Use Propp Narrative Theoretical to Analysis Grimm’s Fairy Tales

【Abstract】Propp， a famous Russian linguist， pioneered the study of the types of narrative structure， breaking the traditional method of classifying fairy tales according to their characters and themes. The way of analysis the story unit and their interrelation that he used has very important reference value for the analysis of narrative style.

【Key words】Propp； Narrative theory； Grimms Fairy Tales

【作者簡介】温雅，青岛大学。

Propp consider that storys basic unit is characters behavior function. Propp summing up 7 characters and 31 behaviors function by analysis Russian Folk Tales.

is German folk literature which collected， collated and processed by German linguist The Grimm Brothers. It focuses on narrative and openness， and has the narrative characteristics of folk fairy tales and creative fairy tales.

Ⅰ.Role Analysis

Propps study found that seven types of Role-setting are contained in 31 narrative functions， which contains villain， donor， helper， Princess princess， dispatcher， hero and false hero.

Take Sleeping Beauty as an example. The princess is both a princess and a hero. The thirteenth witch who curses the princess is the villain. The witch who alleviates the curse and lets the princess sleep for a hundred years is the donor. The prince as a helper and a hero， he kissed the princess， awaken her.

In The Singing Bone， the king is the dispatcher， the small man who gives the spear to his brother is the donor， and the brother kills the wild boar with the spear， which is the hero. My brother killed his brother as a villain and a fake hero. The shepherd played his music with his brothers bones， which made his brother grievous. The king sent a man to dig out the bones of his brother and bury them. He was also a helper.

In Sleeping Beauty， the prince is both a helper and a hero； in Singing Bones， the king is initially a dispatcher， but later a helper. It can be seen that these characters play different narrative roles at different stages and moments of the story.

Ⅱ. Narrative Characteristics

A. formula beginning and ending

There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child.

He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received， and they lived for a long time afterwards， happy and contented.

——《Rapunzel》

long long ago，there were a king and a queen.they prayed everyday：“what if we have a child？”

The prince and princess loved each other and they held a grant wedding ceremony and lived happily ever after.

——《sleeping beauty》

At the beginning， we always set time as the past， which is just a narrative strategy of vague time concept. Let people faintly believe that the story exists， but do not know the specific time， blurred the reality and unrealistic boundaries， so that readers look forward to follow-up development. The end is always the triumph of justice over evil， and the happy life of men and women. As Romanian folklorist Mikhail Ibop says， fairy tales begin by introducing the reader from reality into unreality， and the end of fairy tales brings them back to reality from unreality.

B. the narrative sequence is based on positive narration

Perhaps considering that the audience of fairy tales is dominated by children， Grimms Fairy Tales are usually written in chronological order of occurrence， development and ending rather than in narrative order such as flashbacks and interludes. Fairy tales are arranged from head to tail， orderly and clear.

Cinderella is also written in strict chronological order. It is not a typical Grimms Fairy Tales， though it can arouse readerscuriosity， if the prince is asked to try crystal shoes， then the stepmother bullies Cinderella and loses them at the dance.

C. Flat Character

Grimms fairy tales are flat figures Flat Character instead of round characters Round Character. For example， stepmother is a pure villain， “Snow White” stepmother killed Snow White several times， “Gin Tree” stepmother even boiled the man into broth. The princess or prince is beautiful， kind， handsome and brave. Their character is extremely simple and thin， and their character will not change with the change of plot. The existence of stepmother is to embarrass the protagonist， and the existence of heroes is to save the protagonist. Although it is easy for readers to recognize and remember them， the characters are too shallow and lack space for recreation.

References：

[1]Propp.Morphology of the Folktale[J].China Publishing House，2006.

[2]Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.Grimms Fairy Tales[J].Shanghai Translation Publishing House，2006.