The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen · Question
How does The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen develop the theme of The Marvelous and the Absurd?
Answer
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolph Erich Raspe develops The Marvelous and the Absurd across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book revels in wildly implausible events, such as riding a cannonball, pulling a wolf inside out, or climbing a beanstalk to the moon, celebrating the fantastical and ludicrous as a form of entertainment.
The storm that lifts trees with a couple gathering cucumbers, and the lion jumping into the crocodile's mouth, exemplify the marvelous and absurd.
The wolf devouring the horse from within and then being harnessed to pull the sledge exemplifies the absurd and fantastical elements of the story.
Improbable events such as eye-sparks igniting a gun, nailing a fox's tail, and bending a boar's tusks with a stone highlight the absurdity of the narrative.
Evidence in the book
- I
The storm that lifts trees with a couple gathering cucumbers, and the lion jumping into the crocodile's mouth, exemplify the marvelous and absurd.
- II
The wolf devouring the horse from within and then being harnessed to pull the sledge exemplifies the absurd and fantastical elements of the story.
- III
Improbable events such as eye-sparks igniting a gun, nailing a fox's tail, and bending a boar's tusks with a stone highlight the absurdity of the narrative.
- IV
The Baron's impossible feats—shooting a stag with cherry stones that later bears fruit, turning a wolf inside out, and a mad cloak—exemplify the absurd and marvelous nature of his adventures.
- V
The greyhound and hare both littering during a chase, and the horse being severed and healed with laurel sprigs, are absurdly marvelous events.
- Chapter VI
Events like the hatchet flying to the moon, the beanstalk, and the frozen horn tunes exemplify the absurd and marvelous.
- VII
The Baron's head being pressed into his stomach and his use of his posterior to stop a leak are absurd and marvelous.
- VIII
The Baron's fantastic escape from a fish's stomach by dancing a hornpipe exemplifies the absurd and marvelous nature of his adventures.
