Historical Roots of the Wondertale

Nearly seven decades after the English translation of Morphology of the Folktale, one of the most influential scholarly books on folklore, its sequel is finally available in an official English translation, completing the enterprise that occupied much of Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp’s life. In Morphology of the Folktale, Propp approached these narratives synchronically, using structural analysis to identify the wondertale’s minimal units and deep structure. In Historical Roots of the Wondertale, he broadens and deepens his analysis, comparing folktale structures and content to rituals and customs of aboriginal societies from around the world and with people who were the first to envision religion and myth. Relying on both structural and historical-comparative methods, Propp sees the roots of the wondertale in rituals from earlier stages of human development, whose narratives were repurposed as their tellers settled into agricultural societies and ancient rituals were no longer practiced. With a new introduction, conclusion, translators’ notes, and a full bibliography, Historical Roots of the Wondertale complements and expands upon the Morphology, completing Propp’s search for the origins of wondertales, myths, and religious practices.

Author Biography

Miriam Shrager is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures at Indiana University. Her recent work appears in Slavica, Baltistica, and the Journal of Slavic Linguistics. She is a native Russian speaker. Sibelan Forrester is Professor of Russian at Swarthmore College. She is author, editor, and translator of numerous books about Russian folklore and literature, as well as Russian, Croatian, and Serbian poetry. Russell Scott Valentino is Professor and Chair of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures at Indiana University. He is author of several books about the Russian novel and translator of eight books of literature in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Italian, and Russian.