Meanings of Enchantment

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978-952-9534-05-0
Vaz da Silva, Francisco
Meanings of Enchantment. Wondertale Symbolism Revisited
Kalevalaseura-säätiö
Folklore Fellows' Communications 326
Tallinn 2023, 218 pp.
This study posits that the meanings of enchantment can be rationally described, but wondertales need to be elucidated in their own terms, as opposed to bringing preset external theories to bear on the stories.

The argument sets out to reveal the symbolic framework of wondertales as a genre. It underlines the stability of symbolic patterns tales across space and time, as well as the adaptability of the myriad variants to specific historical settings-hence, the evolution of the texts in tune with their contexts.

Going beyond rigid distinctions of oral vs. literary vs. cinematic retellings, this book shows that the comparison of all sorts of variants is helpful to understand the tales. It would not be wrong to say that it proposes a mental ethnography of the wondertale - a cartography of its symbolic landscape – up to the present day. Along the way, it revisits a number of received ideas (such as the centrality of male protagonists, the inherent victimhood of feminine characters, and the immanent misogyny of the tales) in light of oral retellings and older literary strata of the wondertale tradition.
More Information
ISBN 978-952-9534-05-0
ISSN 0014-5815
Publisher Kalevalaseura-säätiö
Series Folklore Fellows' Communications
Published (year) 2023
Cover Hardcover
Type of Binding Hardcover binding
Languages english
Disciplines Folklore
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