I know we've talked about archetypes before, but today we're going to talk about tropes. I've written a few posts about archetypes:
These might help you understand tropes a little better.
Tropes are like archetypes, but smaller. This means they only exist in a certain culture's fairy tales, or they are not common enough to be archetypes.
*Disclaimer: I have not studied these matters thoroughly. This information is based solely on what I have read and observed from reading fairy tales.
Some of these include:
-The three dresses, each more beautiful than the last
These are sometimes described as one being as beautiful as the moon, another being as beautiful as the sun, and the last being as beautiful as the stars. Anyways, girls keep showing up wearing these three dresses, mostly throughout Grimm's fairy tales. (The dresses would be much more beautiful than this one, and ball gowns, but I was having trouble finding pictures.)
-Witches who live in huts with bird feet
This is mostly Baba Yaga in Russian fairy tales.
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| Now imagine bird feet on the bottom. |
-Iron shoes
These have appeared in multiple cultures. The wearer usually has to walk until they've worn out all three pairs before they can find what they are trying to find.
-Disobedient wives who suffer as a result
If you've read the post about "The Robber Bridegroom," "Fitcher's Bird," "Bluebeard," and "Mr. Fox," you know what I'm talking about. These wives appear in multiple collections of fairy tales.
What tropes have you noticed in fairy tales?
Spruce Nogard
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