KidLit Forum

Context:
The ,,Fair Maria Wood “ is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company) 1885.
Summary:
Once upon a time were a husband and a wife who had one child, a daughter. In one day, the wife felt sick and before dying she said to her husband to marry again because he was still young. She gave him the wedding ring and told him to find a lady to whom it fits well and if he doesn‘t find, then he mustn’t marry.
After the wife‘s death , he sought for someone to please him. He went from one to another but the ring fitted no one. One day he called his daughter and tried the ring on her to see whether it fitted her. Despite the fact that she did not want, her father put the ring on her finger and the ring fitted. After this the father wanted to marry his daughter. Despite the fact that she did not want she consented. The day of the wedding, he asked her what she wanted. She said that she wished four silk dresses, the most beautiful that could be seen. He fulfilled the desire. But the daughter had another wish, a dress made of wood where she could conceal herself. And at once he had this wooden dress made. After that the departure of her husband , she put on her all four dresses and the wooden dress above and went away to a certain river throwing herself into the river. Instead of sinking and drowning, she floated, for the wooden dress kept her up. A gentleman saw her and she said to him that she is a poor girl who have only this dress of wood. The gentleman took her home as his servant. It happened that there were balls at that place which the best ladies and gentlemen attended. The girl wanted to go at the ball. Even if her masters didn’t let her go , she went to the ball ,dressing herself in one of her silk dresses and became the most beautiful woman that was ever seen. At the ball she sat near her master and danced with him. The master fall in love with her. He asked her who she was, and she said she would tell him later. The next night it happened in the same way. The gentleman went to the ball, the couple danced and after that she went home. In the third day he decided to give her a ring and as a sign that she loves him , she is going to receive it. At the usual hour she departed.
After that the gentleman became very ill. The servant heard this and in one day she put the ring in his broth. He began to eat it, when he felt something hard, saw something shine, and took it out. Thinking he is crazy asked her mother about the ring and the girl appeared and told him the whole story. They were married and lived happily ever after until today.
According to Aarne- Thompson is type 510A.
Morphological analysis:

According to Vladimir Propp’s morphology the tale is divided into 31 functions as follows:
• The Initial Situation - The fairy tale starts with a family who has a daughter.
• The Absentations – The main character of this fairy tale leaves her home and becomes servant.
Complicity - The hero must lie her master about her origin.
• Departure
Transference - The hero is taken to a new place. Physically. Emotionally.
• Victory -
• Unrecognised – The master doesn’t recognize the servant.
Recognition -
• Transfiguration - The servant became a beautiful lady.
Punishment - In this fairy tale, we can’ t say that the gentleman was punished. He was ill until Maria appears in front of his eyes.
• The Wedding - They were married and living happily ever after until today.
This story looks like Cinderella. In this story we have orphan girls who at the beginning are bad treated like a servants and than they became ladies due to their patience and their kindness.
The moral of this story is that people should always fight for what they want with a good heart and hard work. Fair Maria Wood is never negative or angry due to how poorly her master treats her and she keeps working hard despite things seeming hopeless.
Bibliography:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/crane010.html
Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale;1828