The World of the Irish Wonder Tale: An Introduction to the Study of Fairy Tales

by Elliott B. Gose Jr.

Fairy tales are a rich element of childhood in many cultures around the world. But in Ireland, where they are known as wonder tales, these stories of magic and enchantment are not restricted to young audiences; Irish wonder tales are told to adults. So that the modern reader can fully appreciate them, Gose provides an interdisciplinary overview. He identifies a number of approaches - psychological, anthropological, structural, comparative, and typological.

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[no · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beanstock=penis

[Lee Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank God that's over. I read this book thinking it would help me figure out what I want my thesis to be for my English Honors paper. The only thing it did was make me realize I WON'T be writing about Irish folklore through a psychological (particularly a Freudian) perspective. Not only does it make me incredibly uncomfortable to sexualize children's stories (really? the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk is supposed to be phallic? and he has an Oedipus complex? Oooookay...), but a lot of the allegories Gose made were also very, *very* far-fetched in my opinion. I wouldn't have picked the book up if there was a description of its contents anywhere on its cover. But alas, there wasn't... so it wasn't until I was some several-dozen pages in that the topic wasn't what I thought it would be. At all. I was expecting a more formalist examination of Irish folklore that would help me with both my thesis and my Celtic folklore-inspired novel that I'm working on. Instead I got traumatized. Yay. I'm just glad I never have to read it again.