Morphology of the Folktale

Methodology and Conclusions

In his seminal work, Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp approaches the fairy tale as a living organism, whose inner laws obey a strict sequence of actions. His research methodology is akin to that of a jeweler: he carefully disassembles Russian fairy tales into their smallest elements, identifying the unchanging functions of characters and events. Propp introduces the concept of the "function" as the basic structural unit, invariably repeated across different plots, and arranges them in a coherent chain, like notes in a musical score. He demonstrates that despite outward diversity, all tales follow a single morphological law, where the sequence of functions remains unchanged, and variation is achieved only through changes in characters and circumstances. In his conclusions, Propp asserts that the fairy tale possesses a deep structure, universal and independent of time, and that its morphology opens the way to the scientific analysis of folklore texts, allowing us to see behind the colorful fabric of storytelling a strict and harmonious order.