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The Cards of Vladimir Propp in Fairytales!
A characteristic side of the ingenuity of Leonardo Da Vinci, that was being excellently brought to light by an article of the magazine Sientse (Italian Version of Scientific American) is constituted at his ability to regard for the first time in history every machine not as a unique organism, an unrepeated prototype but as a set of simpler machines.
Leonardo analyzed machines in elements, in functions. Thus, he accomplished to study independently, for example, the function of friction and this study led him to design ball bearings spherical and conic, even cylinders with the form of truncated cone, that were being constructed at least in our days for the function of gyroscope, that are necessary for the aviating navigation.
With similar studies Leonardo would manage to be entertained as well. It was discovered recently his plan for a funny devising of him: an “amortisseur to brake the fall of a man from above”. It shows a falling man, we don’t know where from, the fall of which brakes a system of wedges that are being connected between them and at the final point of fall, from a woolen ball, the resistance of which at hitting is being controlled and measured from a last wedge. It is probable that we should attribute to Leonardo the invention of “useless machines” that were being constructed for play, to follow a daydreaming, designed with a smile, that were instantly being confronted and rose against the utilitarian canon of technical-scientific progress.
Something similar with the Leonardian deconstruction of machines at its functions was actualized, as far as folkloric fairytales are concerned, the Soviet ethnologist Vladimir Propp at his work «Morphology of the tale» and at his study «Transformation at the fairytales of magic».
Propp became rightly famous for his book «The historical roots of the wonder tale», at which he exposes with a charming way and, at least from the poetic angle, persuasive, the theory according to which the most ancient core of fairytales originates from the initiation rituals that were being used at the primitive societies.
This that fairytales tell – or at the end of transfiguration, hide – would once happen: Reaching a definite age, children would be absent from family and were led into the forest (like in Hop-o’-my-Thumb, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White)… where the wizards of the tribe, dressed in a scaring way, with the face covered by horrible masks (that bring us to mind witches and wizards)… would force them in tough tests and often deadly (all the protagonists of fairytales meet them on their way)… children would listen the storytelling of the tribal myths and were thus ready to bring weapons (the magical presents that supernatural donors at fairytales share to the protagonists that are endangered)… and, finally, would come back at their home often with another name (and the protagonists of fairytales sometimes return incognito)… and finally mature get married (like in fairytales, that nine out of ten times finish with a wedding celebration)…
At the structure of a fairytale this of a ritual is repeated. By this observation Vladimir Propp (and not only him) came out with the theory, according to which the fairytale began to live as we know it, since the ancient ritual declined, leaving behind it only narration. Narrators, throughout centuries, would betray more and more the memory of the ritual and would serve the autonomous demands of the fairytale, that with the word of mouth transfigurated, accumulated deviations, followed the nations (Indo-European) at their migrations, absorbed the results of historical and social changes. Thus, the speakers, at the duration of a few centuries, transform a language until they give life to a new language: How many centuries passed since the Latin of roman decline until the Romance languages?
Fairytales, anyway, must be born from the fall of the sacred world to the folkloric: like from the fall reached the children world, having become toys, objects that in previous seasons were ritual and cultural, for example dolls, the spinning top. Doesn’t it exist thus in the roots of theater a same process from the sacred to the desecrated?
Around the primitive magical core, fairytales collected other myths that were being deprived of their sacred values, adventurous narrations, legends, anecdotes, next to the wizarding protagonists set up the protagonists of the agricultural world (for example the sly and the silly). There was created a dense and complex magma, a skein of one hundred colors, of which though – Propp says – the primitive thread is what we described.
A theory is of equal value with another and maybe none is at the position to give us a complete explanation about fairytales. This of Propp has a special charm because it establishes a deep bond – someone will say of the “collective unconscious” – between the prehistorical child that lived the initiation rituals and at the historical child that lives exactly with the fairytale his first initiation into the world of human. This identification between the young spectator and the Hop-o’-my-Thumb of fairytales that his mother narrates to him, doesn’t only have a psychological excuse, it has a deeper one, where its roots are being found at the darkness of blood.
