Elisabeth Das Musical Textposts Pt. 1

The Little Mermaid AU maya Sissi and mate DerTod <3 (...and uwe Tod as witch)

he’s an unreliable narrator TO YOU. i believe him

I never really have a character I completely dislike because I'll defend anyone at the drop of a hat lmao. If they're being mischaracterized in an argument, suddenly I am now their lawyer. free my man your honor he didn't do any of that

Stumbled upon this video essay on Musical Rebecca and how Kunze/Lévay supposedly departed drastically from the book’s themes by romanticizing Ich and Maxim’s relationship, and I have Des Notes(tm):

The claim that the novel is not a love story but a study of jealousy. Obviously…romantic jealousy. 🤣 Granted, the narrator also has self-esteem issues, but the moment Maxim says he never loved Rebecca, the narrator’s seething jealousy of her literally vanished. It is very much dependent on her love for Maxim and her belief that he did love Rebecca.

While Maxim did murder Rebecca in the book, it should be noted that little to nothing contradicts his claim that Rebecca was a bad person. Outside of Maxim’s POV, Du Maurier wrote numerous red flags. To whit:

Ben is afraid of Rebecca (she threatened to send him to the asylum, per him). Frank, who had a wholeass affair with Rebecca, tells the narrator directly that goodness is more important to a man than beauty. Beatrice, who is depicted as straightforward and honest, doesn’t praise Rebecca outside of her beauty and charm, forgot Gran loved Rebecca, and deals with the narrator with uncharacteristic patience. Even Mrs. Danvers proudly boasted that Rebecca once flogged a horse. And then there is the fact that all of Rebecca’s closest intimates are creeps and sleazeballs. Mrs. Danvers and Favell may have their sympathetic moments (as in, they did care about Rebecca), but that doesn’t mean they are depicted as good people.

And then there is the fact that Rebecca deliberately manipulated Maxim into killing her, lol. The final twist is that she had cancer and was looking for a quick end. Mrs. Danvers confirms, even before she knew of this diagnosis, that Rebecca feared getting sick and would have wanted a quick end. Her pregnancy was a lie meant to push Maxim to his limits, and it worked.

If Du Maurier wanted to make Maxim shady and unreliable, she wouldn’t have done any of this. Instead, she did everything possible to justify Maxim and buttress his claim that Rebecca was bad, which is no doubt part of why the narrator forgives Maxim so easily.

So on that count, what the novel ends up saying in terms of theme is less “traditionalist chauvinist husband murders his flawed but morally clean modern ex-wife” and more “abuse victim finally retaliates against his abuser and struggles to recover from his trauma with the help of another abuse victim.” Problematic? Yeah, highly so (except for the abuse victim overcoming trauma part). But that’s the way Du Maurier wrote it. She absolutely gave Maxim (almost) every reason.

So in adapting the book to a musical, Kunze decided to opt to emphasize out this romantic strain of the novel. Understandable, given that musicals are very romance-friendly and don’t do thrillers easily. But it’s still not a radical interpretation from Du Maurier’s work. You do get Rebecca fans and defenders, but given that a pro-Rebecca fanfic sequel irked most fans, it’s safe to say most fans agree that Rebecca was bad and Maxim was a victim.

Bonus: As for the novel’s queer coding, it should be noted that in the novel, Mrs. Danvers explicitly says Rebecca never loved anyone. Not just men. This supports the whole Rebecca-as-sociopath canonical strain (although ace headcanons are a possibility) and less the interpretation of Rebecca being a possibly queer woman silenced forever by her murderous macho husband. Also, Beatrice is perhaps just as queer coded than Rebecca herself, and it is heavily implied (and Maxim confirms it) that she didn’t like her, found her fishy.

So in sum: This is less Book-to-Musical Wicked and more Book-to-Musical Notre Dame de Paris. Subtle thematic shifts, same plot, some changes to make it more musical-friendly. Sounds like your everyday book-to-musical adaptation to me.

Last song: Finale from Cabaret

Favorite color: Light Pink

Last book: The Trespasser by Tana French

Last movie: The Sound of Music (1965)

Last tv show: Arcane

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Spicy

Last thing I searched online: Suspicion (1941). I’m watching it later lol.

