“FROM POPE TO POPESS” AS A METAPHOR FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: THE MOTIF OF POPESS JOHANNA IN FAIRY TALES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58885/ijssh.v10i1.49.mbKeywords:
ATU 514, ATU 884, Popess Johanna, fairy tales, literary analysis, Pope Joan, social change, representation, The Fisherman and His Wife.Abstract
This study critically examines gender dynamics in fairy tales, with particular attention to the legend of Popess Johanna as a narrative vehicle for interrogating patriarchal structures. Through an analysis of The Fisherman and His Wife (KHM 19) from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Children’s and Household Tales (1812–1857), this investigation explores the concealment – and subsequent tragic unmasking – of gender identity within hierarchical power systems. The tale’s engagement with authority, identity, and societal expectations provides crucial insights into medieval gender constructs and their resonance in European literary traditions (Grimm & Grimm, 2015; Uther, 2011).
References
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https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1tqxvtn.104
Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (2015). The original folk and fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm: The complete first edition (J. Zipes, Trans.). Princeton University Press.
Hegel, G.W.F. (1975). Aesthetics: Lectures on fine art (T. M. Knox, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1835)
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Ranke, K. (Ed.). (2015). Enzyklopädie des Märchens (Vol. 10). De Gruyter.
Uther, H.-J. (2024). The types of international folktales: A classification and bibliography (3 vols.). Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.
Žižek, S. (2004). From Antigone to Joan of Arc. In R. Butler & S. Žižek (Eds.), Interrogating the Real (pp. 55–57). Continuum.
https://archive.org/stream/boccaccio-concerning-famous women/Boccaccio%20%20Concerning%20Famous%20Women_djvu.txt
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