Sex

1,504 motifs · page 4 of 8

• Husband tempted by own wife disguised in fine clothes: says he will touch no woman save his wife. She puts on her old clothes. T224
• Faithlessness in marriage. T230
• Wife and husband believe each unfaithful at the slightest provocation. T230.1
• Faithless wife causes her husband to go insane. T230.2
• The faithless widow. T231
• Faithless widow betrothed anew at husband's funeral. T231.1
• Faithless widow fans husband's grave. She does not want to remarry until the body is cold (or the earth on the grave is dry). T231.2
• Faithless widow ready to marry messenger who brings news of husband's death. The husband, however, has only feigned death to test her. (Cf. T235.) T231.3
• Faithless widow offers city to killer of her husband if he will marry her. T231.3.1
• Faithless widow's heartlessness repels the new suitor. She obeys him when he tells her to knock out the teeth of her dead husband. Fearing like treatment, he leaves. T231.4
• Faithless widow marries slayer of husband. T231.5
• Woman deserts husband for unworthy lover. (Deformed, mutilated, monstrous, or of different race.) T232
• Woman consorts with leper. T232.1
• Adulteress chooses loathly paramour. T232.2
• Adulteress poisons husband in order to be with swineherd. T232.3
• Woman enamored of repulsive and abusive lover. T232.4
• Faithless wife pays her paramour for enjoying herself with him. T232.5
• Wronged wife goes to wronged husband. T233
• Husband transforms himself to test his wife's faithfulness. (Cf. T231.3.) T235
• Woman enamored of an unknown knight in a tournament loses interest when she finds that it is her husband. (Cf. R222.) T236
• Old man married to young, unfaithful wife. T237
• Adulteress on her death-bed reveals the illegitimacy of her children. Did not want her husband to be burdened with their bringing up. T238
• Series of husbands try in vain to control adulteress. T241
• Fight between husband and lover for kingdom and wife. T243
• Woman reveals whereabouts of husband to enemy in revenge for desertion. T244
• Woman reveals whereabouts of husband to hungry bear in revenge for desertion. T244.1
• Man unfaithful even on wedding night. T245
• Object stolen (left) as token that infidelity has been discovered. T247
• Substituted sword. Husband leaves wooden sword in scabbard of wife's paramour upon discovering their infidelity. T247.1
• Faithlessness in marriage – miscellaneous. T249
• Adulterous wife convicted commits suicide. T249.1
• Husband and wife (king and queen) each unfaithful to other. T249.2
• Characteristics of wives and husbands. T250
• The shrewish wife. T251
• Man ejected from heaven for folly of marrying twice. T251.0.1
• Christ, not having married, knew nothing about suffering. So thinks the man after hearing all about Christ's torments. T251.0.2
• Man reprimanded by judge for marrying several times. The man replies that he was always looking for a good wife. T251.0.3
• Avoiding the shrewish wife. T251.1
• Belfagor. The devil frightened by the shrewish wife. A man persuades his shrewish wife to let herself be lowered into a well. When he comes to pull her out he raises a genie (devil) who is glad to escape from the woman. Later he frightens the devil by telling him that his wife has escaped. T251.1.1
• Devil flees shrewish wife and enters body of a duke. Exorcised by telling him that they are sending for his wife. T251.1.1.1
• Late husband chooses to remain in Purgatory rather than to return to his shrewish wife. T251.1.2
• Husband chooses to go to hell rather than join shrewish wife in heaven. T251.1.2.1
• Man in hell declares that life there is much better than on earth with his wife. Bargain with the devil: should the latter not be able to endure life with his wife for three years, the man would be released from hell. The devil is the loser. T251.1.2.2
• Man had rather remain transformed to mule than to live with his shrewish wife. T251.1.3
• Man forces devil to take back the shrewish wife. T251.1.4
• Minstrel throws wife into sea: her tongue the heaviest thing on board. Ordered to throw all heavy articles overboard. T251.1.5
• Thief overhears and oversees quarrel of two jealous wives. Arraigned before judge, he asks any punishment be given him rather than that of having two wives. T251.1.6
