Fairy Tales and Folklore

[Kitty]

... do folk tales usually have a moral or application à la Aesop? And if so, what would the moral of this one be, do you think?

Folktales don't have to have a moral, but I find that they often do. Folktales are told orally, and because of this they change over time to fit the cultural ideas of the day, which, in turn can go hand in hand with an application.

I think the intended moral in this story was to express the ridiculous idea that women are made to have children and have a family, and without this, they have no other purpose. It doesn't matter what the woman wants; she must do what is expected of her, regardless of her thoughts and feelings on the matter. This is evident with first her shadow leaving her, and then the way she is treated and shunned by her community. Her non-conformity is her undoing.

I feel like basic marital communication might have saved the entire tragedy from happening to begin with, but perhaps she didn't feel she couldn't talk to him about it, as we know how he reacted when he saw that she had no shadow.

What do you think? And by the way, no question is ignorant of it's asked in order to learn!

[BettyLouSpence]

I just read this tale. Thanks for sharing, Kitty. So intriguing and so much symbolism.

This is probably an ignorant question, but do folk tales usually have a moral or application à la Aesop?

A lot of them do, it depends on the tale. I'd say most of the time, yes, they do.

The more I mull it over, the more I realize how difficult it can be to gleam the "true" moral of certain folk tales that aren't too clear and shrouded in the context of past and culture. Who knows, did the story start out as simple entertainment? Were the morals forced out later by whoever was telling and interpreting it? Is it enough to listen to the story in our context today and get a simple "obey your parents", or are we missing something more subtle?

I mean, what's the moral of The Speedy Death of a Begging Boy? Kids, don't go with strangers? Try burying an orphan or two alive to rid your town of that pesky typhoid epidemic? I'm being sarcastic with the answers - I mean, one could apply the first one - but this is an example where there's no obvious moral or application.

Either way, damn. I'm glad I didn't hear that one as a kid...

And if so, what would the moral of this one be, do you think?

It comes off to me as telling young girls and women to do their duty of childbearing.

[Kitty]

I mean, what's the moral of The Speedy Death of a Begging Boy? Kids, don't go with strangers? Try burying an orphan or two alive to rid your town of that pesky typhoid epidemic? I'm being sarcastic with the answers - I mean, one could apply the first one - but this is an example where there's no obvious moral or application.

I think this one is just pure scary campfire story! Thanks for pointing this one out.

[BettyLouSpence]

I mean, what's the moral of The Speedy Death of a Begging Boy? Kids, don't go with strangers? Try burying an orphan or two alive to rid your town of that pesky typhoid epidemic? I'm being sarcastic with the answers - I mean, one could apply the first one - but this is an example where there's no obvious moral or application.

I think this one is just pure scary campfire story! Thanks for pointing this one out.

And the heading of the Swedish folk tale section says "very brutal parts of the contents are crossed out". I wonder if this was one of them. *shudder*

[Kitty]

So, I just got a microphone and I've been recording poems and stories. I'm hoping to do ASMR talking and posting them to YouTube. My husband will do the artwork.

Today I was playing around with it, and it made me think of the little songs and poems that my parents would sing.

My mom would sing O Little Playmate and recite the poem Animals Fair and do little hand games such as Round Ball. My dad sang that Mister Moon song, Little Bar of Soap, and That's Amore ( somewhere I have a picture that I drew when I was little of a guy whose eye literally got hit by the moon)

So what can you guys remember that loved ones would sing to you or recite?

[donnie]

No, I can't remember much of anything sung or recited, although my mother read to me a lot, and my father joked a lot made up silly nonsense names for people.

So, I just got a microphone and I've been recording poems and stories. I'm hoping to do ASMR talking and posting them to YouTube. My husband will do the artwork.

Sounds interesting!

...somewhere I have a picture that I drew when I was little of a guy whose eye literally got hit by the moon)

Did it look like a big pizza pie?

[Kitty]

...somewhere I have a picture that I drew when I was little of a guy whose eye literally got hit by the moon)

Did it look like a big pizza pie?

I'd have to look at it again... It might!