By analyzing the structure of folkloric fairytale – with special caution at the Russian folkloric fairytales (which, moreover, belong widely to the same Indo-European heritage, together with German and Italian)-, Propp managed to state three principles: 1) “the stable elements, permanent in fairytales, are the functions of the protagonists, independent from the executor and the way of executing” 2) “the number of functions that appear in fairytales of magic is limited” 3) “the succession of functions is always the same”.
At Propp’s system the functions are thirty-one and are enough, with the variations and their internal structures, to describe the form of fairytales:
1.ABSENTATION
2.INTERDICTION
3.VIOLATION of INTERDICTION
4.RECONNAISSANCE
5.DELIVERY (TREACHERY)
6.TRICKERY
7.COMPLICITY
8.VILLAINY or LACKING
9.MEDIATION
10.BEGINNING COUNTERACTION
11.DEPARTURE
12.FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR
13.HERO'S REACTION
14.RECEIPT OF A MAGICAL AGENT
15.GUIDANCE
16.STRUGGLE
17.BRANDING
18.VICTORY
19.LIQUIDATION
20.RETURN
21.PURSUIT
22.RESCUE
23.UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL
24.UNFOUNDED CLAIMS
25.DIFFICULT TASK
26.SOLUTION
27.RECOGNITION
28.EXPOSURE
29.TRANSFIGURATION
30.PUNISHMENT
31.WEDDING
Of course, not in all fairytales all functions exist: at the obligatory succession we have jumps, unifications, syntheses, which do not contradict the general line. A fairytale can start from the first, the seventh or the twelfth function, but – if it’s old enough – it’s difficult to make jumps backwards, to reacquire the passages it lost.
The function of absentation, which Propp places at the first position, can be fulfilled by one hero that is taken away from home for whatever reason, a prince that starts for war, a father who dies, a parent that goes to work (telling children – here’s the forbiddance (interdiction) – do not open the door to anyone or do not touch anything), a trader that travels for jobs etc. Every “function” can contain its opposite: “interdiction” can be presented through a “positive” order.
But we won’t go further with our observations about Propp’s functions, but only to suggest to whoever has the appetite to exercise, by comparing their succession with the plot of any movie with the accomplishments of 007 agent: he will be surprised by finding a big number, almost at the appropriate order, so live and stubbornly present is the structure of fairytale in our education. Many adventure books have the same trace.
For us, “functions” interest us because we can use them for the construction of infinite stories, like with twelve notes (ignoring quadrants and remaining always closed at the limited sound system of West before electronic music) we can synthesize infinite melodies.
At Reggio Emilia, for us to test the productivity of “functions”, we decreased them motu proprio in twenty, by leaving some and substituting others with the indication of equal in number “themes” of fairytales. Two painters, friends, designed twenty game “cards”, each one noting a word (the generalized title of function) and with a fit symbolic picture or caricature in terms of all the above functions.
Next there was a team that worked to create a story, by using in order the twenty “cards of Propp”. Being entertained a lot, I owe to say and with remarkable parody results.
I saw that children manage easily to make a fairytale, by following the trace from the cards, because each word of the order (“function” or “theme of fairytale”) is presented loaded with mythic meanings and is disposed at an endless game of variations. I remember an original interpretation of interdiction: A father leaves the house, by forbidding his children to throw pots with flowers at the heads of passengers from the balcony… And between the “tough tests” there was not absent the obligation to go to the cemetery at midnight: the maximum of horror and courage until a specific age.
But children like to mix the cards, by improvising rules: pick up three by luck and creating a full story, begin from the last card of the order, share the bunch with two teams and synthesizing two stories competing each other. Often a card is enough to inspire them a fairytale. That with the magical presents reached a pupil to improvise a story of a pen that would write school assignments on its own.
Anyone can create by himself a bunch with “cards of Propp”, with twenty, or thirty or fifty, as many as he wants: as long as he writes each card the title of “function” or the “theme”, illustration is not necessary.
