1 of 4

Write now Article Tools

The tradition of the fairy tale is arguably the tradition of transformation (princes-to-frogs and back, rags-to-riches, the curse recast as blessing). Here is the basis of a fairy tale, not from the annals of European fantasy, but from the grind of its intellectual quern:

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Id, the wise and fair-minded king married a beautiful princess. After one year, a prince was born. After a further twenty, the king had grown old and the prince had come of age. Then there was sorrow, all over the land of Id, when the king, whose eyes had grown dim, stood at his balcony for the very last time, and waved to his people. In the dying rays of the evening sun, he retired to his chambers, and there, in the shadows, he died. Yet sorrow soon gave way to joy, when the new king was crowned, and stood in his father's place, waving to all his people from the balcony. Great were the celebrations in the magical land of Id.

Or to place this (a transformation in itself) into an alternative grammar of signification - Boolean algebra:

x(1 - y) = 0

which means, the product of class-x and not-class-y ('not' is a technical term - in this case it denotes the binary opposite of class-y) is empty - which means, 'the class of kings who are not mortal is empty' (where x is the class of 'kings' and y is the class of 'mortality'). Or to put this simply into English,

All Kings Are Mortal

Boolean expressions, operating in accordance with the rules of algebra, are used to solve problems involving logical relationships between classes - a method that has found fruitful extension in computer programming techniques. This may cross your mind as you sit gazing into your PC screen. [Boole: 1815-1864]

'Semantic condensation' is a term borrowed from Lacan, who views the unconscious - and perhaps would view my kingdom of Id - as structured like a language. The 'unconscious' he means is that elaborated by Freud - receptacle of repressed matter that may potentially engender neurosis or even psychosis. Lacan's language structure is very specific - that set out by Saussure in his Cours de linguistique generale, which fully lays out language as a sign system, operating and evolving as signifier/signified pairs in both the synchronic and diachronic planes. 'Condensation' is a term Freud himself applied, in his The Interpretation of Dreams. Freud's position is roughly this: i) that a dream is a wish-fulfilment; ii) that the wish often (but not always) has some selfish origin (and can

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Structure and style in fairy tales?
We want to hear your view. Write now!