KidLit Forum

Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales - ''An Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve'' by Peter Christen Asbjörnsen

A. Context

-country and language: Norway, Norwegian;
-original collector: Peter Christen Asbjörnsen and Jörgen Moe;
-title of collection, year, place: Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales (Norske Folkeeventyr), 1842, Christiania (now Oslo);
-position among other collectors: first; ''In 1838 Asbjörnsen first made public the results of his investigations, very shyly and timorously, in a little publication for children, called Nor. '' (Gosse 1883: 17);
-number of tales in that collection: 33;
-English translation: H.L. Braekstad, 1883, A.C. Armstrong & Son;
-volume consulted: Folk and Fairy Tales, 7th edition, 1883, P.Ch. Asbjörnsen.

B. Summary

This story is about a lieutenant from Christiania who fell ill right before Christmas. Because of his illness, he can't go home for Christmas. So, he lodges in an old-house in Custom-house street where two old maids take care of him. On the occasion of the Christmas Eve, the two women invite him to celebrate Christmas at their house with their family, old Mother Skau and their nieces and nephews. Because he was so lonely, he accepted the invitation. The Christmas Eve fun part consisted of tale-telling.
When he arrives to Miss Mette and Miss Cicely's house, everybody greets him very friendly and the children ask him to tell them a story. So, the lieutenant decides to tell them the story of the brownie at Henelberg. Then, Aunt Mette tells the story of old Kari Gausdal, the family's cook, who managed to frighten the brownie of their house with a burning log.
After this story, the lieutenant tells them the story of the brownie who danced the Halling dance with the lassie. He is accompanied by the children and Cousin Lizzie who sing and dance. Later on, Mother Skau tells everybody a ''real story'' as she names it herself, not a story with brownies, fairies, and other fantastic creatures. It is the story of a very religious woman, one of Mother Skau's mother best friend. One Christmas Eve, Madame Evensen decided to go to the church on the Christmas Day. But when she arrived at the church, she figured out that she the church was full of phantoms. She gets then very frightened, and runs out of the church. In her rush, she loses her cloack. In the morning, she finds the cloack torn lying on the steps of the church. Everybody gets scared after listening to this story. But soon their fear gets lost when they start to eat all the delicious food they prepared for Christmas.
When the party is over and the lieutenant goes back to his lodge, he can't sleep well all night long. He has nightmares with brownies, and phantoms. However, in the morning he is woken up by Thor, his father's servant, who comes to take him home to his parents.

C. Position in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (ATU)

This story could be classified according to the ATU Index in the following classes: TALES OF MAGIC 300-749, subclass Supernatural Helpers 500-559, RELIGIOUS TALES 750-849, and REALISTIC TALES 850-999.

D. Characters and functions according to Vladimir Propp
''Morphology of folktale'' (1928)

a) Character types (8): hero, villain, princess, her father, the dispatcher, the donor, the magical helper, the false hero.
In this story, I think the lieutenant could be considered the hero, the villain could be his sickness, the donors are the maids who invite him to their Christmas party, and the magical helper could be considered the stories (due to the stories and to the party, he gets better), or Thor who comes to take him home.

b) Functions
According to V.Propp, there are 4 functions/spheres in a story. In ''An Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve'' we may talk about the following functions:

I. Initial situation (context)
Absence - the lieutenant is ill, and he can't go home for Christmas to celebrate with his family
II. The body of the story
Lack - the lieutenant is alone in the lodge in convalescence
III. The donor sequence
Acquisition and guidance - the lieutenant is invited to take part to the maids' party with their family. There, they tell stories, and celebrate Christmas together.
Resolution - the lieutenant feels better, and he has a happy Christmas after all.
IV. The hero's return
Return - the lieutenant returns home with Thor.

E. Similarities

This tale is similar to ''One Thousand and One Nights'' collection of tales, because in ''An Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve'' the characters tell stories to each other. It is the same theme of storytelling and the power of the story.

F. Sources

ASBJÖRNSEN, P.Ch. Folk and Fairy Tales, translated by H.L. Braekstad, 7th edition, e-book, New York: A.C. Armstrong & Son, 1883, p. 1-19.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/browni ... h-folklore
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Asbjornsen-and-Moe

Lazar Andreea-Laura