Framework story of the Pentameron
The framework plot of the Pentameron is a fairy tale, similar to the Scheherazade plot in A Thousand and One Nights , in which Giambattista Basile has embedded 50 internal narratives . That is why the collection, published posthumously between 1634 and 1636 by the author's sister, Adriana, in Naples under the pseudonym Gian Alesio Abbatutis, was first given the title Lo cunto de li cunti (The fairy tale of fairy tales).
content
Since Zoza has never laughed because of her melancholy, her father, the King of Vallepelosa, finally comes up with the idea of installing an oil fountain in front of the gate and cheering his daughter by slipping passers-by. His plan is successful, but it has dramatic consequences: When an old woman takes the opportunity to fill her jug with oil, a courtyard page breaks the vessel, whereupon the woman insults the boy with vulgar and funny gestures. When she laughs for the first time, Zoza is cursed by the old woman: she will only find happiness when she marries the Prince of Camporotondo. She learns that Squidward rests in a crypt and can only be brought to life if a woman cries a pitcher of tears for him within three days. Zoza sets off, but first visits three fairies who give her helpful magical gifts. When she reached her goal, she began to complain, but fell asleep from exhaustion. Meanwhile, a slave, a Mohrin, takes advantage of the situation, adds the jug filling herself and wakes the prince, whereupon he has to marry her. Zoza now rents a house near the castle and shows the gifts from the fairies. The Mohress wants things and achieves her goal by threatening her husband to kill the child she is expecting. Because of the magic drugs, the Mohrin becomes addicted to hearing new fairy tales, whereupon the prince invites ten women to the court. Zoza is the last to tell her own story. Through this, Squidward discovers the truth about his resuscitation, has his wife buried alive as a punishment, and marries Zoza.
origin
The background story is a literary fairy tale by Basile for his 1634-36 published Pentamerone . This collection of fairy tales, written in the Neapolitan dialect , includes stories such as Bluebeard and Puss in Boots . Basile follows the example of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron with the principle of the frame narration . Individual fairy tales from the Pentameron were translated by Jacob Grimm from 1816 , and thus known outside of Italy. Felix Liebrecht provided the first complete translation of the work in 1846.
interpretation
The action takes place in a clearly localized royal court ("King of Buschtal"), characters with proper names (Zoza, Thaddäus) and special characteristics appear (e.g. Zoza, who never laughed), but they remain largely typical.
The framework story already corresponds to a fairy tale, because
- Zoza has a flaw (she can't laugh)
- Zoza has a job (to save Prince Squidward)
- fairies stand next to the human staff ,
- Zoza's task is solved with the help of magical props (nuts etc.) and
- there is no psychologization .
The internal features of the text also suggest a fairy tale, because
- the language is simple
- the figures are flat (good or bad)
- the plot is one - strand , there are no subplots in the framework itself,
- The repetition structure typical of fairy tales prevails (visit to the fairies, visit of the prince to Zoza),
- Numbers with symbolic content (3 × Zoza receives helpful items, 3 × she is visited by the prince, Zoza's journey lasts 7 years)
It should be mentioned that only the curse of the ancients motivates the further fairy tale story. Only through the curse does Zoza get her job, which makes her happy at the end of the 5th day.
With Zoza's marriage to Thaddäus, the existing courtly norms are restored.
literature
- Giambattista Basile: The Pentameron or The Fairy Tale of All Fairy Tales. CH Beck Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30257-2 .