A sequencia do casamento no conto maravilhoso popular frances

Abstract

In an analysis of 66 standard stories taken as a corpus from the French folktale tradition, the author considers as his working hypothesis the "marriage" as  narrative sequence, and not as one of Propp's functions, and attempts toobserve how this sequence is articulated or changes so as to be integrated without difficulty in different narratives and establish the inventory of elements that this sequence can give rise to or can include. Restricted to the realm of the narrative, without, however, ignoring the importanoe of historic,, psychologic  and sociologic perspectives, the author suggests that the chosen corpus, seenfrom that point of view, is homogenous. The marriage is studied, in the first place, as an act of communication, bringing forth its constituent elements: subjects, objects, narrative programs; the attribution, the renunciation, the reflexive action; with the introduction of the transitive action, ths new subjects  corresponding to them, the opposition giver/receiver, and the forms of transference: the gift (attribution/renunciation), the theft (appropriation/loss), the xchange (simultaneous giving), the thing found. Next is analyzed the sequence   of the marriage as a performance, or rather, the marriage as a goal (objective) f the narrative. The performance (major feat) presupposes competenc y inthe modes wanting to do, knowing to do, being able to do (desiring to marry,having to marry, being able to marry). And the oppositions rich/poor; elevated/humble. At other times, the popular story appears to suggest a type ofparticipatory communication. Marriage is also seen as competency, whetheras a modality of power or as one of desire. Marriage is frequently used as anagent for a transformation on the socio-economic level. The marriage constitutesthe capacity to ascend to wealth and to elevated status. Finally, the author offers considerations about the relations between ritual and narrative, performance and competence, comparing the initiatory cursus with the organizationof the narrative. He attempts to study the function of knowledge, distributingknowledge individually among the personages, and establishing distinct narrativedimensions. The separation of being and appearing permits us to obtain, the secret, the lie and the false. There is examined the role of the substitutions and of the metamorphos es. It is seen that "marriage" and "liberation" are substitutable in the two narrative functions of competence and performance.