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Lecture
VII: One Religion all Religions
October 10 - October 16
October 17 - October 24
In this session we will identify the tale types and motifs that are found in
other quasi-religious tales and stories.
Russian Fairy Tale Illustration
We have been looking at theories of Origins stories by Krupp, Joseph Campbell,
and Mircea Eliades. One of the earliest and most influential scholars in this area of
folk material was James Frazer (we have talked about him in past lectures).
He actually
traveled throughout Europe in the late 19th Century, observing rural peasant cultures who
still practiced May Day celebrations with the "Straw Man" and the "May
Pole." He also visited ancient cultures that had, at that time, been little
influenced by the ideas of Western Europe. His "Golden Bough" theories,
especially as they applied to Christianity, were highly controversial at the
time - but
much of his research has been confirmed by later Biblical scholars. All of these
writers make associations between the established religions of the world and lost myths
and stories of other cultures.
The one thing that all of them essentially agree on, but is particularly
stressed by Campbell is PATTERN. Two writers we have touched only briefly on
before, Vladimir Propp and Claude Lévi-Strauss, believe that myths reveal truths through
their patterns and their structure - and that will be our subject during this lecture.
Nuts and bolts before we start--
A request for a one-page description of your
assignment.
Remember, we will be doing
workshops sessions on the research and writing for your Final Research Assignment
on the Discussion List. Bring your questions or problems and share
ideas.
Announcements Page.
Another Cinderella
Story - A Russian
Kind of Cinderella
Propp, who will be referred to often in this lecture, based his
analysis on Russian Folk Tales - so we will look at just one that has many elements of the
Cinderella Story. But we will also notice some other motifs we have been studying:
Illustration for Russian Cinderella
tale-type
The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Long ago in a faraway kingdom, three sisters were outside in the
courtyard talking, imagining what they would do if they were married
to Tsar Saltan. One said that she would prepare a great feast for the
entire world. The next said that she would weave linen for the entire
world. The third said that she would give the tsar "an heir, handsome
and brave beyond compare."
It so happened that the tsar, who was just outside the fence, overheard
the conversation. When he heard the words of the last maiden, he fell
in love and asked her to be his wife. They were married that very same
night and conceived a son soon after. The other sisters were given jobs
as a cook and a weaver.
A few months later the tsar went to war and had to part with his
beloved wife. While he was at war his wife, the queen, gave birth to
his son. A rider was sent to the tsar to convey the good news.
However, the two sisters and a friend named Barbarika were so
jealous of their sister's luck that they kidnapped the rider and replaced
him with their own messenger who carried a note to the tsar which
read: "your wife, the queen, has borne neither a son nor daughter,
neither a mouse nor a frog, but had given birth to an unknown little
creature."
When he read this message, the tsar was mortified and sent a letter
back telling his wife to wait for his return before taking any action. The
scheming sisters met the rider on the way back, got him drunk, and
replaced the tsar's actual letter with a fake one that ordered the queen
and her baby to be put into a barrel and thrown into the sea.
Of course, there was no way to disobey an order from the tsar, so the
palace guards put the queen and her son into the barrel and rolled it
into the water. As the queen wept inside the barrel, her son grew
stronger, not by the day, but by the minute. He begged the waves to
wash them onto dry land. The waves obeyed and he and his mother
found themselves washed ashore on a deserted island.
By now they were quite hungry, so the son made himself a bow and
arrow, using small branches from a tree, and went hunting. Near the
sea, he heard a screech and saw a poor swan struggling against a huge
black hawk. Just as the hawk was about to bury its beak in the swan's
neck, the youth shot an arrow, killing the hawk and spilling the bird's
blood into the sea. The white swan swam up to the lad, thanked him
and said, "you didn't kill a hawk at all, but a wicked wizard. For saving
my life, I will serve you forever."
