Indo European Folktales Study guide

Broad geographical grouping with a common linguistic background William Jones founded that Sanskrit was salary to Alan and Greek Proto-London European : no actual proof this group of people existed Folklore Colloquial definition: is a folktale true or not? Scholarly definition: how does a tale reflect the customs or values of a people Precursors to the Grimm Anne Sexton relation to the Grams Snow White – Anne Sexton Focus: female beauty Mirror motif Superficial male desire – women is an object of beauty, man knows nothing else about her Mother-daughter conflictQueen Is losing beauty with her age, Jealous of Snow White because Snow White Is becoming more beautiful Happy ending Snow White is made to look Like a china doll † she Is beautiful on the outside but empty on the Inside, an object to be viewed Similarities Real subject matter Issues/themes are similar Differences Narrative perspective – Anne Sexton uses â€Å"l† & Identifies herself as a middl e age witch She critiqued patriarchy – spoke to a contemporary New England audience New Issues/theme † she spoke to a contemporary audience, she tells her tales In modern form applying them to today's society Angela CarterThe Bloody Chamber and Other Stories Rewrote some of the Blueberry tales She wanted to focus on the desires/thoughts of women Believed women could show they had power Not romantic (as opposed to Anne Sexton who was more romantic) Wrote â€Å"Tiger's Bride† based on the Beauty and the Beast and Tigers Bride (merged stories) Her Version of Tigers Bride Narrative perspective: included thoughts of characters Characters Bride – coming of age Father – bad father, gambles everything away Tiger – beast figure – not sure what Hess Like on the Inside Father sells her In a game of cards, beast just wants to see her naked He shows her his stuff and there are sexual encounters (because she turned on by the animal inside him and he brought out the animal in her) Themes of the story: social restrictions, confinement, code of honor that restricted women, rejecting patriarchal society, liberation of women (feminism), she doesn't go to save her father Regular version of Tiger's Bride Enemy of patriarchy Patriarchy Ideals of the submissive wife Western Tradition Wives submit themselves to heir husband, husband is the head of the wife and savior of her body Russian folk The man is the head but the woman is the neck, the head will follow the neck where it turns Less patriarchal than western society Wish Tales, all the Wives tales promote patriarchal society Women's desires are irrational Female threats to patriarchy Pride (shrewdness) Insatiable and irrational desire Disobedience Women are always doing the opposite of what should be done Memento moor Reminder put into paintings that you will eventually die Ex: a feast, everyone is having fun, in a painting, and a skull or crossbones as a reminder you are going to di e Death tales – reminders of death Deaths messengers Mourning A natural process, Just grief in general Have some sort of ceremony where we can externalities the grief Monument Tale: the Mustard SeedMelancholy Initialization of grief Don't get rid of it Tale: The Place Where There Are No Graves Ate the dead bodies – literally internalized death Parody Humorous/satirical imitation Blatant discrepancies Criticizes original Sheer Objects of Parody Disney Moral structure, technology, family structures, Americanization Fairy Tales Ideals of Beauty Methods of Parody Pop culture references Irrelevant and crude humor Problems with Parody No alternative offered Must rely on what it ridicules American Dream Used music and color for the first time Made propaganda during WI for the US Disney's Reworking of Fairy Tales Challenges: Length Objectionable subject matter Moral murkiness Its hard to turn a fairy tale into a film because the fairy tales are short, there's not enough materi al, unclear at times and some things are inappropriate Disney Formula Disney took oral tales Clear structure of good and evil Heightened romance Omits a lot of the violence Romance replaces sex Clear defined value system Gender roles are traditional Cultural stereotypes Technology and form Technology as a subject: magic Visual elements vs†¦ He text Genre Hollywood musical Characterization Formulaic 19th Century Melodrama Innocent Heroine Gallant Hero Evil Villain Minor Characters Secondary wives, animals, dwarves, sidekicks for common relief Family Structures Absent mothers Absent or inept fathers Americanization Democratic Protagonists are all teens Domestic/submissive role of women Rags to riches with personal ingenuity Made fun of nobility – very much American No direct violence between humans – instead inanimate objects (candles) or animals Sublimation of Violence Irony Cinderella – violence between animals instead of humans Royal Dahl Skipping backgrou nd and analysis due to time constraints Verse form Plot somewhat different than original but still similarModern details not from ancient past – fit into modern society Tales linked together in a fairy tale world Fairy tale audience – what children want to hear, didn't take out much of the violence or crude stuff Woman as a victim – making fun of this and gives his tale a feminist twist, women have a sense of power Techniques of parody Form and style – rhyme with adult type of humor, uses a lot of slang, emphasizes the difference between tales then and now Characters and plot make us see the inconsistence in the original tale Know his version of Little Red riding Hood Gilles De Raise A blueberry figure Murdered children Gunman the Accursed Historical basis for the blueberry character Murdered several of his previous wives and his fourth wife found the body chamber Real event Fourth wife was Saint Therein Saint Therein (see above) Jane Champion (the Piano) Had a blue filter on her piano The woman was mute and only