n e v e rl a n d t h e 1 - r u n - r bh1cer o e sk i l l r h e i r o p p o n e n r s ,i n h e r i t k i n g d o m s a n d g e r r-r-rarried to princesses.'Over rhe years, rhe locai and specific have been u,orn a\\'a),, Ieaving the generalan d rhe rvpical. Ve move in symbolic worlds - r,vorlds

humble vdnrvg

l ' u l l o F k i n g s a n d q u e L ' n sf,. f i n c r ' sa n d p r i n c . ' s s c sr i,' i r c h e sa n d r r o l l s , r a l k i n g a n i m a l s , g i a n t s a n d d r v a r F sA. s c h a r a c r e r sr,h e ya r e e i r h e rb l a c k o r w l - r i r e- t h e r e is no attempt ac giving a psvchologicallvbelievablepicrure of tl'repeople in cl're tales. To a certain exfenr) voLl can say rhat rhey represenrdifferenr aspectsof h u m a n n a t u r e . T l - r ec o n f l i c r s r e p r e s e n rr h e s o r t o f p r o b l e m s t h a r ' f o l k ' m e e r - or more specificallv.rhat chilclren rnav encounrer rvhile grorving up. This may be r.vhyFairvralesand their archerypesare ofren consideredas being therapeutically r,Lsefulin uncovering deep-searedpsychoiogicalproblems (see t1're s e c t i o n' A b o u t T e l l i n g S r o r i e s ' ) .

in'herit arve

s r a nd c r

en'counter r.nodc archetype arkcrl.pc; n o g c ta l r n c n m c n ncskcligt thera'peutically t e r a p e r . r t i s ki ;t c r a p i un'cover aFda-'kke deep-seated dybtliggende

b. Reading and Analysing Fairy Tales

ma'ture rnoden

One oF the simplesr ways of looking ar rhe srrucrure of a fairy tale is ro use a model called 'home - oLlt - home'. The main characcerreactsto a situarion'at home' by leaving and rravelling our 'inro the wide, wide world' (often a magic iocarion). During rl-risrrip and the experiencesrhe main person has, he or she b e c o m e sm a t u r e a n d c a n r e t L l r nt o ' c i v i l i s a t i o n ' o r ' h o m e ' a g a i n . Home

Out

Home

for example: civilisation

nature/a dark foresr

civilisation

childhood

puberty

adulthood

a c r i s i sa r i s e s

ir culminares

it is resolved

To give an e.xample:in many Fairytales,rl'revoungesrson (rypically called Jack') has ro leavehome and sers our ro find his forrune. He is given a magic giFr by l-risunhal,pv morher - for example a magic sword. In rhe middle of a dark foresr ('out') he meers a beauciful princess who is held captive by an evil wirch. He kills the u'ircl'rand savesrhe pf incess.Her farher, rhe king, is so pleasedrhat he gives the bol,his daugl'rrerin marriage and half rhe kingdom ('home'again).

Auour Foi-xT.rles

op'ponent ntod-

adulthood at va:re voksen re'solved lost gift gave captive Fanger

.: . l ' i

-., - -{._ir*1.k;J;;!:*!

Jack climbsatual from "horne"to the',othertuorld"

10

Asour Folr Tales

:. .. :

.j J

This is a sirnple forrn of anotl-rern-rodel,called

'the contract model'.

de'sire

bcg;tre

5. Conrract is remade

1 .C o n t r a c t 2 . C o n t r a c t i s b r o k e n

4 . P a s s i n gt h e t e s r 3. In the'out-world'/'otherworld' L o o k i n g a t o L r rs t o r y a g a i n ,w e s e e J a c ka r h o m e ( t h e ' c o n r r a c t ' o r b a s i cs i t u a (2)' tion. Oiten this representsharmony). Tl-risis broken when he leaveshorne wiccir evil is an there where forest He then rravelsro a Far-awayplace (the dark - the rhird srep in rhe rnoclel).Here he Passesthe test by kiiling the wicch and Freeingthe princess(4) . Finally, harmony is re-establishedwhen he settlesdown w i t h r h e p r i n c e s sa n d h a l f t h e k i n g d o r n ( 5 ) ' actAnorher good way of looking at the structure of a fairy tale is called the For just word another is anrian model (created by A J Greirnas). An'actant' ' c h a r a c t e r 'o r ' a c t o r i n t h e s t o r y ' . Sender

----------)> Object

Helper

--J>

----------+ Receiver

T

OPPonent

Subject

the The subject is rhe main character. The forces of good are representedby charmain The evil. of forces helper.There is alwaysar leasr one opponent, the 'object' must be won acrer desiresan object (ofren a prince or princess).This who or given ro l-rim oi h". by the sender,for example the king. The person subject' the receivesthe objecr is usually the main character, In the acrantian model, our story r'vill look like this: Sender The king

------->

------->Receiver

Object the Princess

Jack

t

I

------+ Helper tl-remother the magic sword

Asour Folx Telgs

Subject Jack

-

Opponent the evil witcl'r

11

allegory si,rrbolsl