On <em>Original Bavarian Folktales</em> by Franz Xaver von Schöwerth, translated by M. Charlotte Worth; and <em>The Turnip Princess, and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales</em>, by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, translated by Erika Eichenseer

Abstract

Storytelling, Self, Society, Vol. 15, No. 2 (2019), pp. 270–275. Copyright © 2020 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI 48201 B O O K R E V I E W S On Original Bavarian Folktales by Franz Xaver von Schöwerth, translated by M. Charlotte Wolf; and The Turnip Princess, and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales, by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, translated by Erika Eichenseer Csenge Virág Zalka Original Bavarian Folktales: A Schönwerth Selection / Original Bayerische volksmärchen, ausgewählte Schönwerth-geschichten by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, translated by M. Charlotte Wolf, 2014. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 31 East Second Street, Mineola, NY 11501. Pp. xxxiii + 285. ISBN: 9780486499918. Paperback, $16.95. The Turnip Princess, and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, edited by Erika Eichenseer, translated by Maria Tatar, 2015. New York: Penguin Books, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Pp. xx + 264. ISBN: 9780143107422. Paperback, $17. Zalka n 271 O nMarch5,2012,VictoriaSussens-MessererpublishedanarticleinTheGuardian titled “Five Hundred New Fairytales Discovered in Germany.” It immediately went viral and has stayed in circulation ever since; at the time of this review’s writing it was close to being shared 250,000 times (not counting all the secondary articles and blog posts), which is not a negligible number for folktale-related news in contemporary media. English-speaking readers and storytellers, discovering Schönwerth’sworkforthefirsttime,eagerlyawaitedthetranslationofthismagical collection of tales. The first batch was published in 2014 in a dual-language edition translated by M. Charlotte Wolf; the second, more high-profile, edition came in January 2015, containing the translations and comments of fairy tale expert Maria Tatar. It stands to reason to review these two volumes side by side. There is a difference in the types of tales the editors chose to include. Original Bavarian Folktales contains stories that appeared in the three-volume collection titled Aus der Oberpfalz: Sitten und Sagen (1857–1859), published by Schönwerth himself. Most of these are local legends and folk beliefs, shorter stories that deal with supernatural creatures, witchcraft, life, death, and the Devil. The Turnip Princess, on the other hand, mostly contains fairy tales “newly discovered” among Schönwerth’s unpublished records by Erika Eichenseer. Compiled in the wake of the popular Guardian article and Eichenseer’s German-language collection Prinz Roẞzwifl (Regensburg: Dr. Peter Morsbach Verlag, 2010) published for the one hundredth anniversary of Schönwerth’s birth, this volume chose to highlight “classic” fairy tales and longer, more complex narratives. Reading online reviews and commentaries on both books causes one to observe that people seeking the promised enchantment in the English editions took to The Turnip Princess more easily than to the decidedly darker tone of Wolf’s translation. Part of this might be due to the organizing principles of the two volumes. Original Bavarian Folktales follows the themes around which Schönwerth arranged his own collection—this comes with the unfortunate side effect of motherhood-related beliefs and legends taking first place right after the introduction. While doubtless fascinating, these stories are definitely very far from the morals and sentiments of most modern audiences; for example, the very first tale we encounter is one about a spinster being brutally punished for never wanting children. Infanticide, evil women, and love sorcery dominate for quite a few chapters before one enters the realm of benevolent supernatural creatures. Love, marriage, and motherhood are followed by ghosts and premonitions, and then witches and their familiars, before nature comes into focus (starting 272 n On Original Bavarian Folktales and The Turnip Princess at the fifty-ninth tale). Some readers have found this off-putting, and a few have even given up before they arrived to the truly enchanting, endearing tales in the second half of the book. In comparison, The Turnip Princess, compiled by Eichenseer, opens with the stories that follow the classic fairy tale pattern the closest: “Tales of Magic and Romance.” Interestingly, the eponymous opening tale of the volume is at the same time the least coherent and most confusing, but it is immediately followed by a series of truly wonderful stories that bring all the magic, wonder, and uniqueness one...