.55 The trait is distinctly marked in Oldenburgian, as are all the other events connected with The Ransomed Woman, though Simrock V. provides an entirely original reason for the voyage of the young couple,—their wish to get the hero’s mother. The features concerning the rescue by the ghost and the hero’s return to court are better preserved again in Oldenburgian, though both lack the agreement to divide, which is probably obscured as elsewhere by the prominence given the rescued woman. The most striking similarity between the two, however, lies in the fact that the ghost first appears as a bird. This clearly shows the existence of a type of The Grateful Dead + The Ransomed Woman, on which The Thankful Beasts has had some influence.