The Philanderer's porsche (Jack Priest)

## **The Philanderer's Porsche**

### **Legend Summary:**

Typically the legend goes like this. A rich and popular married man owns a nice, Porsche, sports car. The husband uses this car and his wealth to attract other women and cheat. In most variations the man is led to his downfall because of his promiscuity and is betrayed by his wife while away on a trip. The husband calls his wife and tells her to sell everything and send him the money. Naturally she refuses or sells at a really low price to get revenge on the husband. The story is not very plausible however the purpose of the folklore is deeper than many other folk tales. As this tale is clearly portraying a lesson.

### **History:**

The earliest adaptation I could find is a source saying that it was a new article in 1948. Apparently the story has stuck around ever since and shows up a lot in the 90s. With every adaptation the car and location changes for the time period and place in which it is retold. For example the Porsche model or even car brand changes. The location also over time has changed from originally being set in England to California. A popular reason for this is that infidelity is a stereotype for California, that is at least the case according to David Mikkelson on his post to Snopes on the philanderer's Porsche.

### **Adaptations:**

The first of three adaptations I've found is a page out of a comic book called factoid books. This adaptation is very clear and very consistent with the original story. It starts with a man seeing an advertisement in the newspaper about a Porsche on sale for 50 dollars. The man immediately is curious and wants to check it out. After test driving it he buys it and when he asks the woman selling the car why she is selling it she says that it belonged to her unfaithful husband who ran off with his secretary and told her to sell the car and house and send him the money.

The second adaptation is a youtube video called "A Feminist Approach to 'The Philanderer's Porsche'". In this adaptation we get to see the folk lore from a big narrative point of view. There is a full story of two lovers falling in love, living together, and eventually the husband cheating on her.

The third adaptation was a hoax advertisement in 2015. This news article reports how a woman allegedly put a Porsche 911 up for sale because her husband cheated on her and she wanted to have money to travel.

### **Analysis of Adaptations:**

Analyzing the first adaptation is quite interesting, because the comic skips right ahead to the buyers perspective. Instead of showing the philanderer they show the man that wants to buy the Porsche. This is an interesting take and it also enables the audience to imagine how it must be for others in the story outside of the unhappily married couple. It helps the audience also think further into the story and ask questions like, what does the buyer think of the Porsche after hearing this story?

There's a lot to analyze for the second adaptation. The biggest points I would pull are the feminist motif, and the big narrative point of view. First off, there is a lot of added details in terms of why the man is cheating and a bigger emphasis on the struggles the wife is going through. The video shows how after having a child the mother loses her identity in serving and working all day. And in contrast the husband is going out and living his life care free. Eventually the husband begins to show signs of cheating and is taking many extra business trips. This both adds to the bigger narrative and to show how the wife is struggling. This adaptation is much more like a story than it is a quick lesson or proverb.

The third adaptation is very interesting and mysterious. First, it is more recent compared to many adaptations found. And it happened in real life. There was actually a Porsche on a website for sale for much less than it was actually worth. Even though it was taken down the woman who put it up says that she put it up because her husband was cheating and that she needed money for vacation. Whether she did this as a joke or was being serious this is a very rare instance of a folk lore playing out in real life. Whether it happened because the folk lore already existed and it influenced her to do what she did or a wild coincidence this is very fascinating.

### **Works Cited**

Mikkelson, David. “The $50 Porsche.” *Snopes*, Snopes.com, 23 Jan. 2000, www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-50-porsche/.

Jenny. *A Feminist Approach to “The Philanderer’s Porsche.”* *YouTube*, YouTube, 6 Apr. 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlKxpv-pK1A&t=204s. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

“Interactiveenglish.Com.Br.” *28-THE-PHILANDERERS-PORSCHE.Pdf*, interactiveenglish.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/28-THE-PHILANDERERS-PORSCHE.pdf.