The son returned to his mother and told her of his adventure, and then
they both fell soundly asleep, even though they were still hungry and
thirsty. The next morning they awoke and saw a wondrous city
standing before them where there had been nothing before! The two
marveled at the golden domes of the monasteries and churches behind
the city's white walls. "My, look at all the swan has done!" the lad
thought. The two walked into the city and throngs of people greeted
them and crowned the young man a prince, proclaiming him Prince Gvidon.
One day a merchant ship was sailing near the island when its sailors
caught a glimpse of the amazing walled city. The city's cannons
signaled the ship to come ashore. Prince Gvidon welcomed them and
offered them food and drink. He asked what they had for sale and
where they were going. "Our trade is in furs", they said, "and we are
headed past the island of Buyan to the kingdom of Tsar Saltan."
Gvidon asked the merchant sailors to convey his respects to the tsar,
even though his mother had earlier told him about the note that led to
their expulsion from the tsar's kingdom. Still, Prince Gvidon thought the
best of people and could never quite believe that his father could do
such a thing.
As the merchant sailors were preparing to leave the island, the prince
became sad when thinking about his father. "What is wrong? Why are
you so gloomy," the swan said. "I so wish to see my father, the tsar",
Gvidon replied. Then, with a splash of water, the swan turned the
prince into a small gnat so that he could hide himself in a crack of the
mast of the ship en route to see the tsar.
When the ship arrived at the Tsar Saltan's kingdom, the tsar greeted
the merchant sailors and asked them to tell of the lands they had seen.
The sailors told the tsar about the island and the walled city, and spoke
of the hospitable Prince Gvidon. The tsar did not know that this Prince
Gvidon was his son, but expressed a wish to see this beautiful city
anyway. The two sisters and the old Barbarika did not want to let him
go, however, and acted as if there were nothing to marvel at in the
sailors' tale. "What is really amazing," they said, "is a squirrel that
sits
under a fir tree, cracking golden nuts containing kernels of pure
emerald, and singing a song. That's something which is truly
extraordinary!"
Hearing this, the gnat, really Prince Gvidon, got angry and stung the
old woman's right eye. After he flew back to the island, Gvidon told
the swan the story he heard about the remarkable squirrel. Then the
prince walked into his courtyard and, lo and behold, there was the
singing squirrel, sitting under a fir tree, cracking golden nuts! The
prince rejoiced at this and ordered that a crystal house be built for the
little animal. He placed a guard there to stand watch and ordered a
scribe to record every shell. Profit for the prince, honor for the
squirrel!
Some time later, a second ship came to the island enroute to the tsar
and the prince again told the swan that he wished to see his father. This time, the swan
turned the prince into a fly so that he could hide in a crack of the ship.
After the vessel arrived in the kingdom, the sailors told Tsar Saltan
about the wondrous squirrel they had seen. Saltan again wanted to visit
this fabled city but was talked out of it when the two sisters and
Barbarika ridiculed the sailors' story and spoke themselves of a greater
wonder--of thirty-three handsome young knights, led by old Chernomor, rising from out of the raging sea. The fly, Gvidon, became
quite angry with the women and stung Barbarika's left eye before flying
back to the island.
Once home again, he told the swan about old Chernomor and the
thirty-three knights, and lamented that he had never seen such a
wonder. "These knights are from the great waters that I know," the
swan said. "Don't be sad, for these knights are my brothers and they
will come to you."
Later, the prince went back and climbed a tower of his palace and
gazed at the sea. Suddenly, a giant wave rose high and deep onto the
shore, and when it receded, thirty-three knights in armor, led by old
Chernomor, emerged, ready to serve Prince Gvidon. They promised
that they would come out of the sea each day to protect the city.
A few months later, a third ship came to the island. In his customary
fashion, the prince again made the sailors feel welcome and told them
to send his respects to the tsar. As the sailors prepared themselves for
their journey, the prince told the swan that he still couldn't get his father
out of his mind and wished to see him again. This time the swan turned
the prince into a bumblebee.
