The Tales and Novels, v9: Belphegor and Others

"The Tales and Novels, v9: Belphegor and Others" by Jean de La Fontaine is a gathering of stories crafted during the 1600s, during the time of elaborate Baroque art. It is filled with stories that mix funny moments, making fun of things, and teaching lessons, while looking at how people act and get along using imaginative stories. The main ideas often look at the silly parts of love, the problems of being married, and the strange things that happen when people are around each other. In "Belphegor," the main character is a demon that is sent from Hell to learn about human marriage, that reveals problems and unhappiness that sometimes is hidden in marriage. Belphegor pretends to be a wealthy man and marries a proud woman, which leads to a difficult relationship with arguments and sadness. This story is a funny criticism about marriage as Belphegor sees the conflict, and eventually goes back to Hell because he is angry with with his wife. The other storiess in the collection, also explore ideas of wanting things and having too much of them, using easy-to-understand stories that are interesting to give meaningful lessons that connect with the reader.