The frog princess
The frog princess is a fairy tale known in many countries in numerous variants .
content
A king asks his three sons (or: an old farmer's wife asks her sons) to marry. They are to determine their wives by shooting an arrow. The wife is found at the point where the arrow hits the ground. The two older sons find their wives in this way, but the youngest son's arrow goes to the ground with a frog. He is very unhappy and marries the frog.
The king gives his future daughters-in-law various tasks such as spinning clothes, baking bread and the like. The frog outperforms the future wives of the older sons in all tasks. Nevertheless, the youngest son is ashamed of the frog at his side, until it suddenly turns into a princess. In some variations, the transformation is a reward for the good nature; in others, wicked witches are responsible; in still others it turns out that the frog has always been a cursed princess.
Psychological background
"One morning (the king) summoned his three sons and said," My children, you are old enough to get married, you shall have wives "". This shows the generation change and the end of the king can be foreseen. “Take your bows and arrows, go to the border of the district and shoot your arrows. And where your arrow falls, there go and free ”. The Tsar hereby initiates the process of growing up. Fears are especially fueled by an overpowering father and a clinging mother. Ultimately, all three fail because of the father's initial requirements. Because the first two sons shoot their arrows too short and the youngest too far. The arrow of the youngest flew to the sun, that is, he “over-identified” himself with manhood. He thus resembles a man of power, but with whom depression lurks: "He got caught in a swamp and he was looking for a way out". “I know the way out of the swamp! With me you will make it, ”says the frog woman. Together they build a relationship pattern based on need.
In the old Vasilisa fairy tales, which are in Russian tradition, her father is the "immortal Koschtschei ". He cast a spell on his daughter, as she appeared to him smarter and more powerful, into a frog.
variants
- In the Italian version of The Prince Who Married a Frog , found by Italo Calvino in Italian Fairy Tales , the princes use a sling instead of a bow and arrow .
Film adaptations
- 1940: The beautiful Wassilissa , Soviet fairy tale film, director: Alexander Rou
- 2009: Kiss the Frog , American animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios , directors: Ron Clements , John Musker , music: Randy Newman
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jellouschek, Hans: Living with fairy tales: The frog princess how a man finds love, Kreuz Verlag, Zurich, 2001, pp. 44–54