The Forbidden Love in Nature. Analysis of the “Animal Wife” Folktale in Terms of Content Level, Structural Level, and Semantic Level
The Forbidden Love in Nature. Analysis of the “Animal Wife” Folktale in Terms of Content Level, Structural Level, and Semantic Level

Summary/Abstract: This study attempts to analyze exemplified tales according to threelevels: the content level, the structural level, and the semantic level. The content analysis of the thread of exemplified tales helps us realize the interconnection with their plots and tensions. The structural analysis of this interconnection shows the typological pattern, which describes the constituent structural elements of the example tales. The semantic analysis of that typological pattern explains to us the apex of that tale, which represents what narrators aim to dramatize and, moreover, what audiences look for to in the example tales. The following analyses show dissimilarities of the apex among the exemplified tales. The apex pattern Unknown – Known of a Japanese “Frog Wife” tale can show the shift of awareness of the wife’s animal origin. In contrast, the apex pattern Constraint – Unconstraint of other exemplified tales can reveal the shift of circumstances related to the couple. Even though an animal wife is recounted, the apex pattern varies depending on different culture areas. Therefore, the semantic analysis of that apex pattern can help us better understand the constituent theme of exemplified tales. To deeply interpret the constituent theme of the Japanese “Animal Wife” folktale in terms of the culture-context is the next task for this study.

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