Fairy tales

Although they are not typically considered symbols in and of themselves, fairy tales are "treasure troves for the symbologist" (Biederman, 124). Thus, they will be included, due to their absolute pertinence in the analysis of fantasy literature. The entry in Biederman's Dictionary of Symbolism states that, " 'Research into fairy-tale motifs must begin with the precise investigation of variants, going beyond the narrower confines of the genre. We must seek out the origins--e.g., Greek and Christian elements in the German fairy tales... We can arrive at an interpretation only with help from every possible discipline--specialized narratology, folklore, history of religion, legal history, and so on and on' [E. Horandner, quoted by Lurker, 1979] . [Jungian analysis believes] in the existence of archetypes..."


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