Mary's Child
Mary's Child | |
---|---|
Illustration by Oskar Herrfurth. | |
Folk tale | |
Name | Mary's Child |
Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 710 |
Country | Germany |
Published in | Grimm's Fairy Tales |
"Mary's Child" (also "Our Lady's Child", "A Child of Saint Mary" or "The Virgin Mary's Child"; German: Marienkind) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1812 (KHM 3). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 710.[1]
The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to the Italian The Goat-faced Girl and the Norwegian The Lassie and Her Godmother.[2] They also noted its connection to the forbidden door and tell-tale stain of Fitcher's Bird.[2] Other tales that make use of these elements are Bluebeard and "In the Black Woman's Castle".[3]
Origin
The tale was published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812, and has been only slightly changed in the successive editions. Their source was Gretchen Wild (1787–1819).[1]
Synopsis
A poor woodcutter and his wife had a three-year-old daughter that they could not feed. The Virgin Mary appeared to the woodcutter and promised to take care of the child, so they gave her the child. She grew up happily in Heaven. One day the Virgin had to go on a journey and gave the girl keys, telling her she could open twelve doors but not the thirteenth. She opened the first twelve and found the Apostles behind them. Then she opened the thirteenth door. Behind it was the Trinity, and her finger was stained with gold. She tried to hide it, lying three times, and the Virgin Mary said she could no longer remain for her disobedience and lying.
She fell asleep and woke to find herself in a forest. Lamenting her misfortune, she lived in a hollow tree, ate wild plants, and tore all her clothing until she was naked. One day, a king found her looking beautiful but incapable of speech. He took her home and married her.
A year later, she had a son. The Virgin Mary appeared and demanded that she confess to having opened the door. She lied again, the Virgin took her son, and the people whispered that she had killed and eaten the child. In another year, she had another son, and it went as before. The third year, she had a daughter, and the Virgin Mary took her to heaven and showed her her sons, but she would not confess. This time, the king could not restrain his councilors, and the queen was condemned to death. When she was brought to the stake, she relented and wished she could confess before she died. The Virgin Mary brought back her children, restored her the power of speech, and gave her happiness the rest of her life.
Variants
In other versions of this tale the plot remains the same but the religious themes are downplayed, and the Virgin Mary and other Christian figures are replaced by fairies.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b Ashliman, D. L. (2002). "Mary's Child". University of Pittsburgh.
- ^ a b Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Hunt, M. (transl.) Household Tales "Notes: Our Lady's Child"
- ^ von Franz, Marie-Louise (1999). Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche. Boston and London: Shambhala. p. 174. ISBN 1-57062-133-0.
- ^ Lily Owens, ed. (1981). The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales. pp. 7–10. Avenel Books. ISBN 0-517-336316
External links
- The full text of Mary's Child at Wikisource
- Media related to Mary's Child at Wikimedia Commons
- The complete set of Grimms' Fairy Tales, including Mary's Child at Standard Ebooks
- v
- t
- e
tales
- "Bearskin"
- "The Brave Little Tailor"
- "Brother and Sister"
- "Cat and Mouse in Partnership"
- "Cinderella"
- "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs"
- "Doctor Know-all"
- "The Dog and the Sparrow"
- "The Elves and the Shoemaker"
- "The Fisherman and His Wife"
- "The Four Skillful Brothers"
- "The Frog Prince"
- "The Gnome"
- "Godfather Death"
- "The Golden Bird"
- "The Golden Goose"
- "The Goose Girl"
- "The Goose-Girl at the Well"
- "The Grave Mound"
- "Hans My Hedgehog"
- "Hansel and Gretel"
- "The Hut in the Forest"
- "The Jew Among Thorns"
- "Jorinde and Joringel"
- "The Juniper Tree"
- "The King of the Golden Mountain"
- "King Thrushbeard"
- "Little Red Riding Hood"
- "Mary's Child"
- "Mother Holle"
- "Old Hildebrand"
- "Old Sultan"
- "Pied Piper of Hamelin"
- "The Queen Bee"
- "Rapunzel"
- "The Riddle"
- "The Robber Bridegroom"
- "Rumpelstiltskin"
- "The Seven Ravens"
- "The Singing, Springing Lark"
- "The Six Servants"
- "The Six Swans"
- "Sleeping Beauty"
- "Snow White"
- "Snow-White and Rose-Red"
- "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was"
- "The Three Little Men in the Wood"
- "The Three Spinners"
- "Thumbling"
- "Town Musicians of Bremen"
- "Trusty John"
- "The Turnip"
- "The Twelve Brothers"
- "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"
- "The Water of Life"
- "The White Snake"
- "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats"
- "The Wonderful Musician"
- Grimm's law
- Göttingen Seven
- Grim Tales
- The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
- Once Upon a Brothers Grimm
- Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
- The Brothers Grimm
- Grimm Tales
- The Sisters Grimm
- Fairy tale
- American McGee's Grimm
- German Fairy Tale Route
- Grimm
- Once Upon a Time
- The 10th Kingdom
- The Grimm Variations
- Category
- Commons