Current obsession: Nothing??? I’m working on finding a new one (hopefully…).

Looking forward to: Starting my re-read of Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Tagging: @littlelattewanders @derschleierfallt @fulesthefirst

10 People I'd Like to Know Better

Thanks for the tags @gaiaseyes451 and @beerok23!💜!💜

last song: Gloria by the Lumineers

favourite colour: Red, like a deep luscious red that you know would taste good if you licked it. Don't act innocent, you know exactly what I mean by that. Red is a color that you just know tastes good.

last book: I am currently trying to read the Witcher series (per @lickthecowhappy's suggestion) so I am at the start of the Last Wish

last movie: Moana 2 (I have young kidsssss)

last TV show: My oldest is almost 10 which means she stays up late. Which also means I have so little time to watch adult things. So we've been watching the Office with her. I think I want to watch the Good Place with her next tho (I've never watched it!)

sweet/spicy/savoury: Sweet followed very, very closely by spicy. Habanero maple syrup is one of my favorite things on the planet.

last thing i searched online: How to explain a 10 year career hiatus in a cover letter (looking to return to work since having kids. It's been an interesting experience so far).

current obsession: Have not moved on from Good Omens, but recently realized that my obsession may be more in my own little connected universe of fics that I wrote rather than the actual canon at this point😳. I'm sure once we get that first glimpse of red and white hair that will change very quickly.

looking forward to: Going back to work and having a more established adult life again, honestly. I've been so lucky to be home with my kids while they are young, but I am ready. And figuring out how my newfound passion for writing is going to fit into that new life of mine. Another big year of change over here for me, and I am eagerly looking forward to how the growing pains are going to make way for something beautiful beyond.

ten people i’d like to know better:

@addledmongoose, @di-42, @afrenchwriter, @haemey, @eybefioro, @alwaystuesday, @katspause, @alphacentaurinebula, @shadesofecclescakes, @ochre-sunflower and whoever wants to do it (but also feel free to ignore!)

It really is nice how obviously fond Elphaba is of Glinda right off the bat in the movie, with What Is This Feeling showcasing how much Elphaba enjoys their little feud. For the first time in her life, someone's judging her for her, rather than her skin or her magic. Glinda doesn't give a shit that she's green, she's mad that Elphaba's taste in clothes and decor clash so severely with her own! She doesn't care that Elphaba could accidentally kill her if she got too angry, she's too busy being upset that Elphaba keeps minorly inconveniencing her! How refreshing that would be, to meet the most annoying person in the world and discover that her own narcissism has caused her to be the only person who sees you for who you really are. Of course Elphaba would take the hat seriously as a gift -- has anyone other than Dulciebear ever gifted her anything? Of course she would gamble her own self-confidence at the Ozdust -- at worst, Glinda's ego is so massive that she would never allow her mortal enemy to be the butt of someone else's joke. And in the best case, well, Glinda recognizes how important she is to the one person that she knows has no one. The only one who gets her, the only one who has ever understood her, standoffish and rude the way a stray cat is before it finally follows you indoors.

It's a real shame this story couldn't be anything other than a tragedy, huh?

merry christmas and happy holidays 🥳

the funniest part about Love Never Dies is the implications it has for the canon of the ALW Phantom of the Opera. because what do you mean Raoul turned into an alcoholic gambler, lost all of his money, found out Gustave wasn't his son, watched Meg shoot Christine, and STILL had the funds and energy to go back to the Paris Opera House to purchase that silly monkey like 12 years later.

why would you torture yourself like that

some of my markrolock collection because HES UNDERRATED DAMN IT

love this so much. i’m freaking out!

Aphtober Day 10: Tarot

Dante as The Tower Upright (specifically for unexpected change bc I’m evil)

Idk a thing about Tarot cards so I hope I did this right LOL

Anyways im very very pleased with how this came out and I hope y’all like it as much as I do!! Especially all you Dante Enjoyers out there 👁️👁️

See all my Aphtober submissions HERE!!