Author: W.H.D. Rouse
Title: Goblin City
Link: Goblin City
Notes: When I read this story, I think immediately of the goblins that I know of from the world of Terry Pratchett. As he is one of my favorite authors, I have read plenty of his books. In them, the goblins are represented as a misunderstood and mistreated species who people both seem to fear and look down upon (how typically human...). Pratchett gives the goblins motive for the actions that others deem as terrifying or strange, and I think it would be interesting to try to do a retelling of this story from the perspective of the goblins.
Important questions to answer here might be: What happened to the He-Goblins? What sort of social hierarchy has been established by the She-Goblins? What characteristics do the She-Goblins have in common with human women, and what characteristics are different? What human practices do the goblins distain?
Then comes the most important question: what reason could the She-Goblins possibly have to gobble up human men? I think that one of the most intriguing motives that exists in many of the book that I have read is the lengths that mothers will go to for their children (this is part of why I am so interested in Gandhari's story). Perhaps the He-Goblins went to explore the land of humans and were killed (giving the She-Goblins ample reason to distain humans). Since then, the goblins land has become barren, and the She-Goblins turn to man-flesh to feed their children.
Alternately, the She-Goblins could be acting to try to protect their children. Although it would be slightly strange for the humans to have come to Ceylon to take the children themselves, if the goblins were to lay eggs this would seem like just the thing that some careless human might view as "treasure." If the He-Goblin part is kept, then that would explain why the She-Goblins have no qualms about just eating the human men rather than imprisoning's them or something similar when trying to protect their eggs. I think I prefer this motive- it feels slightly less strange/forced.
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