Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Sorcer- er, Philosopher's Stone
In Christoph Martin Wieland's The Philosopher's Stone, the story initially appears to debunk what I love about fairy tales: the magic. It ridicules wonder and science and, even more, those who buy into either. However, this perception changes as the story within the story changes. The king is magically turned into a donkey and his wife into a rose-colored (how necessary) goat, a types of transformation extremely common in the magical realm. Also, while it initially seems that the old man tricks the king by donning a false beard (a very non-magical disguise), his female counterpart is able to change herself so much as to make her convincingly male in every sense (a very magical disguise). This paradox of the simultaneous existence and non-existence of magic makes this story very different from the traditional tales. I don't fully understand the satirical dichotomy of magic as real and utterly ridiculous, but I like to think of it as conveying the magic that exists in our real world. The fact that the male and female fell in love with each other even in their newly peasant forms reflects the magic of love and belief in a soul-mate. Also, while there is no such thing as the tangible philosopher's stone of tales, there does exist the philosophical equivalent that comes with understanding of what's important in the world. Furthermore, there is the magic of fate or the idea that everything happens for a reason. The ones who appeared to be traditionally evil in the story are "those who took it upon themselves to make you happy... at a time when you both considered yourselves the unhappiest creatures in the world." This is real magic.
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I would agree with your post. At first the tale did seem to lack magic, which is probably due to the literary element and sophisticated detail. But there is this magical transformation that allows the King to inherent total happiness. Now that sounds like a fairytale. This transformation is crucial to the King's role in the tale. Making the Queen a rose-colored donkey also follows the traditional image of romanticism displayed in fairytales. In tne end, the couple is happy to have one another, even without royalty. Now that's a real fairytale for ya.
ReplyDeleteThe story is especially intriguing because although it is seemingly a satire of the fairy tale genre, ultimately it carves itself a niche within the genre. In the end, "true love" conquers all and the soul mates are reunited, all through the help of fairies. The majority of the story pokes fun at fairy tale conventions, but the "fairy tale" moral at then end cements the story as a true fairy tale. It pokes fun at the genre, but ultimately lives up to the expectations of fairy tales as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI disagree a little bit. I think from the start magic was an element in the tale because the King was looking for magical ways of obtaining the Philosopher's stone. He had all the supposed wisemen come and they performed "magic" that really just swindled him. Then of course he and his wife are turned into animals with real magic and as you say, find the real magic of realizing they love each other in another form.
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