Animal fairy tales

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As a special form of fairy tale, the animal fairy tale is its own folkloric genre in which anthropomorphized animals appear as the heroes of the story.

Scientific attempts at definition

There is no uniform and therefore binding scientific definition for the animal fairy tale. However, some characteristics are considered typical and internationally valid for the genre. The most important of these features are the animal protagonists, as Mizuyo Ashiya describes it in relation to the Japanese animal fairy tale, Isidor Levin in relation to the Tajik animal fairy tale and Jack Haney describes it for the Russian animal fairy tale:

“Animal tales are stories in which human beings are not the main actors. Animals, less commonly birds and fish, are the chief 'movers and shakers'. "

“ Animal fairy tales are stories in which the main characters are not people. Animals, and less often birds and fish, are the main actors. "

Wilhelm Solms also starts out from the animal staff in his analysis of Grimm's animal tales, but adds further features:

"1. The main characters or carriers of the plot, i.e. the heroes and mostly also their opponents, are each animals. 2. The event is reported in a wavering tone that cheers the listener. 3. The stories are variations on the same theme: the little one is able to withstand or even overcome the great through courage and cleverness. "

The last two characteristics, however, do not seem to be absolutely universal. According to Ashiya, the tone of Japanese animal fairy tales is "mostly light, good-natured, cheerful and simple, in keeping with the character of the inhabitants."

"The tales are told in neither comic nor tragic fashion but in that matter-of-fact, accepting way that has often been ascribed to the Russian peasant."

“ The fairy tales are told neither in a comical nor in a tragic style, but in this factual, pragmatic way that is often ascribed to Russian peasants. "

And he also formulates Solm's third point in the negative when he speaks of "duplicity" ("falsehood") as the subject of Russian animal tales, which "the length to which the actors in the tale will go to obtain their daily needs" ("die Extremes to which the actors of the fairy tale go to meet their daily needs ”). Overall, however, the characteristics of the unsteady tone and the David versus Goliath theme in international research for approval, as the statements of the Mongolian folklorist Chorloo show.

Differentiation from the fable

The animal fairy tale is also often equated with the fable by scientists , although these two narrative forms differ significantly in two characteristics.

The formal difference is that fables usually have an author who is known by name. Prominent examples are Aesop and Lessing . This means that fables do not actually belong to folkloric narrative forms or, in the narrower sense, to the fairy tale that can a. characterized by the fact that "author, time, place and purpose are unknown".

The distinguishing feature in terms of content is the morality inherent in the fable and often explicitly formulated, on the basis of which this literary genre “in contrast to fairy tales is perceived by its creator as by the listener as a story invented for the sake of practical use”.

Popular animal characters

Animal fairy tales are told in every culture on earth. Therefore, the characters differ according to the real fauna, but also according to the living conditions of the people - cattle breeders tell different animal tales than arable farmers or hunters. However, since some animal species are distributed almost all over the world, they can also be found in the fairy tales of the most diverse races. These include B. the hare, the wolf and the fox. However, there are local adjustments. While in many cultures the animal figures have no proper names, the fox is called Lisabeta Patrikejewna or Iwanowa in the Russian animal tales, so it is female and often married to a wild cat named Kotanail Iwanowitsch, who is the mayor of Siberia.

Well-known animal tales

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mizuyo Ashiya: Japanese and German animal fairy tales, especially fox fairy tales, in their nature and according to their ethnographic basis. Cologne 1939, p. 10.
  2. ↑ Isidor Levin: Animal Tales in Tajik. In: Contacts and Limits. Problems of folk, cultural and social research. Festschrift for Gerhard Heilfurth for his 60th birthday. Edited by his staff (editors: Hans Friedrich Foltin, Ina-Maria Greverus, Joachim Schwebe; final editing: Hans Friedrich Foltin with the collaboration of Anselm Dworak, Wolfgang Göbel, Joachim Hintze, Dieter Kramer and Ulrich Löber) Göttingen 1969, p. 108f.
  3. ↑ Haney, Jack (Ed.): The Complete Russian Folktale. Edited and Translated with an introduction by Jack Haney. New York 1999, p. XX.
  4. ↑ Wilhelm Solms: The genus Grimms animal tales. In: Animals and animals in fairy tales. On behalf of the European Fairy Tale Society, ed. by Arnica Esterl and Wilhelm Solms. Regensburg 1991, pp. 195-215. Here p. 201.
  5. ↑ Ashiya: Japanese and German Fox Tales, p. 9.
  6. ^ Haney: An Introduction to the Russian Folktale, p. 8.
  7. ^ Haney: An Introduction to the Russian Folktale, p. 8.
  8. ↑ Chorloo: Mongol ardyn javgan ülger [= short fairy tales of the Mongols]. Ulaanbaatar 1960, pp. 31 + 46. (Studia Folclorica. Tomus 1. Fasciculus 8. Redigit Z. Damdinsüren)
  9. ^ Rölleke: fairy tales. In: Reallexikon der Deutschen Literaturwissenschaft. Revision of the real dictionary of German literary history. Together with Georg Braungart, Klaus Grubmüller, Jan-Dirk Müller, Friedrich Vollhardt and Klaus Weimar. Edited by Herald Fricke. Vol. 2, Berlin, New York 2000, p. 513.
  10. ^ Max Lüthi: fairy tales. 10th updated edition. Edited by Heinz Rölleke. Stuttgart 2004, p. 12.
  11. ↑ Haney: Russian Animal Tales, pp. XXXV.

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