Women Saints of the Golden Legend, link
I really, REALLY loved reading all of these stories about these women who accomplished so much, especially for their time period. They all were dealt with various, interesting hands to power through and they did just that. Nearly half of these stories had a point in the plot that surprised me or gave me pause. I think the most startling thing that happened was in Saint Barbara's legend; there's a point in the story in which she is literally just flown by divine power (I'm guessing) from her tower to the side of mountain. Oh, that, and her father bursting into flames after her death. A little unnerving.
This comes after her father becomes enraged with her and her religious beliefs, and goes to kill her. I figured I would dial back this intense conflict and attempt to place some modern "father-daughter" conflicts into this time period. Instead of Barbara outright refusing to marry any suitor, I figured I could include the time old trope of the boyfriend that the dad doesn't like. In response to this, he builds the tower that is featured in the original story. Instead of demanding an additional window, Barbara demands a secret stairway for her to escape in the night to visit her forbidden love. I also am toying around with putting a bit of a "Scarlet Letter" twist on this story; instead of Barbara being beaten publicly as in the original, the general public shame her for an illegitimate child. This modern adaptation will follow much of the original plot, with dialogue and more arguments between Barbara and her father that we might see in a household today.
(Barbara crushing her father, web source: Wikimedia)
Just a casual painting of Barbara standing on her father's back, looking very nonchalant about it all.
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