Metamorphosis: The Dynamics of Symbolism in European Fairy Tales

International Folkloristics #1

by Francisco Vaz da Silva

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.

Genres: Fairy Tales

278 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

About the author

Lives and works in Portugal, where he teaches folklore and anthropology at ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa.

His research interests include: human universals and cultural variations; symbolic codes in mythology, ritual, wondertales, and the arts; and intertextual techniques for narrative analysis.