Puteus
The Well (or, The Husband Locked Out)
This story takes place in a city that maintains a strict curfew, and anyone found in the streets after curfew is severely punished. In this city, a man keeps his wife under lock and key, but unbeknownst to him, she regularly sneaks out to meet a lover (in some versions, she accomplishes this by encouraging her husband to drink to excess nightly). One night, discovering her gone, the man locks the door, and refuses to open it for her when she returns and begs entry. She claims she would rather drown herself then face public punishment, and then drops a large rock into the well. Hearing the splash and thinking she has thrown herself into the well, her husband rushes out; his wife slips into the house as he does so, and locks him out instead, refusing to let him in.
Critical Literature
No critical literature available
