Corpse Bride is based on an old story that is
Much Much darker than the movie makes it out to be. You mean creepy man Burton actually
made something more light-hearted than the original story? EXACTLY. And more. And I’m
going to take a lot of care in telling you this darker Corpse Bride origin story, so
be careful yourself, if you’re following me. As I go over this Jewish folktale,
you’ll certainly see how much of it was ahhh…. Re-animated.. In the
Corpse Bride story. And to that end, I’ll be showing scenes from the movie that
follow the original story as we get to them, but know that this story would NOT take
place in a church when we get there though.) We start in a dark forest, on a full-moon
night, outside of the city. 3 buddies are out walking together because the next
day is Reuven’s (the eldest among them) wedding! How exciting! (Both he and the bride
are from very respected and well-off families, just like the families in Corpse Bride are
obsessed with being associated with.) Anyway, this trio probably has the nervous jitters,
Reuven especially, making them oddly daring and full of bravado. They venture into the
darkest part of the forest, which thanks to that full moon is not so dark, and are positively
drunk on life! That’s… when they see it. While resting near the river they spy something, the
size of a finger, sticking up out of the earth. Assuming it’s just a root they investigate…
only to find that it is ACTUALLY a finger. Now in the movie, Victor, in a fit of love
and desire to perfect his vows, used the gnarly tree looking finger as a stand-in for his
betrothed’s. However, this folktale gets dark. And the story makes a point to point out that
these friends ordinarily WOULD have felt pity for someone with so shallow a grave - and it
IS a shallow grave for a finger to be above the soil. They would have known what that meant
(and we’ll get there, too, in a bit) They would have shown SOME reverence and decorum… but
remember they are in a nervous joking mood with the imminent wedding. So, they tease about
who will put a ring on it, and because Reuven is the oldest he jocularly says the legally binding
wedding vow “You are betrothed to me” three times, with his two friends as witnesses, and
slips his own ring onto the corpse finger. Which begins to twitch…and then reach…
and claw out of the earth with a rumble. The men are too stunned to move. The
corpse appears in all her tattered glory - and I imagine she’s truly tattered,
not selectively mottled and worm-eaten pretty like Emily. Wearing a shredded shroud,
she hovers above her shallow grave, looks at Reuven dead in the eye and shrieks
“My Husband!” with her arms outstretched. The friends find their legs and start booking it
home through the dark forest… which is well and truly dark now because the moon has ominously
disappeared behind a cloud. The corpse bride continues her pursuit, shrieking wailing
all the while. But the trio make it home, and bolt the door firmly while they tend
to their many many branch wounds. And, not only are they afraid, but they are ashamed
of how they joked about such a serious matter. But they agree to keep the secret between them,
because there’s a wedding to attend, afterall! Everyone who is anyone is in attendance the next
day, INCLUDING THE CORPSE BRIDE, screeching at the very back. This clears every living body
out faster than you can say “hopscotch”… except for the very calm and collected Rabbi (It seems
they kept him in the movie, in a way!) and a very very terrified Reuven. The Rabbi gets down to the
business of sorting this out “Why is it… that you have left your final resting place and returned
to the living?” The corpse replies, asking “what blemish does the bridegroom find in me that he
should want to wed another? For cannot all the world see that he is wed to me?” AND JUST LIKE IN
CORPSE BRIDE, She flashes the ring, with Reuven’s initials carved in it. He bravely… hides behind
the Rabbi who asks him for every single detail about what the heck went on in that forest last
night?! He confirms that the wedding vow was said, 3 times, in the presence of two witnesses…
so legally it’s legal. Reuvan… passes out. Days go by. Everyone is talking about how can
a man marry a corpse? (I get major movie town crier vibes from this chatter!) The Rabbi
meanwhile has been looking for ANY precedent to this very odd case, and I’m sure Reuven’s
parents breathing down his neck didn’t help his concentration much. Anyway, there’s to
be a court hearing to null the marriage, as it was made in jest. And here’s the thing,
the corpse bride shows up for the court date like it’s any other day. I wonder where she
stayed in town? Not the point. Not in the story. Sorry. She is asked if she will release
her claim on Reuven, but she is determined to consummate the marriage. Not just be married,
but you know, do the dew. It’s her ‘unfinished business afterall. “For while she had lived she
had never married and had thus been denied her hour of joy. And she was determined to receive
after death what she had been denied in life.” Unlike in Corpse Bride where the marriage is
invalid because “death has already parted” Victor and Emily, and only one person said their
vows, this case is more complex. It’s actually 3-fold. In this tale it’s ruled that “the dead
have no claim over the living” - which is slightly different. But also, The marriage proposal WAS
found to be legitimate - the man, with the ring, said the vow 3 times in the presence of 2
witnesses. Legally, this is binding! EXCEPT for one tiny little detail - a pre-existing contract.
