The Youth who went forth to live in a Fairy-Tale: A Märchenforschung analysis of Cornelia Funke's Reckless novels
The impact and popularity of Fairy-Tales (Ger. Märchen) has fascinated literary scholars and researchers for centuries. The study of those tales (Ger. Märchenforschung) covers a wide range from analysing characters and colour symbolism to attempts to find the origins of the oral narratives that were adapted and written down by so-called Märchensammler like Ludwig Bechstein or most famously the Brothers Grimm. However, whilst scholars have dived into all these various forms of research of the ‘classic’ Märchen these ‘traditional’ Märchensammler wrote down, there is still a significant gap in zeitgenössische Märchenforschung – the analysis of contemporary/modern adaptations of the classics. The aim of this thesis is to make a starting point in filling this gap by carrying out a full Märchenforschung analysis of Cornelia Funke’s Reckless novels, a prime example for a twenty-first century Märchen. The analysis will follow the concept of comparative Märchenforschung, contrasting and comparing Funke’s novels with the Brother Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household tales) to explore how far contemporary Märchen differ from the classic ones, and why these changes have been applied, but also how and why the core of Märchen is still the same for readers today. The three chapters of the thesis will focus on how Märchen motifs, Historicist analysis and Character analysis follow the pattern of classic Märchenforschung and thus reflect how far Märchen have ‘moved with the times’ whilst at the same time still sticking to the original core ideas and messages of Märchen which appear ever-relevant. By the end of the thesis it will become clear not only why Märchen never lose their appeal to people but also why it is important for us to re-adapt them and analyse these contemporary versions in order to show how Märchen continue to reflect the core wishes, hopes and fears of society in own time.
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