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Donor (fairy tale)
Encyclopedia
The fairy godmother
Fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies...
is a well-known form of this character. Many other supernatural patrons feature in fairy tales; these include various kinds of animals and the spirit of a dead mother.
In fairy tale and legend
In his analysis of fairy tales, Vladimir ProppVladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.- Biography :...
identified this role as the donor and listed it as one of the eight roles found in fairy tales. Before giving the hero magical support or advice, the donor may also test the hero, by questioning him, setting him tasks, or making requests of him. Then, the donor may directly give the hero a magical agent, advise him on how to find one, or offer to act on his behalf. If the character itself acts on behalf of the hero, it also takes on the role of helper in Propp's analysis. Because a donor is defined by acts, other characters may fill the role, even the villain; a boy escaping a witch may steal her magical handkerchief, making the witch an involuntary donor. Conversely, the donor of Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
converts himself into the villain by demanding the heroine's baby as the price of his work.
In Grimm's Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
, the hero often meets the vital helper in the woods
Enchanted forest
In literature, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy...
, in liminal areas between other realms.
When more than one character attempts the tasks, such as when the youngest son
Youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
sets out last, all of them commonly met the donor. It is through failing in the test that the older sons are marked out as not being the hero; only the youngest son passes the test and receives the aid.
There may be three
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
donors, distinguished by the fact that the first two are unable to help and so send him on to the next. A common motif, as in Farmer Weathersky
Farmer Weathersky
Farmer Weathersky is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Chr. Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book as "Farmer Weatherbeard"....
, is that one can consult all the beasts, the next all the fish, the third all the birds, and only the last can discover what the hero needs. In other cases, each of the three may give the hero or heroine something, but only the third has the information necessary to them.
Types of donors
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
by Perrault
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
; no such figures appeared in his source, Sole, Luna, e Talia by Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector.- Biography :Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while...
. In the Grimm Brothers' variant of Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
, the protagonist is aided not by her fairy godmother but by her dead mother, as is the heroine of the Finnish variant, The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch is a Russian fairy tale.A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
. A great variety of other figures may also take this place. In Vasilissa the Beautiful
Vasilissa the Beautiful
Vasilisa the Beautiful , commonly known as Vasilisa's Doll, is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki....
, the heroine is aided by a wooden doll that her dying mother had given her; in Rushen Coatie
Rushen Coatie
Rushen Coatie or Rashin-Coatie is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine, as is Cinderella.-Synopsis:A queen with a daughter died...
, by a red calf sent to her by her dead mother, a calf that can continue to aid her after its death; in Katie Woodencloak
Katie Woodencloak
Katie Woodencloak or Kari Woodengown is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book....
by a mysterious dun bull; in Tattercoats
Tattercoats
Tattercoats is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B, the persecuted heroine...
, by a gooseherd who is her friend for a long time before his mysterious powers are revealed. In East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon is a Norwegian folk tale.East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe...
, the heroine is given vital gifts by three old women she meets on the way.
Heroes seldom have actual fairy godmothers, but similar figures are common. In The Golden Bird
The Golden Bird
"The Golden Bird" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, number 57, about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king's three sons.A French version, collected by Paul Sébillot, is called The Golden Blackbird. Andrew Lang included that variant in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 550,...
, the hero is aided by a fox whose advice he takes; in The Red Ettin
The Red Ettin
The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. It was included by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book.-Synopsis:Two widows lived in a hut, and one had two sons and the other had one -- or a single widow had three sons...
, by a fairy not his godmother; in Puddocky
Puddocky
"Puddocky" is a German fairy tale. A variant, "Cherry," was collected by the Brothers Grimm, and in French, Madame d'Aulnoy retold it in a literary fairy tale as "The White Cat", altering the tale's frog into a cat.-Synopsis:...
, by an enchanted frog that takes pity on him; in Prince Ring
Prince Ring
Prince Ring is an Icelandic fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A prince and his men hunted a hind with a golden ring on its horns. A darkness came over them, and they lost the hind and their way, and separated because they each thought they knew better the way...
