Contents of
Vol. 15, No. 1 (2001)

Editorial Policy

Guidelines for Submissions

From the Editor

ARTICLES

The Composition of "Jack and the Beanstalk"

Christine Goldberg

Although the folktale "Jack and the Beanstalk" is usually listed under Aarne-Thompson 328, The Boy Steals the Giant's Treasures, other subtypes of AT 328 have no counterpart to the enormous beanstalk. A beanstalk like Jack's appears in several other tale types, including AT 563, The Table, the Ass, and the Stick; and AT 555, The Fisherman and his Wife; and two humorous anecdotes. However, only Jack's beanstalk contributes to a hero's victory over a villain.

Connections that Open Up: Coordination and Causality in Folktales

Joyce Goldenstern

This article explores the use of conjunctions and abverbials in the East Anglican oral tale, "Tom Tit Tot." Specifically, the use and meanings of "well," "and," and "so" are explored, and the absence of the conjunction "because" is considered. Then the differences in coordination between oral and printed tales (specifically several Grimm tales) is commented upon. The author concludes that coordination in tales often marks causality in implicit and ambiguous ways rather than in explicit and precise ways, thus "opening up" the tales, allowing them room for various interpretations and modes of development.

J. R. Planché, Frederick Robson, and the Fairy Extravaganza

Paul Buczkowski

One of the most overlooked playwrights of Victorian Britain, J. R. Planché, worked throughout his career to adapt French fairy romances to the English stage. Despite general success, his greatest triumph came late in his career, when he first worked with Frederick Robson. The latter's capacity to portray a range of emotions allowed Planché to dramatize both the humorous and disturbing elements of Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy's "Le nain jaune" ("The Yellow Dwarf") and Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier de Villandon's "L'adroite princesse" ("The Discreet Princess"). Their collaboration lasted less than four years, but pushed Planché's burlesque art to achievements later critics compared to the work of W. S. Gilbert.

TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

The Yellow Dwarf and the King of the Gold Mines

J. R. Planché

First performed in 1854, this one-act fairy extravaganza by J. R. Planché is rerpinted as an example of this overlooked Victorian genre and Planché's important contribution to the history of the fairy tale.

REVIEWS

CRITICAL EXCHANGES

A Comment on Fertility Control and the Fairy Tale-Heroine

Etienne van de Walle

Reply

Ruth B. Bottigheimer

PROFESSIONAL NOTICES

CONTRIBUTORS