The game can only remind by accident the structure of a puzzle or a brain teaser, at which exist twenty or one thousand pieces of a plan mixed, with the duty to resynthesize, as in mosaic, the entire plan. Cards of Vladimir Propp allow oppositely, as we said, the construction of an infinite number of plans, because each piece doesn’t have only one interpretation, but it’s open to many meanings. … …
Source: Book Grammar of Fantasy by Gianni Rodari
Aspects of Creative Thought & Expression!
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| A photo of Pashalia Travlou |
Writer Pashalia Travlou talks at her book about the issues that have to do with the psychodynamics of the writer, meaning she dares to talk about psychodynamics at the moment where the writer by confronting his words and his ideas on paper, confronts the huge according to the writer issue of whether he returns back to them to check them. Very often though as she says, scripts have to stay for a while and thoughts become mature before the writer confronts them again.
Depending on:
• his talent
• his self confidence
• his trends for questioning
• the degree at which becomes sensible his expressive ability
• the importance he gives at literary and or expressive wholeness
• traumatic experiences
• his same mental speed and its relation with expression and the linguistic code of the text
is determined to a great extent the degree at which the writer censors and reprocesses his writings by making logical, points that perhaps don’t ease communication. More specifically the need for expressive integrity makes it obligatory every kind of post-evolution of older scripts. As well as his focusing some times at words and some times at ideas for a writer that sometimes expresses himself through streams of ideas, is that separate writers in two categories. Those who express themselves mainly impulsively and through ideas being less biased at the beginning on literary and expressive integrity and those the having indeed the power through diverse linguistic codes to combine speed and integrity at the same time. I will take advantage of an excerpt of the book.
"Literature and in a broader term, art, as it is an after effect of inner needs that originate from the subconscious and not the consciousness of writer-litterateur, awakens powers that the creator doesn’t realize from the outset he has." This is the key point of today’s discussion! It is acceptable that no matter how much we insist on multiple processing and refining of scripts, a few mental, of soul and emotional discoveries are stormed that don’t follow logic. No one can come out of darkness and be brought to light without paying the price. Very often for a writer that he is called to confront his dark side, it is being said by the writer that the faith at an eternal roasting on fire can be proved mistaken.
It must not worry the creator his capricious writing at the first stages as long as he remains hard working and sportsmanlike. Though especially in creative writing no one can learn let alone practice out of non being, without primal material in other words. Personally, I believe that for creators to awaken powers that the creators can’t realize from the outset they have, cuts down creative expression and the subconscious to the rational sight and often understanding of the world that surrounds us, at an appropriate relation of inner – outer world. Thus, if literature and writing become the cause for the coveted transcendence of objective being of a work towards the reality of civilization, this is an issue depending on the creator himself. Certainly though, the synthesis of multiple emotional, of soul, mental, aesthetic as well as conscious factors is a reality that concerns both the creative process as well as every thoughtful man. The quest though in every occasion is the utilization of the ideas and principles of man towards a better tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
The Bee Season Book Movie Storytelling, Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche!
Saul Nauman is a precentor at the Jewish Synagogue and is married with Miriam, who seems absorbed by her career as a lawyer. They have 2 children, Aaron and Elaiza. Elaiza goes to primary school and her brother is a few years older than her. Even though she is a bad, at start, pupil, soon she discovers her talent in dictation and words. A dictation competition entitled Spelling Bee will become the cause so that Elaiza discovers her true self. Even though this competition seems it will verify once again her mediocrity, Elaiza makes the surprise, she wins. She wins indeed both at the beginning but also the regional, geographically, competition which opens to her the door for the National dictation competition. This unexpected success becomes the cause so that her family fall into a vortex of changes. Initially, Miriam and Saul seem aloof. Miriam, not even one time has she taken Saul at her office, to feel familiar with her job, Saul though seems absorbed by the leather-bound books, Tora, Abulafia as well as his role as a precentor. We witness scenes at which the family participates at synagogues. Aaron initially shows interest in guitar lessons, with the help of his father, but soon Elaiza’s success will substitute Aaron to the eyes of Saul. Aaron initially wants to have his father’s position. He wants to become a rabbi.