, by an enchanted dog; in Fair Brow
Fair Brow
Fair Brow is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in his Italian Popular Tales.Italo Calvino included a variant from Istria in his Italian Folktales. He noted that the grateful dead man was a common medieval motif.-Synopsis:...
and The Bird 'Grip'
The Bird 'Grip'
The Bird 'Grip is a Swedish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it The Pink Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird; other tales of this type include The Golden Bird, The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener, How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon, The Nunda,...
, by a dead man
Grateful dead (folklore)
Grateful dead is a folktale present in many cultures throughout the world. The most common story involves a traveler who encounters a corpse of someone who never received a proper burial, typically stemming from an unpaid debt. The traveler then either pays off the dead person's debt or pays for...
whom he had aided; in The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder
The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder
The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder is an Icelandic fairy tale from Islandische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.Ruth Manning-Sanders included it, as "Sigurd the King's Son", in A Book of Ogres and Trolls....
, in an unusual reversal, by his stepmother.
The hero may also meet up with several extraordinary men who will help him as in The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
The Flying Ship or The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship is a Russian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book and Arthur Ransome in Old Peter's Russian Tales....
, How the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter
How the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter
How the Hermit helped to win the King's Daughter is an Italian fairy tale, collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
, Long, Broad and Sharpsight
Long, Broad and Sharpsight
Long, Broad and Sharpsight or Long, Broad, and Quickeye is a Bohemian fairy tale, collected by Louis Léger in Contes Populaires Slaves.Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.A. H...
, and The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
"The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Neill Gillies, a fisherman near Inverary.-Synopsis:...
. Each one has an ability, such as seeing things miles off, hearing things miles off, an extraordinary shot, ability to drink a river, or others that allow them to fulfill the hero's tasks.
Talking animal
Talking animal
A talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can produce sounds resembling those of a human language. Many species or groups of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication Systems which to some appear to be a non-verbal language...
s are often the hero's helpers, perhaps more than any other type. The most common motivation of the animals is gratitude, after protection, receiving food, or (less commonly) settling a quarrel between several animals. In another variation, featured in The Three Enchanted Princes
The Three Enchanted Princes
The Three Enchanted Princes is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.-Synopsis:...
and The Death of Koschei the Deathless
The Death of Koschei the Deathless
The Death of the Immortal Koschei or Marya Morevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki and included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book...
, the hero's three sisters have been married to animals. These prove to be shape-shifted men, who aid their brother-in-law in a variant of tale types. Because of its retelling by Perrault, Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots
'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
is among the best known animal helpers, although in other variants of the tale, the hero (or heroine) is helped sometimes by a fox and occasionally by other animals. Horses, as in The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa
The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa
The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful, Corvetto, King Fortunatus's Golden Wig, and The Mermaid and...
, Făt-Frumos with the Golden Hair
Fat-Frumos with the Golden Hair
Făt-Frumos with the Golden Hair or The Foundling Prince is a Romanian fairy tale collected by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor.-Synopsis:A hermit lived alone. One day, a box floated down the river to him...
, The Magician's Horse
The Magician's Horse
The Magician's Horse is a Greek fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A king's three sons went hunting, and the youngest got lost. He came to a great hall and ate there. Then he found an old man, who asked him who he was. He told how he had become lost and offered...
, The Princess on the Glass Hill
The Princess on the Glass Hill
The Princess on the Glass Hill is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr It recounts how the youngest son of three obtains a magical horse and uses it to win the princess....
, and Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful
Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful
Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 126.It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa, Corvetto, King Fortunatus's Golden Wig, and The Mermaid and the Boy...
, are popular in the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
; several tale types normally feature a horse almost as important as the hero.
This magical helper is often long faithful to the hero; the hero may fail many times after the initial test, often by not respecting the helper's advice. In The Golden Bird
The Golden Bird
"The Golden Bird" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, number 57, about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king's three sons.A French version, collected by Paul Sébillot, is called The Golden Blackbird. Andrew Lang included that variant in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 550,...
, the fox declares that the hero does not deserve his help after his disobedience, but still aids him.