Symbolic Themes in the European Cinderella Cycle

Abstract

What if, instead of setting out to archive the endless variations of fairy tales into fixed types—rendering fragmented, thus meaningless, materials—one tried to bring forth from the given flux its underlying symbolic themes? This paper tentatively applies this approach to Iberian materials of the so-called Cinderella cycle, envisioned in a comparative perspective. By and by, the discussion discloses a dynamic dimension of symbolism hinging on cyclical conceptions of time and being.