imprecation

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The curse is a fairytale-specific expression of the curse . It is a curse when a wish is directed against another figure or thing. The person concerned is temporarily transformed into an alien shape or otherwise enchanted into a state from which he cannot free himself alone. Together with redemption , the curse often appears as a motif in magical tales .

term

definition

The curse is an outspoken wish for doom. Max Lüthi differentiates between curse and curse, but the curse in fairy tales is considered a subordinate, genre-specific expression of the curse. The curse hits the hero, whereas the curse usually hits the wrongdoer . There can be a curse or a blessing on the hero during birth . In contrast to the curse, however, a curse never affects future descendants from earlier generations.

In fairy tales almost every character can cast a curse. This can happen out of bad will (e.g. stepmother, evil fairy, witch) or through an ill-considered desire in the affect (e.g. parents). Curses can represent a reaction to a suspected or past injustice when another compensation does not seem possible. In this way, sacrilege, breaking taboos, intentional or unintentional misconduct, arrogance, disobedience, greed or a bad lifestyle are punished. It can also happen that a person curses himself or is cursed at his own request.

Concept history

The term curse has been used since the 16th century. Since the 18th century it has been primarily used in relation to fairy tales and the like. a. used by Johann Karl August Musäus and also seen as a variant of the magic spell . In other languages, the non-fairytale-specific word field of the curse / the curse or the term enchantment is used.

The classic scheme of curse and subsequent redemption already appears in numerous Amor and Psyche variants ( ATU 425 B). According to a thesis of the religious scholar Marco Frenschkowski , however, it can be assumed that this only became an essential part of European fairy tales under Christian influence.

Types of curse

A curse is a temporary enchantment, often a metamorphosis. In contrast to the metamorphosis of the ancient etiological narrative, the form of metamorphosis does not necessarily have an inner relationship to the character of the enchanted. The curse cannot be withdrawn, but it can be softened, as in Sleeping Beauty (ATU 410, KHM 50).

Often the curse is a static fixation, like petrification. In addition to people, places can also be enchanted, such as palaces and fortresses, for example in the fairy tale of someone who set out to learn to fear (ATU 326, KHM 4), or a mill, as in Der stark Hans (ATU 650 A, 301 , KHM 166). Sometimes magical means are necessary for the cursing, for example cursed wells or springs in Little Brother and Sister (ATU 450, KHM 11), magic shirts in The Six Swans (ATU 451, KHM 49) or a rod in The Two Brothers (ATU 567, 300 , 303, KHM 60).

Meaning of the curse

According to Vladimir Propp , the enchantment of characters or objects is one of 19 types of damage in fairy tales. It can also be motivated by revenge. In the narrative there is the curse at the beginning of the fairy tale in order to create a deficiency situation that triggers the actual fairy tale plot, for example in Dat Erdmänneken (ATU 301, KHM 91). The curse in fairy tales seems so firm and self-evident that the author and cause of the curse are often omitted and only the facts are mentioned.

See also

literature

  • Barbara Gobrecht: Art. Wish, wish , In: Kurt Ranke [Hrsg. u. a.]: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales . Concise dictionary for historical and comparative narrative research; De Gruyter , Berlin 1975ff., Vol. 14, 2015, Col. 1058-1065.
  • Ines Köhler-Zülch : On imperative cursing in fairy tales , In: Barbara Gobrecht [ed. u. a.]: The wish in a fairy tale. Research reports from the world of fairy tales; Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2003, pp. 26–41.
  • Janin Pisarek: Of foolish wishes and bad intentions. The curse in fairy tales , In: fairy tale forum. Magazine for fairy tales and storytelling, 81st issue, spring 2019, pp. 17–21.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Max Lüthi: Die Gabe im Märchen und der Sage , Diss. Zurich 1943, p. 80.
  2. ^ Max Lüthi: The European folk tale ; A. Francke Verlag, Tübingen & Basel 1997, p. 23.
  3. ↑ Marco Frenschkowski: Art. Cursing ; In: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales , Vol. 14, 2015, Col. 166-172, Col. 168f.
  4. ↑ Marco Frenschkowski: Art. Cursing ; In: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales , Vol. 14, 2015, Col. 166–172, Col. 166.
  5. ↑ u. a. Max Lüthi: The European folk tale ; A. Francke Verlag, Tübingen & Basel 1997, p. 11, p. 44.