A FEW GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MARCHEN
Brief history: The earliest collections of tales come from the East. An early
Hindu collection , known in English as The Fables of Bidt,ai (or Pilpay),
dates from about the fifth century CE. The earliest European book to include fairy
tales was The Delightfiil Nights, published in Venice around 1550. Charles
Perrault's collection published in 1697 is beautiful, and he certainly would have
been celebrated as the father of fairytale folklore if he had bothered to state
the source and circumstances surrounding the collection of each tale. This honor
was eventually claimed by the Grimm brothers when they published Kinder und
Housemarchen in 1812, 1815). Although the Grimms did mix and mend a bit, their
collections seem to be the first attempt to preserve household tales in their
traditional form, and with relevant observations on variants and informers. Others,
such as Hans Christian Anderson, were primarily creators--not collectors.
Observations: (here are a few common motifs, characters,
situations)
- Prophecy is often used
- Poverty often shown as bringing out the worst in people
- Evil people suffer the terrible fate they had planned for others
- Good people are rewarded
- Crying brings help
- Children are often taken from the home (a common child's nightmare?)
- Good and evil are often separated (people are bad or good)
- Plot is stressed over character development
- Phrases (chants, prayers, songs) or actions (tasks) are repeated within
the story
- Evil spells are broken when the undeserving are loved, when one's word
is kept, when one remains good despite cruel injustice.
- People, animals, beasts are eventually shown as they really are
- Beauty and riches are seen as better than virginity and learning
- Kindness and courage are often rewarded
- Rewards included riches and a perfect partner
- Friendly animals or dead parent, rather than a fairy, is likely to help
the protagonist
