In the fairytale Fitcher’s Bird, a sorcerer disguises himself as an old beggar and kidnaps beautiful girls. One day, the sorcerer discovers a house with a man who has three beautiful daughters. After kidnapping the eldest daughter, the sorcerer tests her fidelity and obedience by handing her an egg and a set of keys. The daughter is allowed to explore the house, but she is forbidden to enter one room of the house or lose the egg. The eldest daughter succumbs to her curiosity and enters the room that she is prohibited from.
In this room she discovers a bloody basin filled with dead people, and in her surprise she drops the egg into the blood. The sorcerer soon learns of the first daughter’s disobedience and murders her in the room. The second daughter is then kidnapped by the sorcerer and suffers a similar fate. However, when the third and youngest daughter is kidnapped, she uses her smarts to break the pattern and put the egg in a safe place before entering the forbidden chamber. In the chamber, the youngest daughter exhibits remembrance and rescues her sisters.
She eventually is able to trick the sorcerer into bringing her sisters back home while she disguises herself as a bird and is able to escape from the sorcerer’s house, where he sorcerer and his friends are burned to death. Throughout the fairytale, many different symbols and themes arise. From the use of disguise to the fate of the sorcerer, various messages are presented to the audience by the fairytale. In order to interpret the principle message of Fitcher’s Bird, an analysis of the symbols and themes, in addition to an analysis of the structure of the fairytale, is necessary.
The fairytale’s plotline follows the basic structural framework of a fairytale with a female protagonist and is a story about deliverance or salvation. The protagonist, ho is the youngest of 3 daughters, is set apart from her 2 elder sisters by her cleverness. Like many stories with female protagonists, there is originally imbalance within the family; no mention of a mother or any brothers is present at the beginning. While the sorcerer also kidnaps the two older sisters, the protagonist breaks the pattern of death by acting differently than her older sisters.
First, the protagonist puts the egg away for safekeeping before entering the forbidden chamber. Second, the protagonist does not Just see dead bodies in the chamber but is able to recognize and remember the bodies of her sisters. By engaging in the unpleasant task of working towards putting her sisters back together, the protagonist is rewarded by the magical realm and is able to save her sisters. In this aspect, the element of rebirth in the fairytale occurs.
Lastly, in terms of a structural standpoint, as the third daughter is the third to be kidnapped and she is able to break the pattern, it can be stated that the protagonist’s actions are representative of the saying “the third time is the charm,” which is quite popular in magical stories. Symbolically, many of the objects in Fitcher’s Bird have very important meanings. One of these symbols includes the egg that the sorcerer gives the girls and asks them to protect. As the egg is geometrically round in nature, it can be seen as a magical and important object.
Additionally, the egg is fragile and represents life. By giving the girls the egg and telling them to protect it, in a sense, the sorcerer is telling the girls tnat IT tney oon’t Keep tne egg sate, It could cost tnem tnelr IITe. I ne Key to tne forbidden room that the sorcerer gives to the girls is another symbol, which is masculine and represents the sorcerer’s secrets. While the house contains rooms of old and silver, all of this luxury conceals the chamber where the sorcerer has chopped multiple women into different pieces.
The key to the forbidden room unlocks these secrets and reveals the true nature of the house. Another symbol in Fitcher’s Bird is the use of a bird as a disguise. Traditionally, birds are seen to represent freedom since they have the ability to fly around the world. By disguising herself as a bird, the protagonist is able to achieve her freedom and escape from the sorcerer’s home. The end fate of the sorcerer??”burning to death??”can also be seen as a symbol of purification and how ultimately good triumphs over evil.
Themes present in Fitcher’s Bird include the idea that not everything is what it seems and the differences between appearance and reality. This idea is first presented when the sorcerer disguises himself as an old beggar. While on the outside the sorcerer seems perfectly harmless and deserving of help, in actuality he is a cold-blooded serial killer. Examples of other facades include the sorcerer’s house, the basket of the sisters in lieu of the basket of gold, the fake skull-bride, and the bird disguise. Through using disguises and facades, the sorcerer is able to kidnap women nd lure them in his house to their deaths.
Conversely, through the same tactics, the protagonist is able to rescue her sisters and obtain her freedom. Another theme presented in Fitcher’s Bird regards the importance of remembrance and hard work. When the youngest sister entered the forbidden room, it would have been easy for her to forget about her older sisters in shock. However, the protagonist demonstrates the ability to remember her family and loved ones and put the work into taking care of them. The idea of looking out for one’s family is very important and essential to society.
Through a substantial analysis and interpretation of the fairytale’s structure, symbols, and themes, the principle message of Fitcher’s Bird is made clear. In many fairytales there exists the unlikely hero. Similarly to the unlikely hero, there can be the unlikely villain, the unlikely house, or even the unlikely bird. Had the three sisters not given bread to the seemingly helpless beggar, they could have avoided the whole situation altogether. Additionally, had the sorcerer looked past the fapde of the contents of the basket or the disguise of the bird, he could have prevented the three isters from escaping.
In this way it is made common wisdom that not everything is what it seems. By exercising her virtues such as observance and cleverness, the protagonist is able to turn the tables from being fooled by the sorcerer to fooling the sorcerer. Ultimately, as the original purpose of fairytales in society was to educate children on the basic concepts of morality and introduce them to the ways of the world, the principle message in Fitcher’s Bird warns children against making quick judgments based on appearance and advises them to be aware and observant of their surroundings.
