Morphology of the Fairy Tale

Morphology of the Fairy Tale is perhaps the most famous work of the 20th century in folklore studies, although its significance goes far beyond the realm of science: it has influenced writers, composers, screenwriters, and even programmers and marketers. V. Ya. Propper rejects a purely literary approach to the study of folk creativity and turns to mathematical methods and structural linguistics. It turns out that characters from various fairy tales do the same thing: the dragon kidnaps the princess, Baba Yaga prepares trials and rewards for Ivan Tsarevich, and the magic thread points the way. The hero breaks the taboo, sets off on a journey, finds an assistant, encounters an enemy, solves a difficult problem, receives a reward, and returns home, where a feast awaits him, along with a bride and half a kingdom. Propper describes the laws of fairy tale narration: seven types of characters perform 31 functions - it is they who create the unified core and structure of fairy tales from different nations of the world.