Fairy Tales 2010

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Story of a Fairy Tale

This story is about 5 wise men who go out into the world to find Truth, which has apparently been lost. Each comes back, convinced of his own findings, which include: Science, Theology, Love, Gold, and Wine. They all begin to fight each other and end up in poor condition. Then, a little girl comes along, saying she has found Truth in the meadow. So, everyone follows her to find this being that cannot really be categorized in any human form, but is rather like, a god or an angel or some other supernatural being. This we learn is a Fairy Tale. The wise men leave to continue fighting but many people stay behind with the Fairy Tale.

This story resembles a fairy tale in that there is a problem and a journey to find a solution. As the story goes on, each of the men is referred to as whatever he considered Truth. Thus, the story is more about the opposition between Science, Theology, Love, Gold, Wine, and the Fairy Tale, than the people themselves. In addition, the description of the Fairy Tale was very perfect and inhuman. This contributed to the typical timeless, placeless, magical feel of the fairy tale.

I think Carl Ewald uses this story to make some kind of point about Truth and its interpretations. Although, the fact that he construes the Fairy Tale in the end as the "real" Truth is interesting. Obviously, fairy tales are not realistic, so maybe the fact that he compares them to Truth says something about his disbelief in a real Truth or that Truth cannot be interpreted in one single way or found in one particular place.

The biographical notes mentioned that he wrote to incorporate his views on social Darwinism. So, perhaps this can be included in the interpretation of his message?

2 comments:

  1. I have not read this story; however, from reading this information about it, it seems to me that the most important element is that it is a child who finds Truth. It is a romantic notion that individuals who are most in tune with nature and who live simply are those who find themselves in the most honest and happy of states. Children are commonly used to exaggerate natural curiosity, open-mindedness, acceptance, and appreciation of the world around them. Thus, it is in the nearby field-- likely a familiar place to the child-- that she finds Truth. It is close to home, and close to the heart; one must simply understand that it cannot be sub categorized further into anything such as Science, Theology, or Love in order to feel reassured by its presence.

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  2. This is an interesting idea for a fairy tale! i havent read it but it seems from your blog very interpretive. Maybe this fairy tale was a reaction to the enlightenment and described how each of the different science and art areas view truth. I found you analysis very compelling. I agree with alex. I think the child who find truth is significant. A child who finds truth loses his or her innocence and becomes an adult. Good blog!

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