Capsa
The Lover in the Chest
A jealous merchant keeps his beautiful wife locked in a remote building, with high walls and barred gates. One day, a passing prince sees her at her window, and immediately falls in love. He ties a love letter to an arrow and shoots it high up to her; she sends back a love letter of her own. He then throws her a special key, and climbs into a large chest, and arranges for a trusted vizier to have it delivered to the merchant's house. Once it is safely stored and the merchant has departed, his wife opens the chest with the key, and the two lovers enjoy their time together. This goes on for seven days, until the merchant returns home early, and in their haste, the wife forgets to lock the chest. The lid springs open and the prince is revealed; shamed, the merchant divorces his wife and swears never to marry again.
(From Clouston and Basset)
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There are obvious narrative links to Inclusa here. Nishimura notes the following motifs and analogues: Motif: TMI K1342 Entrance into woman’s (man’s) room by hiding in chest. Analogues: Jātaka, 62 ‘Aṇḍabhūta-j.’ Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, Il Pecorone, 9.2. Giraldi Cinthio, Hundred Tales, 3.10. Straparola, Le piacevoli notti, 4.2. Arabian Nights, ‘The Kitchen Overseer’s Tale’ (Nights 27-28). Funahashi Seiichi, Eshima Ikushima. Coxwell, Siberian and Other Folk-Tales (2), 2.6.4 (combined with ‘12. annulus 2’). Bibliography: Chauvin VIII16. Landau 31. |
| Critical Literature |
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| Nishimura (2001), Basset (1903), Clouston (1884) |
| Capsa appears in the following versions and secondary versions |
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| This inset story appears in no versions of the database |
| Capsa is narrated in the following occurrences | ||||
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| Capsa appears in the following manuscripts |
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