• Taming the shrew. By outdoing his wife in shrewishness the husband renders her obedient. T251.2
• Shrew tamed by setting another shrew against her. T251.2.1
• Husband dons armor and forces the household to shout: "Long live the Master!" Takes off his breeches and dares his wife to put them on. Establishes his mastery in the home. T251.2.2
• Wife becomes obedient on seeing husband slay a recalcitrant horse. T251.2.3
• Husband tries to reform wife by killing a recalcitrant horse in her presence. She thinks he has lost his mind and continues in her ways. T251.2.3.1
• The wicked queen reformed. While asleep she is made to exchange places with the cobbler's wife. She thinks she is in hell. The cobbler teaches her to obey and fear her husband. T251.2.4
• Shrewish wife driven from home but when in danger, runs to husband and receives protection. She is a good wife thereafter. T251.2.5
• St. Peter's wife meets him with a broom handle. She is waiting for him at the rear door of the house. T251.3
• Socrates and Zanthippe: "After thunder rain". He thus remarks as she empties slops on his head. T251.4
• Strength in words, in herbs, and in stones. When first two do not cure shrewish wife, the last does. (Cf. J1563.6, J1581.2, J2412.5.) T251.5
• The browbeaten husband from under the table: "The man always has a man's heart." T251.6
• Husband will not search for shrewish wife who has run away from him. T251.7
• Shrewish wife gives husband beating every morning. T251.8
• Husband consoled by seeing woman even more shrewish than his wife. (Cf. J882.) T251.9
• Wife beats her husband and eats up everything he earns. T251.10
• Fakir thankful for shrewish wife: she is a thorn in his flesh and warns him from neglecting the ways of righteousness. T251.11
• The overbearing wife. T252
• Unsuccessful search for man who can rule his wife. T252.1
• Cock shows browbeaten husband how to rule his wife. (Cf. J21.16, J130.) T252.2
• King sees how male stork kills his unfaithful wife. Follows its example. T252.2.1
• Monkey (jackal, etc.) shows husband how to rule his wife. T252.2.2
• King tells jackal his statistics are wrong since there are more men than women. Jackal: husbands ruled by their wives counted as women. T252.2.2.1
• Wife threatens husband with death if he will not tell secrets. T252.3
• Prize for husband who rules his wife. (Ham, egg.) T252.4
• Man claims prize (boots) as ruler of his house, but is afraid to carry the boots lest he soil his clean shirt and anger his wife. T252.4.1
• Men rulers in their house asked to sing. No man in congregation does so. Priest alone sings. Next year he cannot, for then he has a maid. T252.5
• Wife threatens suicide if she does not have her own way. T252.6
• Vexed woman brings pot down on husband's head in presence of guest. T252.7
• The nagging wife. T253
• Nagging wife drives husband to prepare for suicide. T253.1
• Woman advised that nagging will never make a husband virtuous. T253.2
• Saint composes hymn to free himself from the mala vita in which he lives with his wife. T253.3
• The disobedient wife. T254
• The husband shows his wife poison to avoid: she takes it and dies. T254.1
• Husband forbids wife to ride on the dog: she immediately does so and is bitten. T254.2
• Man with obedient wife looks young; with disobedient, old. T254.3
• Man forbids wife to open chest. Loaded crossbow placed in it. She opens it and is killed. T254.4
• Husband warns wife not to enter empty furnace. She does so and it falls in upon her. T254.5
• Disobedient wife punished. T254.6
• Wife refuses to bring husband warm water: is beaten. T254.6.1
• The obstinate wife or husband. (Cf. J2511.) T255
• The obstinate wife: cutting with knife or scissors. At the end of the argument the man throws his wife into the water. As she sinks she makes with her finger the motion of shearing with the scissors. T255.1
• The obstinate wife sought for up-stream. When she falls into the stream, the husband concludes that she would be too obstinate to go with the current. T255.2
• The obstinate wife: sign of the louse. She calls her husband a lousy head. He throws her into the stream. As she sinks she makes a sign of cracking a louse. T255.3
