Paper short abstract:

The presentation will argue for the study of a largely overlooked area in fairy-tale scholarship: narrative space. It will provide a brief overview of existing research and highlight the importance of narrative space in fairy tales as a potentially distinguishing element of the genre.

Paper long abstract:

Unlike other aspects of the fairy tale such as plot, themes or characters, narrative space has been accorded little scholarly attention. The paucity of literature on this aspect of the genre is perhaps understandable, given the emphasis on time in typical opening formulae and the overall scarcity of information on space. However, this presentation argues that the study of space can shed new light on the genre as its structure and function - especially in terms of the genreʼs central magical/nonmagical divide - distinguishes it from other short prose narrative genres such as legends, folk tales, or cautionary tales. In addition to discussing some of the main traits of fairy-tale space and its relationship to structure and characters, the presentation will also provide a brief overview of existing scholarship on fairy-tale space and propose some of its possible future directions.