This one, between the living bride and groom’s parents. Both parental parties confirmed this
contract was, in fact, in existence before their children were born, so it pre-dates the legal
contract the man jokingly made with the finger. Legally, Reuvan couldn’t make a new contract
that would contradict an older one. And finally, the vow was made WITHOUT INTENTION. Which yes it
was, but that’s gotta be a tough one to prove? So, anyway, this life and death marriage is “null
and void!” Reuven… passes out. Again. The Corpse Bride Shrieks from the deepest place of sorrow
(and everyone feels it for her) because both before and after death, her business is still
unfinished. She does not turn into peaceful butterflies like Emily, but rather collapses
back onto the ground. A true corpse once more. But the people do right by her - they bury her in
a proper grave… deep enough so this marital mishap can’t happen again! Then Reuvan and his original
bride are married, and all ends well as it can.. Like Corpse Bride, this older story
has unfinished business of the dead, a limbo holding place, a calm detail-oriented-in
contract law authority, and a groom (who looks like he’s about to) and does pass out
nearly the whole time. There is, however, No happily ever after for this corpse bride, but
that’s not the only thing that makes it darker. Why is it darker, aside from the not happy ending
for her? In Corpse Bride, Barkis is a serial killer that offs women for their fortunes. This
is NOT GREAT at ALL, but it gets worse. Because, in The Finger, context matters. The reason this
Jewish corpse bride was killed was NOT uncommon, and very tragic. She was killed because of who she
was. Likely by a pogrom - an organized violent mob whose aim: to wipe out another ethnic or religious
group, specifically in Russia these were aimed at Jewish communities. They targeted property,
people, and caused mass suffering. And, because of the messed up goal of this mob, they wanted
to prevent more babies of their target group from being born - hence attacking a young woman
before her “hour of joy” - and have children. It’s sick. And it makes sense why this corpse
bride WOULD linger with her unfinished business top of mind - such a brutal and traumatic death
at what should be an exciting juncture in life. This was the Jewish folktale: “The Finger” and
you’ll certainly see how much of it was given a… kinda different… life in Corpse Bride. It’s
very interesting to see how directly this story influenced the movie: from the groom’s skittish
character, to the literal finger proposal scene and titular corpse bride?! But, you’ll notice
that not only was the story changed to be a more traditional fairytale “happily ever after” for
everybody except the bad guy, but it also took away the cultural roots of this Jewish story.
The movie is heavily coded Christian, with the church setting, officiant, etc. This kinda…
absolutely steamrolls over the original story, and it’s sadly ironic because this erasure is how
the original corpse bride in The Finger was killed too - by people who only wanted THEIR stories
to continue, before she could continue HERS. I had wondered if Corpse Bride’s “Ukrainan
Haunting Spell” was a nod to a location for this older story, but came up Null and Void…
like Reuvan’s first wedding to the corpse. It’s easy to see how Corpse Bride was
‘inspired’ by this older story. I could not find it credited or mentioned in the film’s
credits at all, but is mentioned as a source by Burton himself at another time. Burton kept
a majority of the original folktale story, latching mostly on to the idea of a creepy
corpse bride, but erased nearly all context and culture of the original tale…and made
it more into a spooky western fairytale. This tale was dark, so if you need some
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below! Check out the fun party game of absurd choices to play with friends and family. Thank
you to Priorities for sponsoring this video! But What part of the original tale stuck out
to you the most? It is pretty dark and morbid, but I really latched on to the detail-oriented
contract laws and such, and of course the poor groom just passing out like all the time! Oh
buddy. But let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you would like
to see more creepy origins and tales! Thanks for watching this darker origin
story of Corpse Bride! Do subscribe so you won’t miss the next video bubbling
in the cauldron right now. Good bye!