• The obstinate wife: the third egg. The husband and the wife dispute as to who shall eat the third egg. She pretends to die. At the grave she asks him, "Do I eat two of the three eggs?" and he gives his consent. She jumps up and cries out "I eat two!" and everyone flees except a lame man who exclaims, "Poor me and the other one!" T255.4
• The obstinate wife: insists on eating three of the five eggs. T255.4.1
• The dish which the husband detests and the wife keeps serving him. He affects to like it and thus gets rid of it. T255.5
• Obstinate wife refuses to take cover off boiling kettle. Is beaten by husband. T255.6
• Man warns his wife that he has dreamed that she is attacked by a wolf. She pays no heed to him and the dream comes true. T255.7
• The quarrelsome wife or husband. T256
• Quarrel between husband and wife explained by their having been previously a tiger and a dog. T256.0.1
• Quarrelsome wife conquered by silent husband. T256.1
• Medicine against quarrelling: the wife must take one dose and keep it in her mouth for ten minutes as soon as her husband is angry. T256.2
• Quarrelsome wife reproved by a good whipping. T256.3
• Jealous wife or husband. T257
• Heavenly maidens are not jealous. T257.0.1
• Woman jealous of a fair maid in her house. Fears her attraction for her husband. T257.1
• King's wives jealous of his attention to pet animal. T257.1.1
• Jealousy of rival wives. T257.2
• Wife exposes bald head of second wife to disgrace her. Hair marvelously regrows. T257.2.1
• Jealous wife (mistress) transforms rival to hound. (Cf. B182.1.0.2.) T257.2.2
• Decision not to punish a jealous husband: he already suffers enough. T257.3
• Husband jealous of wife who goes to confession is punished by the priest. When the husband sees the priest take her behind the altar to punish her he volunteers to take the punishment. The wife says, "Pound him well. I am a terrible sinner." T257.4
• Jealous husband kills nightingale which his wife gets up to hear. T257.5
• Woman's scented hair attracts deer: husband jealous. T257.5.1
• Jealous king causes massacre of handsome young captives. T257.6
• Husband's unjust jealousy forces wife to commit adultery. T257.7
• Wife repays husband's supposed adultery by doing likewise. T257.7.1
• Jealous husband objects to wife's enjoyment of intercourse: thinks she has had previous experience. T257.8
• Jealous husband spends all his earnings as skillful smith bribing courtiers not to talk to his wife, and at last locks her up in hut in the forest. T257.9
• Trickster sends jealous wife after husband: steals food. (Cf. K343.) T257.10
• Jealous wife ties husband to her so that he cannot get away to meet another woman. T257.11
• The curious wife. T258
• The curious wife: wait and see. A man and his wife overhear thieves planning to rob the house, put the man out of the way, and have their will of the wife. The man wants to raise an alarm. She says, "Wait and see." T258.1
• Husband insists on knowing wife's secret. T258.1.1
• Wife insists upon knowing husband's secret. T258.2
• The ungrateful wife. (Cf. W154.) T261
• Husband takes wife's place and receives punishment for her adultery. She is ungrateful. T261.1
• The hypocritical wife. Shows what she has done for her husband, but not what she has done for herself. T263
• Jewels of Cornelia. She shows her children as her jewels. T265
• Beautiful woman married to hideous man: he is thankful, she patient. She says that they have thus both gained paradise. T268
• The neglected wife. T271
• Woman gets rid of impotent husband and remarries. T271.1
• Mistress of impotent husband sends her maid to find a man for her. T271.1.1
• The silent wife. T272
• Silent wife brought to speech by dangers to her husband. (Cf. F954.) T272.1
• Wife cannot keep secret. T274
• The spendthrift wife. T275
• Other aspects of married life. T280
• Sex hospitality. Host gives his wife (daughter) to his guest as bed companion. T281
• Sex hospitality given to druid. T281.1
• Sex hospitality given to king (prince). T281.2
• Handmaid given as wife unto husband by barren wife. T282
• First (barren) wife insists her husband should take second wife. T282.1
• Wife withholds intercourse from husband to enforce demand. Cf. Aristophanes' Lysistrata. T283
• Frightened wife shows marks of affection for husband. This is so rare that he pardons the robber who has caused the fright. T284
