Seven Gothic tales

I. Dinesen, K. Blixen

"The Monkey" is the story of a Prioress who exchanges her soul with a demon. While she is possessed with the spirit of the monkey, she plots for her nephew, a homosexual, to rape a young woman, Athena Hopballehus. Athena is one of Isak Dinesen's most notoriously intrepid women. Tall, powerful and undaunted, she strikes out at Boris, the aggressor, biting him, drawing blood, and repelling his advances. This scene evokes the ancient Greek Dionysian ritual, in which women tear apart and cannibalize their prey.