Structural Analysis Of Folktales: Comparative Study Between ‘sleeping Beauty’ (french: ‘la Belle Au Bois Dormant’) And ‘ghumanta Puri’

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Stella Chitralekha Biswas Dept. of Comparative Literature CL 602: Research Methodology-I (Part B) Enrollment no.: 16301103 Central University of Gujarat 14th Oct. 2016 Structural analysis of folktales: Comparative study between ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (French: ‘La Belle au bois dormant’) and ‘Ghumanta Puri’ The oral tradition of the folktale had come long before the written form since initially tales were either told or enacted dramatically. This tradition has passed on from generation to generation, spreading across different continents with striking similarities as well as differences in plots, characters, motifs, etc. All these folktales have been derived from common human experiences and beliefs, which is why they can be seen as appearing separately in different origins. These tales tend to take on the local colour and flavor of the cultural context in which they appear, often dealing with serious human issues such as psychological conflicts, patriarchal domination, the basic human condition, etc. The characters and motifs of these tales are usually simple and archetypal with the setting being in an unreal world of marvelous creatures and indefinite localities. The antithetical, contradictory elements present in these tales are ultimately

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resolved and the irreconcilable binary oppositions are related to the reconcilable ones. The tales derive their meaning or significance from bundles of embedded relationships or connections among these elements present in them. Charles Perrault’s original tale is French ‘La Belle au bois dormant’ had been derived from the Italian ‘Sun, Moon and Talia’ by the poet Giambattista Basile which in turn was based upon one or more folktales. Perrault’s narrative tells the story of a beautiful princess who is cursed to sleep for a hundred years before the prince charming wakes her up with a magical kiss. The same storyline recurs in Sri Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar’s ‘Ghumanta Puri’ but appropriated accordingly so as to make the folktale culturally palpable to Bengali readers. This paper attempts to make a comparative study of the above two mentioned works so as to highlight the variations of one tale in different cultural contexts and make a structural analysis of those various versions. By applying Levi Strauss’ method of comparative structural analysis, the following themes can be derived collectively from the two different versions: 

The story of a princess who is rescued from a curse and then married by a prince.

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The story of a prince who rescues and awakens a princess and her kingdom from a state of passive dormancy

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The story of the defeat of evil forces by good through the breaking of the princess’ curse by the savior prince and his making her his queen

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The story of the struggle and victory of the brave hero and virtuous princess over the villainous fairy and ogress queen

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Besides these, oppositions such as life-death, magical fairies-human heroes, struggle-victory, etc. are also dealt with. Based on these, following analysis-graphs can be constructed:

Princess cursed by evil fairy Curse befalls the entire kingdom Prince finds the princess and breaks her curse Prince awakens the entire kingdom from the curse Princess threatened to be killed by wicked mother-in-law Chaos and disorder in the prince’s kingdom

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Prince makes the princess his queen and relieves her from suffering Prince restores order and harmony in his kingdom In the above graph, a basic simplified structure of the Perrault version can be arrived at. If we read the columns horizontally, then we will arrive at a diachronic study of events and details within the folktale in a linear sequence. However, if we read the columns vertically, then we will be able to arrive at a synchronic study of the bundles of mythemes with equivalent functions. All these columns have particular functions as particular units which needs to be unraveled and analyzed. The first column has the common feature of suffering and deprivation on the princess’ part. The second column reflects a complete inversion of this: the rescue and redemption of the princess. The third column shows misery and disharmony in the kingdom while the fourth depicts the reinstating of harmony and order in the kingdom. Therefore, it can be concluded that column two is to column one what column four is to column three.

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Cursed kingdom stumbled upon by the prince Cursed princess found by the prince by chance Princess aroused from her curse by the prince Kingdom saved from the curse by the prince Princess married by the prince and made his queen Rejoicing and celebration in kingdom In the above graph, a structural-analysis of Majumdar’s version of the folktale has been made. The original tale has been culturally appropriated to suit the Bengali reading public. If read synchronically, column one which depicts deprivation and passivity is inverted by column two which depicts fulfillment and activity. Column three depicts suffering and misery while

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column four depicts redemption and joy. Thus, once again, column two is to column one what column four is to column three. Now the differences between the two versions can be made out clearly as follows: Perrault

Majumdar

Magical agency

Actively present

Remains unmentioned

of fairies

at the very outset

Physical relationship

Clearly mentioned

Completely absent

Evil mother-in-law

Actively present

Not mentioned at all

Curse

Broken by a kiss

Broken by the agency

between prince and princess

of magic wands

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Marital bliss

Achieved after many

Easily achieved

trials and tribulations

Cannibalism

Graphically depicted

Completely absent

Thus, it can be observed that although the original folktale has two different versions in two different ethnographic contexts yet the basic message or purpose of the story survives through all this. Despite the variations in details and opposition in elements, the basic mythical structure of the tale remains preserved in both the versions. The basic pattern underlying the two versions is same, with the differences highlighting the different cultural setups in which the tale has been narrated and modified. The commonalities in the themes can be easily interpreted because of the essential relationship or connection between the bundles of mythemes. The mythemes have a sort of binary relationship with each other, the reconcilable pair related to the irreconcilable pair so as to provide a solution to the latter. The motifeme of ‘damsel in distress rescued by the brave hero’ is manifested in both the versions of the tale by the themes and abstract messages constructed by the motifs present in them. Meaning is significantly produced out of the tension or interplay between the binary elements and the structure of the tale repeats elements but not in an identical manner. The binary elements of curse, deprivation, denial followed by redemption, joy and fulfillment are repeated in both the tales but in different

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contexts. This reflects the static, two-dimensional nature of the myth where the structure is discontinuous but repetitive and the narrative follows a linear, continuous timeline. The situation is inverted in a spiral-like development of the narrative-structure, with the hero liquidating the situation of lack and creating a new situation miraculously. The difference in the two versions stem from ethnography, religious concepts and rituals, values, social systems, styles within specific culture areas. However, the moral framework embedded within these folktales remain almost similar— the ultimate judgment of reward for the virtuous and punishment for the sinners. The pedagogical and ethical concerns of the writers found fruit in the simple, lucid folktales which bear the shadow of original oral narratives.