Saul being inspired by Tora, Jewish mysticism, Tikum Olam or in other words, world’s repair, Abulafia, he decides to start training Elaiza for the final. He tells her indeed, later that it doesn’t matter whether she wins at the first time, for simply there is a second time. Saul seems absorbed by words and letters. He believes it though so deeply, that when Aaron is being beaten by his classmates, he brings him at his office to seduce him with books. You’re better than them Aaron, he tells to him. You have something they don’t and they know it very well, this drives them crazy. With a potential, that is later proved not everyone can handle Saul wants to share his ideas with his son by telling him: What we do in here cancels doubly what others do out there.
Saul buys a dictionary and starts devoting endless hours with Elaiza in his office. Contacting Miriam is rare, they simply see each other at night and little by little their sexual desire starts decreasing. Nevertheless, Elaiza motivated by Saul starts to deepen more at words and develops dimensions that do not depend from the dictation competition. It’s not necessary to her, as she thinks. Even though the first time fails at the final, together with her father they are determined to get closer to God’s vision. And what does this mean? Saul decides to revel everything to Elaiza about Abulafia and his way of thinking.
In 1280 a Jewish mystic named Abraham Abulafia, writes a book entitled Haia Olam a Ba which means “The Life of Future World”. In it it’s clarified that the transcendence of the sensible world is language itself. Creation takes place through words, a series of ‘God said’. The foundation of language is letters. Abulafia would believe that by focusing at letters, the mind could be freed by its bonds and communicate with an existence greater than itself, this that himself named sifa, input. Elaiza starts to learn about all the possible mathematical permutations of letters of words by having the exclusivity of her father’s time. Aaron though that he once wanted to be like Saul starts to read books about Eastern religions by exploring other dogmas and criticizing Christianity and the onto Earth test related with Heaven or Hell, liken it with an electronic game. Proceed at the next level… Aaron starts to explore other religions by shaping complete negativity about his father.
Even though the longing of one young child, Elaiza, for praises and acceptance seems to become the center that monopolizes the pages of the book, soon evolution is dramatic. Elaiza even though she has the perfect motive so that she can get her school report with grade Excellent, love school and progress at future without needing a competition, Miriam soon starts to show her bizarre side, together with Aaron that seems to be converted to Krisna, the other name of God. The basic elements of Miriam at which her family was based are proved to be lies. Miriam has stopped practicing law for ten years and Saul’s name has been added to an account of her parents, with which she was able to pay the bills which Saul thought she was paying with her work. Miriam also robs houses the objects of which are placed at a special apartment that she rents and names kaleidoscope.
After being arrested by the police, being charged with accusations and being locked at a psychiatric clinic, Saul is being informed speechless. The reader though asks: Not even in 10 years has there been the slightest of checking? A meal with colleagues, professional conversations or some visits at the office? Saul was being devoted at his books, the synagogue and God. He didn’t want not even for one moment to check about Miriam and his house and this led to the result of him being deceived. Even though this is his own responsibility, the book brings us in front of a family at which everyone, unfortunately follows his/her own path, though we can compare each one’s trajectories.
Both Miriam and Aaron function at a wrong denominator, contrary to Elaiza that through family warmth and studying she evolves rapidly. Not even the fantasies she has are left out about possible success! There will be interviews in television, arbitrations so that she can talk, a trip at the White House… She will be bombarded with questions from all over the world, she will be called to solve conflicts, invent therapies, battle hunger as well as if the President asks her to create a weapon against the Russians she will refuse. She will use her forces only for good. Aaron on the other hand thanks to his forthcoming adulthood as well as his interest about Krisna comes to a complete rupture with his father. Saul dares to mention at his children, one day before the final the real identity of Miriam and he receives a slap by his son. Saul the next day fearing his family will be destroyed completely says to his children that he said things he didn’t mean so that Elaiza can proceed with the dictation competition.
Even though she loses the competition by spelling the word handicraft with an e at the end, finally it is proved that she and Saul by wearing really big hats with the motive of accomplishing their goals, they have got the stuff to stand out even though everything around them seems to fall apart. Even though the world of letters of Abulafia doesn’t start and end at the perception, the temperament and the character of Saul as there is deception and lies in our world, finally yes, the world of letters is the true world of beatitude!
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