Gathering Stories: Building a Cross-Cultural Folktale Corpus

Research Questions:

What We Aim to Uncover

This study aims to identify and analyze common motifs and moral themes in folktales and fairy tales across diverse cultures. By utilizing data-driven methods, this research seeks to uncover universal patterns that may not be evident through traditional literary analysis and provide a comparative perspective on how storytelling reflects shared cultural values and societal norms across different regions.

Folktale Corpus:

Sourcing Our Stories

The corpus comprises a diverse collection of folktales and fairy tales from various cultures, with a focus on narratives that explore the themes of greed and avarice. These stories have been sourced from reputable online databases, including the University of Pittsburgh's Folktexts and the Yashpeh International Folktale Collection. Additionally, the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature will be employed to identify and categorize relevant motifs within these tales, ensuring a comprehensive and rich selection for analysis.

Acquisition Method

The folktales and fairy tales were acquired by searching key terms such as "greed" and "avarice" within the aforementioned databases. The Motif-Index of Folk-Literature will also be used to systematically categorize and identify motifs related to greed within these stories. This methodology allows for the compilation of culturally representative texts, centered on the themes of greed and avarice.

By employing these resources, the corpus is deliberately curated to provide a solid foundation for analysis of how greed is portrayed across different cultural contexts.

Basic Summary Statistics of the Corpus

The corpus will consist of approximately 200 folktales and fairy tales drawn from a range of global cultures, each focused on themes of greed and avarice. These stories have been sourced from reputable databases, including the University of Pittsburgh's Folktexts and the Yashpeh International Folktale Collection. The tales represent a diverse array of cultural backgrounds, such as Western European, African, and East Asian traditions, with a variety of cultural perspectives on greed. The stories vary in length, ranging from shorter moral fables to longer, more complex narratives. Using the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, numerous motifs related to greed will be identified, including the greedy ruler or wife, the curse of wealth, and the consequences of selfish desires. Common structural patterns across these tales are typical of folktales, featuring a moral lesson about the theme, often culminating in the eventual downfall or subsequent redemption of the central characters. These shared characteristics provide a robust basis for analyzing how different cultures use storytelling to address the consequences of greed, offering both universal themes and culturally specific interpretations.