'And Then the Devil Will Take Me Away': Adaptation, evolution, and The Brothers Grimm's suppression of taboo motifs in 'The Girl without Hands'

Ashley, Melissa (2010) 'And Then the Devil Will Take Me Away': Adaptation, evolution, and The Brothers Grimm's suppression of taboo motifs in 'The Girl without Hands'. Double Dialogues, 1 12: .

Author Ashley, Melissa
Title 'And Then the Devil Will Take Me Away': Adaptation, evolution, and The Brothers Grimm's suppression of taboo motifs in 'The Girl without Hands'
Journal name Double Dialogues  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank B)
Publication date 2010
Sub-type Article
Volume number 1
Issue number 12
ISSN 1447-9591
Total pages 1 Journal article
Editor Ann McCulloch
Place of publication Burwood, VIC, Australia
Publisher Double Dialogues
Collection year 2011
Language eng
Subject 420220 Folklore, Myth and Mythologies
Formatted abstract With a literary history that dates back to 793AD and more than a thousand recorded variants, ‘The Girl without Hands’ is one of the most widely circulated folk and fairy tales. Recent comparative analysis of typical and idiosyncratic textual events has revealed a forgotten narrative thread whereby a father sought his daughter’s ‘hand’ in marriage. The paper discusses Wilhelm Grimm’s excision of the ‘unnatural father’ episode in his 1819 revision of ‘The Girl without Hands’, concluding that the ambiguous motivations in his reinterpretation have paradoxically modernised and strengthened an ancient narrative in danger of being forgotten. Research into ‘The Girl without Hands’ narrative evolution helped to refine my creative processes in drafting and revising a novelised adaptation. Extending the narrative’s operation as an initiatory text, I introduced a sub-plot that incorporated a link to ‘The Girl without Hands’ earlier theme of a (young) woman’s flight from the threat of sexual violation.
Keyword Original Creative Works - Textual work
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ
Additional Notes Publication date: Winter 2010.

 
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Created: Wed, 16 Mar 2011, 11:11:26 EST by Ms Stormy Wehi on behalf of School of English, Media Studies and Art History