used the piano as a means to communicate Her husband (a blueberry character) chopped off her fingers so she could not communicate Margaret of Invader (the Heptathlon) Queen of Invader Defender of well known humanists and some authors in her writing Important figure in her time Story represents husband forgiving herRenaissance culture The Heptathlon Adulteress punishment Pretty high up in French nobility Progressive for her day Giovanni Vacation (The Dodecahedron) Philosophies Poetry of the people Everyday people are close to nature and the events in the past than the upper class Simplicity and authenticity Tales are something organic Monogenic One origin of the stories and then variations arose from that one version Polynesia Multiple origins of the same type of tale because the same people are going through similar experiences in different places Carol Jung – Archetypes Show us ways to transformation and development Genres of Folktale Literature Legend: has historical grounding, is unspecific Ex: Johnny Applauded Fairy Tales: rely on magic to provide fantasy solutions to overcome problems Myths: narrative projection formed into a story, relationship deeper with the universe Fable: moral, usually explicit, personification, very short stories, always have animals who talk, not like fairytale were they can talk through magical power but no magic is needed for them to talk Everyday life situations Protagonists are animals Moral truth NOT magic Animals give Didactic function The Stake Tales The PanchromaticFunction of Folktales Explanatory Traditional (accompany rituals) Social (help bring people together) Schools of Folklore Inquiry Origin Form Meaning Style Origins: Early Stages Distribution and dissemination of folktales Grimm Frederic Max Mueller Scholar of Sanskrit Solar mythology: doesn't have anything to do with the sun, but the natural world Folktales are explanations of natural phenomenon Mueller Theodore Bendy German Orientals Studied Eastern cultures Argued that tales began in India Folktales traveled through three major avenues: Oral traditions from merchants Arabic and Persian Translations Contact between Muslim and European Origins: Historical and geographical method Reconstruct the history of a particular tale – look at versions and triangulate what the common origin is Methodology: assemble all the known variants of a tale; from Motif: reoccurring theme, each element in a table Type: a bunch of motifs strung together, a traditional tale that has a unique ordering the motifs Form Two major schools Formalist Vladimir Prop Functions Actions that are taken by characters, how do these action move the tale, slow it down, or influence the overall structure of the tale Ex: LORD meeting the wolf? What function does this have?Functions happen in a certain order 31 possible functions, sequential, but not all functions appear in all tales Structuralism Levi-Strauss Myths reflect the logical structure of the human mind Binary opposition: two things in nature that are opposed See formalist and functions above Believed folklore is a special form of verbal art Works of folklore and literature have different morphologies that folklore has specific structures Literary works have an author, folklore works never have an author Literature is constant, folklore changes independently of people's will Morphology: a ascription of the tale according to its component part and the relationship of these components to each other and to the whole Max Lithium & Style Stylistic Analysis Four Features of Folklore One Dimensionality Coexistence of a real and enchanted world Happen to walk from a real world into an enchanted one Dependableness Absence of character motivation Don't need to know the character history to know their motivations Often found in fairy tales Lack of psychological depth Abstraction Extremes and conventions contrasts Ex: troll eats an ox BC H ess so hungry Fixed formulas: man living alone at top of a mountain, obviously is a troll Isolation ND Universal connection Lack of sustained relationship between characters On the other hand, everyone is connected to and affects everyone else Relationships either do not matter or you cannot escape them Style: Performance Centered Approaches Focus of studies from social context to creative process of storytelling Looking at the Changeling Definition: a child who is exchanged by a supernatural being for a good human child Anonymous take the good baby and leave evil offspring bedding Why do these stories arise?Attempt to explain natural problems, physical deformities Usually in the form off legend Luther believed in changelings Bethlehem Prefers fairy tales to other kinds of children's literature Can learn about the inner problems of human beings Children can better understand herself and complex world Fairy tales differ from children's literature Parents impact the children most, the n cultural heritage Hansel and Greeter Anxieties a child must overcome Oral fixations Mother†source of food to children, fail to meet oral demands Witch†personification of the destructive aspects of reality Gingerbread house†oral greediness and giving into primitive satisfactionsJewels†children transcend their oral anxiety and free themselves of relying on oral satisfaction for security, and can free themselves of the image of the threatening mother (witch) Birds†all white, divine intervention, guidance Breadcrumbs†starvation, anxiety Expanse of water†Christian allegory, symbolizes the way they have changed, maturity, baptism Teaches the lesson to explore your imagination, work together, and mothers are important Bluebirds Interpreted Blueberry tales as patriarchal power with violence, yet women can see through the power of men and come on top with their sight Little Red Riding Hood She is not yet ready for sexuality People say he only picke d certain parts of the fairy tale to prove his argument Promotes