Openness: Punch and Judy

I should probably start discussing this chapter by saying that I find traditional Punch and Judy shows a bit scary. I don’t like the violence (particularly, even mock, violence toward a baby) and chaos and some of the Old style puppets look grotesque to me. Even though I grew up by the seaside and live in a different seaside town, which is the stereotype location for Punch and Judy shows, they’ve never been a part of my life - for me it’s much more associated with Covent Garden in London. When a family friend’s funeral was held at the Church that’s known as “The Punch and Judy Church” I was actually slightly nervous...
In spite of that I generally like puppets. The Harry Potter Puppet Pals are some of my favourite YouTube videos and I’ve been to live Puppet theatre with various niecelings. Maybe if the storylines were less fixed and alarming I could learn to love Punch and Judy? I can certainly imagine how in a time before television and computers a Punch and Judy Show coming to your town would be really exciting and engaging.
I like that in this chapter Gobbolino who has been nomadic by necessity up to now, joins a group of people travelling for a purpose. It’s nice to see him really enjoying being a professional performer and building on all the times he has informally entertained the different children he has encountered on his adventures.
Openness seems to be Gobbolino’s default state. Even though his bad experiences have dented his optimism a little, he is still always open to the new situations he finds himself in. He throws himself into each new relationship/community and opportunity he finds himself in. He is eager to learn and to get better at whatever job he has taken on. I wish I could have that much of a “beginner’s mind” and openness to new people (even though we see that it doesn’t always work out well for Gobbolino and he is often met with closed-minds)

9 Sentence Recap
Gobbolino walks from village to village to find the Punch and Judy show
When he finds the troupe they are mourning their dead Dog Toby
He joins them playing the dog’s role
He is a great success and the troupe flourishes
Eventually they come to an unfriendly village
The local Crone outs him as a cat - and a Witch’s Cat!
The whole troupe is driven out of the village
Word spreads and no one will watch a show featuring a witch’s cat
Gobbolino leaves the troupe so that they can continue to perform.

3 Sentence Recap
Gobbolino joins the Punch and Judy Show playing Dog Toby
Until he is exposed as a witch’s cat.
Audiences are now too scared to watch, so he leaves the show.

The first example of openness in this chapter is how helpful the passers by are in giving Gobbolino directions to the Punch and Judy Show. Which is a contrast to his experiences in the big town before he literally fell into the Princess’s Palace. There seems to be a code of hospitality and courtesy that supports travel and connection between villages that wasn’t found in the more urban environment. This enables Gobbolino On his Princess-given quest to find the Punch and Judy Show that they watched from the Palace Window.
It’s interesting that although Gobbolino maintains his emotionally open attitude this is the first time that he has had a definite aim in mind, more than the nebulous “find a home”. I think it’s useful to look at how an openness can still be a feature of a more closely focused process as well as a completely open-ended one. The polite openness and cooperation of the various direction givers guides Gobbolino to the Punch and Judy Show.
Probably the biggest example of openness is the members of the Punch and Judy troupe welcoming Gobbolino even when they are grieving for their Dog Toby and in despair for their future. The woman who Gobbolino first speaks to (I assume that she is the Showman’s wife because we don’t hear about non-family troupe members after this - though I guess she could be a grown-up child still working on the show before making her own way in the world) has the open-mindedness not just to make an effort to be friendly while in crisis but also to see the potential for a cat to act the role of a dog. There’s also some talk about Gobbolino’s colouring and I don’t know enough about the conventions of a Punch and Judy shows to know if it’s just that their late Dog Toby was white, where Gobbolino is black which might necessitate changes to his costume etc, or if there is an expectation that a Dog Toby will have a particularly colouring? Anyway a change in species is much more radical!
Dandy, the Showman, takes some time to consider the idea, staring at Gobbolino and obviously considering the pros and cons before saying “well, why not?” He looks petty enough and clever enough, and if we have no Toby we shall be ruined.”. We don’t know if he would be open to the idea of a cat in the role if they had other options - but in this situation he welcomes Gobbolino and clearly and openly spells out his expectations as well as what he will provide the newest member of his troupe ”Will you do you best for us, little cat with the blue eyes, if we give you a home in our company?”
The rest of the Company, Punch, Judy, the Policeman and the Baby, are a little less open to a newcomer. (It’s not actually clear if they are magically alive puppets or human or other animal actors - I’d love to know which but it doesn’t really matter because they are obviously people with thoughts and feelings in the context of the story in the same way that Gobbolino is). Even they have no problem with a cat playing a dog, it’s a mater of interpersonal dynamics At first these were very ready to be jealous of him and to dislike him. Gobbolino soon wins them round with his friendliness and by asking their advice on his performance. Their initial caution doesn’t stop them from opening their hearts to him and them bonding as both a performance troupe and a traveling community.

