Utter Pandemonium: Devil-Narratives in the First Edition of the Grimms' Fairy Tales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Church Authority ◽  
Social Advancement ◽  
The Devil ◽  
Existential Uncertainty

This paper examines how depictions of the devil in the first edition of the Grimm Brothers’ Folk and Fairy Tales function to mitigate the spiritual anxieties which arose from the decentralization of religious authority in post-Reformation Germany. It centres upon three tales: “The Devil and his Grandmother”, “the Devil with the Three Golden Hairs”, and “The Blacksmith and the Devil”. Beginning with a brief overview of the religious climate of post-Reformation Germany and the function of devil’s-pact narratives during the Medieval period, it proceeds to examine how the Grimm tales subvert the moralizing function of their Medieval precursors. It illustrates how the tales use absurd humour to humanize the devil, making him an object of mockery rather than terror. From there, it demonstrates that, in all three tales, the protagonists’ dealing with the devil does not place their souls in jeopardy, disrupting the orthodox potential of the devil-narrative by allowing the protagonists to attain earthly rewards without the supposedly requisite spiritual punishment. Moreover, it observes that almost every instance of reward without punishment is situated within a broader narrative of the protagonists’ securing social advancement despite an oppressive social structure. Having illustrated these features, it posits that the tales’ valourization of wit and resourcefulness over moral virtue serves to both reflect and manage the existential uncertainty of a society which had rejected church authority but not religion itself. It concludes by suggesting that these tales’ depictions of the human-devil relationship offer a fascinating addition to the Miltonic and Faustian traditions.

scholarly journals Intellectual and Barbarian Figures in Film: The Bear and the Devil

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-128
Author(s):  
Liina Keevallik
Keyword(s):  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Andrei Tarkovsky ◽  
The Devil

Abstract The article suggests that cinematic figures can be divided into two basic groups - barbarian and intellectual. The definition is based on the level of the figures’ intelligibility in the works of Jean-Luc Godard and Andrei Tarkovsky. As Claude Lévi-Strauss’ myth analysis shows, there are structural similarities between cinematic figures and myths, the article searches for a closer, more site-specific link, engaging fairy tales, i.e. local myths, as a more efficient way of observing the distinctive features of the figures in specific regions.

TACTICS AND OPERATIONS IN ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF UKRAINIAN FOLK TALES

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (31) ◽  
pp. 374-378
Author(s):  
Yevheniia Savchenko ◽  
Oleksandra Kosiuha
Keyword(s):  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Folk Tales ◽  
Correct Information ◽  
English Translations ◽  
Interesting Task ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Devil

The article is devoted to the problems and difficulties that arise in the process of translating Ukrainian folk tales into English. Particular attention is paid to the translation of spatio-temporal categories, as they are an integral part of the linguistic picture of the world of each nation, which is reflected in their folklore. The problem of interpretation of the philosophical categories “space” and “time” has a long history. Different researchers have interpreted them differently, building their theories in philosophy, physics, mathematics, linguistics. This problem is not solved today in any of these areas of knowledge, so it is relevant and needs further study. In addition, the transfer of national identity of the original text is still not a simple but interesting task for translators, because the question of the nature, types of realities and methods of their translation remain to be open. Every translator must be able to apply the full range of linguistic and extralinguistic knowledge to translate the national color of the original during translation. The aim of the work is to analyze translation tactics and operations in English translations of Ukrainian folk tales. The research was carried out on the material of Ukrainian folk tales “The brother, the sister and the Devil Dragon”, “Ivanko, Tsar of the beasts”, “The poor man and his sons”, “Ivan-not-a-stitch-on and his brother”, “Ivan the dragon killer”, “The seven brothers — seven ravens and their sister”, “Ivan the bohatyr”, “Ivan the peasant’s son”, and their translation by Irina Zheleznova. We divided each of the selected fairy tales into three parts (in order to simplify the analysis of the text): initial, medial and final. In each of these parts, topographic and chronological formulas were identified. Then, by a comparative analysis, we determined the tactics and translation operations, which the translator used during her translation into English. On translating the all fairy tales into English, the translator used the strategy of communicatively equivalent translation. For this, the translator used the tactics of transferring relevant information, the tactics of pragmatic adaptation of the text, the tactics of reproducing the stylistic textual characteristics, the tactics of correct information formatting and the tactics of reproducing the formal-structural textual characteristics. More often, fairy tales were translated by using an equivalent match search.

