Vol. 5, Issue 4, Part F (2019)
Fairy tale and its trans-generic identity
Fairy tale and its trans-generic identity
Author(s)
Megha Sharma
Abstract
My paper looks at the common ground between the process of genre formation and nation formation. Both proceed by rigid differentiation and exclusion. In Benedict Anderson’s concept of nation as ‘imagined communities’, ‘nations’ begin from the rigid ‘territoriality’ of space. In fairy tales, a similar rigidity constitutes its generic core, making it possible to develop in a more flexible direction. Todorov establishes the similarities and differences between literary genres and other ‘speech acts’, thus positioning ‘folk tale’ as the point of departure from which ‘fairy tale’ as a genre surfaces. Looking into the development of one genre from another genre (like the nation from a nation), through the tales Puss in Boots and Cinderella, I will problematize the relationship between various genres and fairy tale as a genre; an individual fairy tale and ‘fairy tale’ as a genre; and fairy tale as a meta-genre, the very essence of literature. Propp identifies mechanisms like ‘reduction’, ‘expansion’, and ‘contamination’ in order to elucidate the adaptation of ‘traditional’ genres. However, the limitation of this formalist approach lies in its denial of a more historical and dialectical approach. The paper explores the dominance of some genres through their subordination of others. How do we read individual tales through the lens of genre understood as a constantly evolving category determined by trans-generic appropriations across media?
How to cite this article:
Megha Sharma. Fairy tale and its trans-generic identity. Int J Appl Res 2019;5(4):368-371.