The ship arrived in the kingdom and the sailors told Tsar Saltan about
the wondrous city they had seen and how every day thirty-three
knights and old Chernomor would emerge from the sea to protect the
island.
The tsar marveled at this and wanted to see this extraordinary land, but
once again was talked out of it by the two sisters and old Barbarika.
They belittled the sailors' tale and said that what was really amazingwas that beyond the seas lived a princess so stunning that you couldn't
take your eyes off of her. "The light of day pales against her beauty,
the darkness of night is lit up by it. When she speaks it is like the
murmur of a tranquil brook. Now that's a marvel!" they said. Gvidon,
the bumblebee, got angry at the women once more and stung
Barbarika on her nose. They tried to catch him, but to no avail. He
was safely on his journey back home.
After his arrival there, Gvidon strolled out to the seashore until he was
met by the white swan. "Why so gloomy this time?" the swan asked.
Gvidon said that he was sad because he did not have a wife. He
related the tale he had heard of the beautiful princess whose beauty lit
up the darkness, whose words flowed like a murmuring brook. The
swan was silent for awhile, then said that there was such a princess.
"But a wife," the swan continued, "is no glove that one can simply cast
from one's hand." Gvidon said he understood but that he was prepared
to walk the rest of his life and to all corners of the world to search for
the wondrous princess. At this, the swan sighed and said:
There's no need to travel,
There's no need to tire.
The woman that you desire,
Is now yours to spy.
The princess is I.
With this, she flapped her wings and turned into the beautiful woman that the prince had heard about. The two passionately embraced and
kissed, and Gvidon took her to meet his mother. The prince and the
beautiful maiden were married that very same evening.
A short time later, another ship came to the island. As usual, Prince
Gvidon welcomed the sailors and, as they were leaving, he asked the
sailors to send his greetings to the tsar and to extend an invitation to
him to visit. Being happy with his new bride, Gvidon decided not to
leave the island this time.
When the ship arrived at the kingdom of Tsar Sultan, the sailors again
told the tsar of the fantastic island they had seen, of the singing squirrel
cracking the golden nuts, of the thirty-three armored knights rising out
of the sea, and of the lovely princess whose beauty was beyond
compare.
This time the tsar would not listen to the snide remarks of the sisters
and Barbarika. He called his fleet and set sail for the island
immediately.
When he reached the island, Prince Gvidon was there to meet the tsar.
Saying nothing, Gvidon led him, along with his two sisters-in-law and
Barbarika, to the palace. Along the way, the tsar saw everything that
he had heard so much about. There at the gates were the thirty-three
knights and old Chernomor standing guard. There in the courtyard was
the remarkable squirrel, singing a song and gnawing on a golden nut. There in the garden was the beautiful princess, Gvidon's wife. And
then the tsar saw something unexpected: there standing next to the
princess was Gvidon's mother, the tsar's long-lost wife. The tsar
recognized her immediately. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he
rushed to embrace her, and years of heartache were now forgotten. He then realized that Prince Gvidon was his son, and the two threw
their arms around each other as well.
A merry feast was held. The two sisters and Barbarika hid in shame,
but eventually they were found. They burst into tears, confessing
everything. But the tsar was so happy that he let them all go. The tsar
and the queen and Prince Gvidon and the princess lived the rest of
their days in happiness.
The credits for this story go to a Lacquer Box Sales Site on the
Web:
From a poem by the Russian poet Aleksander Pushkin. Narrative and
translation: Copyright 1996, 1998,
Andrew Stonebarger, Tradestone International
presented by
Tradestone Int'l at
www.lacquerbox.com
Review of
Last Class
Vladimir
Propp and the Russian Folk Tale
Joseph
Campbell and the Hero With a Thousand Faces
The Green
Knight and the Arthurian Cycles
Continue
with Lecture VII.
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