Gobbolino acted so well and entered into his part so eagerly that there was always a whole capful of silver at the end of the show.
The showman’s children had new shoes, his wife wore bracelets, and the showman himself wore a yellow waistcoat.

Gobbolino and the whole a Punch and Judy troupe thrive. Gobbolino is the star of the show but manages to maintain good relationships with the other performers. After a while he decides to stay as a permanent member of the troupe. he found his new life as pleasant as he could wish for.
He opens his heart to the role of entertainer and is nourished by making his audiences happy. This doesn’t mean that he has closed off his feelings for the people he had bonded with previously

He often wished the little princess could watch his acting. He had secret hopes that one day the showman might find his way to the boarding-school, or to the orphange gates, or even to the nursery of the little brothers, and meanwhile he was very happy

He is able to balance his ongoing love and affection for others with being open to and making new relationships (again this is something that I wish I was better at).
To begin with all of the villages that the Punch and Judy troupe visit are open and welcoming to them. The performers bring joy and the villagers reward them and enable them to keep traveling and performing. The two groups remain separate but interdependent and open to what the other has to give.
Until the come to the unfriendly village - here the only thing that the villagers are open about are their hostility and insults. We don’t know why this is such and unpleasant community - it might be interesting to know more about what else they are open or closed to but that would be another story in a different book. In spite of the initial lack of welcome the Punch and Judy troupe are still open to performing for the small audience that eventually appears. The showman would willingly have left such disagreeable people behind, but being a merry-hearted man himself, he thought he had better do all he could to cheer their misery. I am impressed by the performers' persistence and ability to keep giving in the face of such negativity.
After a stream of insults and catcalls, Granny Dobbin - who is either a witch herself or has a lot of knowledge of witches outs Gobbolino as a witch’s cat. It seems that the unfriendly villagers would have probably complained about a cat playing a dog but grudgingly accepted it. But a witch’s cat is something else. They are, or at least say they are afraid for the safety of their children. Oddly they seem open to the knowledge and opinions of a Granny Dobbin, who they call a witch but are completely hostile to Gobbolino. Is that because they know Granny Dobbin and have grudgingly accepted her as a part of their community? Or will she be their scapegoat again as soon as Gobbolino and the Punch and Judy troupe leave? Or perhaps she has some magical hold over the rest of the villagers and wants to be the only person who can do magic in the neighbourhood? Unlike the rest of the villagers she is prepared to listen to Gobbolino’s ex platoon of how a witch’s cat has needed up in a company of traveling players. Gobbolino trusts her enough to be open with his story because she has knowledge of his wider witch family. And in spite of having stirred up the crowd’s hostility towards him, she belives him and even appears to have some sympathy with his plight

“It’s no good, my poor simpleton!“ She said when he had finished his story. “Nobody will ever keep you for long. Once a witch’s cat always a witch’s cat. You will never find the home of your dreams when your eyes are blue and sparks come out of your whiskers.”

She doesn’t seem to be telling him this out of a desire to hurt him - she believes that it is the truth and wants to be open with him about reality as she sees it. Maybe she even thinks it will make life easier for him if he understands this - she has obviously has her own experience of anti-witch/anti-magic predjudice. This is the potential shadow side of openness with hurtful words and ideas.
The Punch and Judy troupe move on to other villages hoping, once they get away from the crowd of harrowers from the unpleasant village, new audiences will be open to them. But word has spread faster than they can travel. The children in the village where they spend the night have been warned by their parents not to risk watching a Punch and Judy show featuring a witch’s cat. They are obviously at least a little tempted because they stare from the edge of the village green but obey their parents enough not to come closer. Generally children are more open than adults (although not necessarily to things like vegetables!) but they lack much useful knowledge and we are glad when they listen to their carer’s risk assessments. In this case, where the adults are responding from prejudice, we might wish that they didn’t listen but overall we want them to respect adults understanding of risk and danger.
When this scenario repeats itself repeats itself in the next six villages, it is Gobbolino who realises that he has to leave the troupe for it to survive. The Showman takes longer to be open to this unpleasant realisation and cries when he agreed at last. It’s a painful farewell for them all and Gobbolino ends the chapter miserable, musing on the painful realities of being a witch’s cat and afraid for his future. These recurrent traumas are gradually chipping away at his openness and hope.


Once again it’s a miserable end to the chapter but fortunately some one new will be passing by soon to sweep Gobbolino up into a new adventure. I will try to write up the Sacred Imagination and Blessings for this chapter soon and then next time we’ll be looking at Chapter 13 Gobbolino in the Tower through the theme of Shadow.
Please do add your thoughts and a feeling on this chapter and the theme of openness in the comments