scholarly journals POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ABOUT THE RUSSIAN CHARACTER

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-103
Author(s):  
R. B. Absattarov ◽  
◽  
I.A. Rau ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Enormous Amount

The article deals with political and sociological aspects of Russian character, which are not yet sufficiently studied in social and political science. The article discusses in detail the general features and peculiarities of Russian character. The fairy tales and proverbs provide an enormous amount of material for understanding Russian folk character and lifestyle. The article notes that Russia is not only one world but a whole continent, a large archipelago, which cannot be reduced to one state or even social structure. In Russia, it is impossible to unify all regions and leveling them.

“Keep the Home Fires Burning“: Fairy Tale Heroes and Heroines in an East German Heimat

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Fritzsche
Keyword(s):  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Fairy Tale ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Black Forest ◽  
Harz Mountains ◽  
East German ◽  
Feature Adaptation ◽  
Live Action ◽  
The Devil

The article argues that the films Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart, 1950) and Der Teufel von Mühlenberg (The Devil of Mill Mountain, 1955) functioned in two ways-as fairy tales and also as new Heimat or “homeland“ tale. Besides Wolfgang Staudte's The Story of Little Mook, these two films were the only two live action fairy tale films that appeared before East Germany's DEFA made its first Grimm feature adaptation in 1956, The Brave Little Tailor. Yet, unlike the Grimm-based films that take place in a generic “forest,“ these first two films take place explicitly in the Black Forest and the Harz Mountains, two locations synonymous with the beauty and timeless nature of past notions of German Heimat. The two films also engaged with the growing monetary and symbolic success of the West's postwar Heimatfilme or homeland films. The article focuses on how The Cold Heart and Mill Mountain contributed to the rearticulation of the emerging Heimat discourse in the early German Democratic Republic, with a particular focus on gender.

scholarly journals Social Structure and Aristocratic Representation—Red Wax Seal Usage in Hungary in the 15th c

Genealogy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Ádám Novák ◽  
Balázs Bacsa
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Social History ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rapid Destruction

One might perceive the Middle Ages as an era of certain rights and privileges. Social stratification or the conformation of a group’s identity were all established around privileges in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the medieval period, as opposed to a modern state, the most important constructors of a group’s identity were privileges. When members of a social group bear identical prerogatives, that group can be recognized as an order or estate. The ecclesiastic order existed side-by-side with the noble estate. In possession of political power were strictly those who were at the top of the strongly hierarchical system. However, in the Kingdom of Hungary, the significance of the ecclesiastical order was dwarfed by the importance of landed nobility. Some five percent of the population was of nobles, who also held political power. Until the end of the 15th century, the members of this stratum were equal in law. Only distinctions in financial situation can be noticed during the 14th and 15th centuries. The first law differentiating the rights within nobility was enacted by the national assembly, the diet of Wladislaus II (1490–1516), in 1498. Only from then on can we speak of gentry and aristocracy. This almost two-century-long process can be observed by examining a representational tool, the usage of red wax in seals. Upon studying medieval Hungarian history, we must use all sources available due to their rapid destruction, hence examining seal usage to explain aristocratic representation. In this paper, we briefly summarize the social structure of medieval Hungary and its traditions in seal usage, and present several unique seals. Our goal is to highlight some connections that historiography would benefit from, to provide new data, and to arouse the interest of a broad spectrum of audiences in Hungarian social history.

scholarly journals MASYARAKAT SUNDA DALAM SASTRA: KOMPARASI MORALITAS DAN KEPRIBADIAN

LOKABASA ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
RETTY ISNENDES
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
The Self ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Human Form ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Literary Period