• Mistress has always said her "Aves": Virgin Mary refuses to help wife against her rival. The wife tells this to the mistress, who repents. T285
• Sight of mistress's ring causes husband to withhold himself from his wife. T286
• Why separation of a good woman from a bad man is a benefit. T287
• Wife refuses to sleep with detested husband. T288
• Wife curses unbeloved husband who attempts to force her. T288.1
• Why widow does not remarry. (1) Only her property is wanted; (2) her husband is still in her heart; (3) if new husband is bad it will not be well, if he is good there will be the fear that he will die. T291
• Wife keeps vow never to wed after her husband's death. T291.1
• Wife sold unwillingly by husband. T292
• Wives traded. T292.1
• Husband (wife) of supernatural being longs for old home and visits relatives. T294
• Husband's indiscreet boast about wife brings about his death. King regards his wife as so beautiful that he has a friend view her naked through a crack in the wall. Wife learns of his act, goes over to the man who has viewed her, and with the latter brings about the king's death. T295
• Wife buys (sells) privilege of sleeping one night with husband. (Cf. D2006.1.4.) T296
• Reconciliation of separated couple. T298
• Other aspects of married life – miscellaneous. T299
• Sleeping with head laid in wife's lap as sign of tenderness. T299.1
• Wife gives wise warning to husband. T299.2
• Man warned by wife against stepping on red cloth. T299.2.1
• Wife warns departing hero against seductions of women. T299.2.2
• Chastity and celibacy. T300
• Sacrifice of virginity. T301
• Methods of ascetics. T302
• Celibacy and continence. T310
• Ceremonial continence. T310.1
• "Night of Sabbath" (Friday night) only devoted to conjugal pleasures. T310.1.1
• Woman averse to marriage. (Cf. T321.1, T327.3.) T311
• Woman's aversion to marriage motivated through a dream. T311.0.1
• Flight of maiden (bridegroom) to escape marriage. T311.1
• Woman prefers to remain chaste rather than keep an impotent husband. (Cf. T271.1.) T311.2
• Girl commits suicide rather than marry man she does not love. T311.2.1
• Girl remains a virgin after both her suitors are killed in battle. T311.3
• Maiden queen prefers to fight instead of marrying, but is at last conquered and married. T311.4
• Saint's daughter dies when wooed. T312
• Woman dies when spoiled of her sanctity. T312.1
• Ravished girl's virginity restored by Virgin Mary. T313
• Ravished girl's virginity restored by saint. T313.1
• Pregnant nun's virginity restored through power of saint. T313.1.1
• Father kills daughter lest she become prostitute. T314
• Father kills daughter lest she become the property of a tyrant. T314.1
• Continence in marriage. T315
• Marital continence by mutual agreement. T315.1
• The continent husband. (Cf. T271.) T315.2
• The audacious water and the continent husband. A woman with a continent husband (lover) splashes water on her thighs as she crosses a stream and then reproves it for being bolder than her husband. She thus calls attention to her situation. T315.2.1
• Wife reproves continent husband by showing conduct of cock and hens. T315.2.2
• Wife reforms continent husband by having walls of bedroom painted with erotic scenes. T315.2.2.1
• Woman continent in two marriages to become a nun. T315.3
• The repression of lust. (Cf. D1356.) T317
• T317.0.1 Life shortened by incontinence. 300-year old man has had intercourse every two years. T317.0.1
• Repression of lust through sitting in water. T317.1
• Repression of lust through prayer. T317.2
• Repression of lust through preaching. T317.3
• Repression of lust through fasting. T317.4
• Man and woman in chaste love for twenty-five years. T317.5
• Monk finds that only abuse and cruel treatment from his fellow monks can conquer his lust. T317.6
• Wife proves her faithfulness. Had substituted for husband's mistress. Proves legitimacy of her child by producing tokens and by child's missing toe (like her husband's four-toed foot). T318
• Escape from undesired lover. T320
• Oft-proved fidelity. Repeated attempts to seduce innocent woman. She escapes them all. T320.1
• Virginity saved in spite of torture. Undesired suitors give up task. T320.1.1