“The Old Woman in the Forest” ( Die Alte im Wald ) is a tale by the Brothers Grimm about a girl who spells a king, turned into a tree by an evil witch . In the collection of fairy tales, the Brothers Grimm is under No. 123, according to the classification system of fairy tales of Aarne-Thompson it has No. 442.
| Old woman in the forest | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Original language | Deutsch |
Content
Story
During the trip through the forest, the robbers attack, and only one poor girl servant remains who does not know the road. In the evening, having entrusted herself to the mercy of God, she sees a white dove , who one by one brings three golden keys, unlocking locks in the trees, inside of which you can find food, a bed and elegant clothes. After some time, the dove asks the girl to go to the hut where the old woman lives. And then, ignoring the questions of the old woman, I would choose a simple one among the many expensive rings in the room. The girl does what the dove taught her, but while she is looking for the ring , the old woman tries to escape with the cage in which the bird is sitting, holding the ring in its beak. The girl takes the ring and goes to the forest to wait for the dove, but he does not arrive. But behind it cover the branches of a tree. The tree turns into a prince, other surrounding trees become horses and servants. Korolevich explains that the old witch bewitched him and, while the ring was in the old woman's place, he could not take on a human form, he turned into a dove only for two hours a day. As a result, the maid with the prince married, and lived their whole life happily.
Sources and analysis of the plot
In a note to their fairy tales, the Brothers Grimm noted that this story was recorded in Paderborn between July 23 and 26, 1813, from the Gaxstausen family. Her story is similar to another fairy tale, Yorinda and Yoringel , as a result of which folklore researcher Hans-Jörg Uther assumes that she served as the direct source of The Old Women in the Forest. In folk tradition, such a combination of a plot would hardly have taken place, although it was separated into a separate type according to the classification system of fairy tales of Aarne-Thompson [1] .
In 1933, Lutz Mackensen suggested that this is a worldwide fairy tale of the type of ancient Greek Circe (as an old witch), but in German-Scandinavian transcription [2] .
Interpretations
Hedwig von Beit from the perspective of depth psychology explains the tree and the pigeon as the splitting of a prince into low and spiritual spirits, due to the domination of the “Great Absorbing Mother” complex (an archetype in psychology). He can be liberated and find the true self (a simple ring) through a woman, thus the opposite and the unity between the Animus and the Anima rise to the human level. [3]
Walter Scherf suggests that in this story the girl is faced with the task of rescuing her lover from the "demonic connection of the son and mother" [4] .
Ulla Wittman views the ring as a means to overcome the split between the conscious and the unconscious through transcendence and integrity [5] .
See also
- Tales of the Brothers Grimm
Notes
- Нем (German) Uther, Hans-Jörg: Handbuch zu den Kinder- und Hausmärchen der Brüder Grimm. Berlin 2008. S. 271-272. (de Gruyter; ISBN 978-3-11-019441-8 )
- Нем (German) Mackensen, Lutz: Alte im Wald, Die. In: Handwörterbuch des deutschen Märchens. Herausgegeben unter besonderer Mitwirkung von Johannes Bolte und Mitarbeit zahlreicher Fachgenossen von Lutz Mackensen. Band IS 49-50. Berlin und Leipzig 1930/1933. (Walter de Gruyter & Co.)
- Нем (German) Von Beit, Hedwig: Gegensatz und Erneuerung im Märchen. Zweiter Band von "Symbolik des Märchens". Zweite, verbesserte Auflage, Bern 1965. S. 102-103.
- Нем (German) Scherf, Walter: Das Märchenlexikon. Erster Band AK. S. 18-20. München, 1995. (Verlag CH Beck; ISBN 3-406-39911-8 )
- Нем (German) Wittmann, Ulla: Ich Narr vergaß die Zauberdinge. Märchen als Lebenshilfe für Erwachsene. Interlaken 1985. S. 143-147. (Ansata-Verlag; ISBN 3-7157-0075-0 )
Links
- (him.) Grimm, Brüder: Kinder- und Hausmärchen. Vollständige Ausgabe. Mit 184 Illustrationen zeitgenössischer Künstler und einem Nachwort von Heinz Rölleke. S. 586-588. Düsseldorf und Zürich, 19. Auflage 1999. (Artemis & Winkler Verlag; Patmos Verlag; ISBN 3-538-06943-3 )
- (him.) Grimm, Brüder: Kinder- und Hausmärchen. Originalanmerkungen der Brüder Grimm. Mit einem Anhang sämtlicher, nicht in allen Auflagen veröffentlichter Märchen und Herkunftsnachweisen herausgegeben von Heinz Rölleke. Band 3: Originalanmerkungen, Herkunftsnachweise, Nachwort. Durchgesehene und bibliographisch ergänzte Ausgabe, Stuttgart 1994. S. 217, S. 492. (Reclam-Verlag; ISBN 3-15-003193-1 )