Tulisan ini mengangkat aktualisasi diri tokoh sastra dalam peranannya membentuk moral manusia Sunda. Tokoh sastra adalah refleksi berbagai struktur sosial, begitu pun dengan tokoh sastra Sunda yang bisa membiaskan kebenaran universal tentang sifat, sikap, karakter, dan kepribadian manusia Sunda pada tataran realitas. Karya sastra yang dianalisis adalah sample dari karya sastra Sunda dari tiga periode, yaitu: Periode Sastra Sunda Kuno atau Lama (Buhun), Periode Sastra Sunda Pertengahan (Bihari), dan Periode Sastra Sunda Modern atau Baru (Kiwari). Pada akhirnya, sistem nilai yang muncul dari kompleksitas aktivitas dipengaruhi oleh perubahan jaman dan bergantinya kekuasaan.  AbstractThis paper raised the self-actualization literary 􀂿gure in the role of moral human form Sunda. Various literary 􀂿gures are a re􀃀ection of social structure, as was the literary figures that can refract universal truths about the nature, attitude, character, and personality Sunda at the level of reality. Literary works are analyzed samples of literary works from three periods, namely: Ancient Sundanese Literary Period or Old (Buhun), Sunda Literature Medieval Period (Bihari), and Sundanese Modern Literary Period or New (Kiwari). In the end, the value systems that arise from the complexity of the activity is in􀃀uenced by the change of time and the alternation of power.

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. i-v
Author(s):  
Henrik Hvenegaard Mikkelsen ◽  
Mette My Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The World ◽  
German Origin ◽  
The Devil

There is a saying, ‘do not paint the devil on the wall’, which is commonly taken to mean that one should, for all intents and purposes, avoid portraying something in an overly negative or exaggerated way. The German origin of the proverb is even more interesting. It says: ‘One should not paint the devil on the wall, since he will enter the room anyway’[1]. Rather than referring to a moral virtue (don’t be overly pessimistic, don’t exaggerate), the original proverb is, in itself, a pessimistic view on the world. In short, you don’t need to evoke the devil, since he is already here. Or, perhaps, you don’t need to exaggerate, since the world is already exaggerated. This special issue started out as an attempt to pursue this idea: If the world is exaggerated, wouldn’t this require us to use exaggerated examples to describe it? ...    [1] Man braucht den Teufel nicht an die Wand zu malen, er kommt auch ohne das herein

Syncretism or Superimposition: An Analysis of the Devil in "The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm"

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany M. Stachnik
Keyword(s):  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Brothers Grimm ◽  
Religious Transformation ◽  
German States ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Devil

Since their first full publication in 1815, the folk and fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm have provided a means of studying the rich oral traditions of Germany. The Grimm brothers indicated time and time again in their personal notes that the oral traditions found in their folk and fairy tales included symbols, characters, and themes belonging to pre-Christian Germanic culture, as well as to the firmly Christian German states from which they collected their folk and fairy tales. The blending of pre-Christian Germanic culture with Christian, German traditions is particularly salient in the figure of the devil, despite the fact that the devil is arguably one of the most popular Christian figures to date. Through an exploration of the phylogenetic analyses of the Grimm’s tales featuring the devil, connections between the devil in the Grimm’s tales and other German or Germanic tales, and Christian and Germanic symbolism, this study demonstrates that the devil in the Grimm’s tales is an embodiment of syncretism between Christian and pre-Christian traditions. This syncretic devil is not only consistent with the history of religious transformation in Germany, which involved the slow blending of elements of Germanic paganism and Christianity, but also points to a greater theme of syncretism between the cultural traditions of Germany and other nations worldwide.

scholarly journals „Nie taki diabeł straszny jak go malują”, czyli analiza porównawcza postaci diabła w baśniach polskich oraz norweskich

2019 ◽  
pp. 184-197
Author(s):  
Anna Prorok
Keyword(s):  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
The Devil

The aim of the article is to analyze the devil’s character in Polish and Norwegian folktales. The article describes his appearance, behaviour towards people, and shows in which situations he appears most often in fairy tales in those countries. The study is based on Asbjørnsen’s (1812– 1885) and Moes’s (1813–1882) Norwegian Folktales and on folktales collected by the Polish folklorist Oskar Kolberg (1814–1890). At the end of the article the author compares the most characteristic features of the devil figures to see if the devil is so different in Poland and in Norway.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document