themes of sexuality Cinderella split of mother helps a child to preserve an internal all good mother while the mother is not good at all, but permits anger with bad stepmother as a different person to protect child from being overwhelmed Jack and the Beanstalk Transition out of the oral phase into the phallic phase Why?Boy is forced to sell cow BC it stops giving milk Beanstalk episode is Jacks dream, growth represents growth of sexual power Giants re Oedipal projections, father is rival and has to fight with his father to take his place Resolution of Oedipal conflict in the end Sleeping Beauty Undines Female virgin water spirit Defined by having to marry a man on earth to become a human SST. George / Dragon Slayers Ideals of chivalry Emblem includes red cross Symbol of England Golden Legend – Jacques De Favoring Frau Whole Freer Collected by Grimm Didactic function: teaches hard work and respect for higher bein g Typical: woman loses distaff, goes underground and meets Frau Whole who tests willingness to work Folk Hero People identify with See virtue embodied in them Teach lessons to those in power Ridicule those in power Disney (Beauty and the Beast) vs†¦ He Tale Rose in both stories, but in Vhf, the male picks a rose from the beast's estate, but in the Disney film, the rose is a different symbol Different family structure in film and Vhf – only child in Disney, in the book there are three daughters and sons Message is similar in both: looks can be deceptive, don't Judge by appearances Simpleton Stupid boy, youngest of all sons Ex: The Flying Ship and The Rabbit herd Overcomes impossible tasks to marry kings daughter, gets help from an older mentor pro-social side) Motif of three tasks to overcome The tasks usually involve the boy having a confrontation with the king (finding place in patriarchal society) Animal Brides The skin: different identity, gender roles, type of person you are, antisocial identity, sexuality can be linked to independence or freedom, put ring on finger which is the symbol of a chain, skin as protection for women Men trying to take the skin: personal violation, controlling women Incompatibility of two worlds, social classes, etc Animal Bridegrooms Morals: keep promises Arranged marriages and coming to terms with an arranged marriage Wild ManOrigins: India, Roman Empire, Grimm in Medieval Christian Europe Wild Man represents the natural, wild aggressive tendencies of boys and the boy must rely on the aggressive/courageous tendencies of wild man and rules of society to have coming of age Promote pro-social and antisocial tendencies to have coming of age Frame Narrative Story within a story 1001 Arabian Nights: someone is telling a story in the story Stake Tales Tales of Buddha Reincarnation, Buddha in different times and places Characterized by humor and imagination Jean De la Fontanne Political Unmask corruption and dishonesty of th e court Used animals not humans Criticism of political figures without using names The Paid Mostly about animals Had morals Quick thinking Oldest collection of tales in Sanskrit Nobility Teach young princes how to act Vampire Between fairy tale and legend Definition: corpse rise from the grave at night, get blood from humans Similar to today's zombies In Christian legends were souls of pain, not baptized, referred to as sorcerers Souls from purgatory Eastern European source: Alasdair Fantasy Socio-historical Reasons for Vampire Lore in Eastern Europe Improper decode Christianization of Eastern EuropeBubonic plague Vela Tepees Drachma Romania Prince Historical Vampire figure Elizabeth (Ersatzes) Battery Slovakia Countess Took virgin's blood, drank it, took a both in it, preserve youth She wasn't executed because she was a royal, but was locked in the castle the rest of her life Jeanne-Marie eel Prince De Beaumont Taught in schools for all social classes Wanted to teach proper conduct for young women Frederica Nietzsche (On the Genealogy of Morals) Good and Bad / Good and Evil Talked about power in the Catholic church Nietzsche said the Catholic church gains power by telling people they should be cake and submissive Freud – Stages of Sexual Development Oral: as a baby, you get pleasure through â€Å"oral† things, such as sucking on thumbs Sadistic/anal: little kids find pleasure in making bowel movements Phallic Genital: you want pleasure via genital contact of the opposite sex and same age Latency Period of sleep Oedipal complex Bang your mom, kill your dad Fools vs†¦ Tricksters Fools teach lessons by making themselves a fool Tricksters teach lessons by making you a fool Recitation Readings Donald Hawse: mirrors, Mine, or Ours? Perpetual, the Brothers Grimm and Ownership ofFairy Tales† Nationalistic ownership results in stereotyping Universalistic Belongs to everyone, but is wrong BC were all products of different stuff We should indivi dually own them – not owned by Disney or a corporation Soar Shaves: â€Å"The Concept of Childhood and Children's Folktales: Test Case – ‘Little Red Riding Hood† Jack Zip's: â€Å"Breaking the Disney Spell† Folklore body is a communal effort – we all own it together Marxist Corporate ownership of what should be communal The Morals/Themes of the Tales The Shrewish Wives Manipulating the women by threatening to go back to her fathers place Public immolation Weaken Grizzlier Humiliation Sexual = he made her pregnant Social = marrying a beggar Financial = marrying a beggar (previously a princess) Morally/ethically = makes her steal and get caught Women Who Rule Their Husbands Show the danger of letting women be in charge Wish Tales Plot Structure Wish(sees) granted Asks wife for advice Wastes wish Woman tells man what to do with the wishes, which is a mistake Disaster results from weak husbands Talkative Wives Motif: wife who talks too much Lesso n: women are chatterboxes, talk too much Foolish Wives Another female character flaw: foolishness