Folktales and Reality

by Lutz Rohrich

Overview

"Peter Tokofsky has provided English readers with a superb translation of one of the most important books on folktales." —Wolfgang Mieder

This classic work, first published in 1956, is now available in English. Along with Lüthi's The European Folktale and Propp's The Morphology of the Folktale, Röhrich's Märchen und Wirklichkeit is considered a key text in folklore scholarship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253350282
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	12/22/1991
Series:	Folklore Studies in Translation
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Foreword by Dan Ben-Amos
Abbreviations
Translator's Preface
Preface to the Third Edition

I. Introduction

II. The Genres of Folk Narrative and Their Relationship to Reality
Folktale and Legend
The Aetiological Narrative
Saint's Legend and Folksong
Folktales without the Happy Ending
Jest

III. The Folktale and the Reality of the Magical World-View Magic
Man and Animal—Transformation and Disenchantment
Manners and Customs
Cruelty in the Folktale

IV. The Modern Folktale as Believed Reality
Tribal Narratives
European Narratives

V. Paths of Rationalization
Ethnic Differences
Magical Thought and Modern Civilization

VI. The Folktale as a Mirror of the Real World
The Significance of Time and Place
The Social Milieu

VII. The Folktale's Inner Reality
The Narrator's Ego
The Folktale's Themes

Notes
Selected Bibliography
Tale Indexes
Subject Index

Editorial Reviews

A translation of Rohrich's respected German text of 1979 (first published in 1956). He explores the complex relationships between folktales and reality in detail and argues for a re-evaluation of many assumptions about folk narrative. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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