Metamorphosis: The Dynamics of Symbolism in European Fairy Tales (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780820458083)

Folklorists have become renowned for concentrating on aspects of form and classification to the detriment of content and meaning. Metamorphosis: The Dynamics of Symbolism in European Fairy Tales seeks to reverse this tendency in showing, through an examination of the folkloric data, that European fairy tales involve complex symbolism. This book seeks to explain - in reference to the notion of metamorphosis - the puzzling contradictory attributes of fairy-tale figures that have discouraged the study of meanings in this field and proposes that the workings of metamorphosis in fairy tales reveal a pervasive cyclic ontology that underlies mythology and ritual. The issue of universal symbolism is again examined - divested from any archetypal generalizations - as a subject of worthy reflection.

Author: Carolyn Dundes, Francisco Vaz Da Silva
ISBN-10: 0820458082
ISBN-13: 9780820458083
Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi
Language: English
Published: 09/04/2002
Pages: 280
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d