Namaeh Farhangistan

Namaeh Farhangistan

The Kinship of Fairy Tales: A Comparative Study of Orange and Bergamot Girl and The Singing Bone

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/nf.2026.489321.1369
Abstract
Because the origins and content of folk and oral literature manifest the collective unconscious of humanity, possessing a history that far predates written narratives, similar and interconnected motifs can be found in literary works across the globe. However, demonstrating the precise nature and extent of these intertextual dependencies is not always straightforward. This research aims to examine the kinship, influences, and interrelations between The Orange and Bergamot Girl (a renowned Iranian folktale) and The Singing Bone from the Brothers Grimm's collection of German fairy tales. A comparative analysis reveals numerous significant commonalities between the two texts. Ultimately, considering Iran's historical role as both a primary origin of narratives and a crucial conduit for the transmission of stories from the East (such as India, China, and Egypt) to the West, this study posits that the German tale may be an adaptation, recreation, or derivative of the Iranian and broader Eastern traditions within the framework of comparative literature.
Keywords
Subjects

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Volume 25, Issue 2 - Serial Number 102
Nemeh Farhangestan (Comparative Literature)
May and June 2026
Pages 97-114

  • Receive Date 18 November 2024
  • Accept Date 26 April 2025