THE COLOURS OF THE SPRINGTIME OF THE EYE

The Tooth Fairy's Country in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather is, for a good reason, similar to toddlers' crayon drawings/paintings. Because it has been created from the minds of toddlers. That is also why Death is powerless there, because toddlers cannot grasp the concept of death.

Hogfather, Terry Pratchett (TV Tropes)

Stock Object Colours: Discussed when Susan and the Oh God of Hangovers end up in the Tooth Fairy's country, which resembles a child's (toddler's) drawing. Susan realises what it is because (among other simplifications) the water in the creek is blue, the fish in the creek are bright orange, the treetrunks are plain brown, and the apples are bright red... even though creeks are usually transparent, freshwater fish are most often silver, treetrunks have a whole range of colors from brown to grey to green, and only some apples are red. But children (ie toddlers) draw brown treetrunks, orange fish, blue water, and red apples, green grass, and a buttercup-yellow sun, because that's what they "know" they're supposed to be. Terry Pratchett calls these Stock Object Colours the colours of the springtime of the eye. The phenomenon occurs because, according to Terry Pratchett, when you are a toddler or young child "everyone tells you grass is green and water is blue."

The Tooth Fairy Country has been created from the minds of young children (toddlers), and looks like a child's (toddler's) painting (think crayons). The sky is bright blue, the ground is bright green (grass sketched with bright green crayons, hills with slightly tremulous contours) the trunks of the trees are all plain brown, all those trees are lollipop-shaped with round blob-shaped tops and slender stick-shaped trunks, all apples on those trees are oversized and bright red, and the river is a block of deep blue liquid (when picking up some of the liquid, Susan realises the "water" is blue instead of transparent) through which orange cartoon fish swim. There are no bushes, neither any other fauna besides those stylized goldfish, and flowers similar to daisies, each one with two leaves, grow dotted across the bright green grass. The Sun is bright buttercup yellow with clearly visible rays. The clouds are all fluffy white cumulus. There are no variations in colour, or hues, or textures; everything is one colour. The sky does not extend as far as the horizon; in between the ground and the sky is an empty void, not occupied by black starry space or anything else. It is easy to see why the criminals hate it so much.

By a bend of the stream is the Tooth Fairy's tower, which on the outside looks like a stock one-family house with white walls and a red shingled roof, a single floor, four windows and a single front door, and gray smoke curling out the chimney like a curlicue or corkscrew. There is always a house like that in a crayon drawing or painting made by a toddler. (On the inside, however, the Tooth Fairy's tower looks way higher and bigger.)

The childlike quality of the Tooth Fairy Country is beginning to affect the criminals, and they begin to revert further into infantile mindsets (fear of Poorly-Lit Pareidolia for Chickenwire, fear of the dark and claustrophobia for Catseye, fear of bullying at boarding school for his feminine-looking curly hair for Sideney, Oedipus complex for the Lilywhite brothers).

It is impossible to die in the Tooth Fairy Country-a little child (toddler) believes that dead people have just "gone away". Therefore, when someone dies, they disappear back to the Discworld. People who die in the Tooth Fairy's castle or tower get teleported away. This is because the place is based on the imagination of children (toddlers), who do not really grasp the concept of death or what happens after you die.

Adaptation Distillation: The adaptation shows all the events as they happen chronologically, even those that Susan (and through her, the readers) does not learn about until almost the very end of the book (most notable are the relation between the Tooth Fairy's realm and children's ie toddlers' crayon drawings, how death is treated in the Tooth Fairy's realm, the outright spelling-out of Teatime's plan for the teeth starting with punching Banjo, and the no-longer-behind-the-scenes nature of Death's decision to impersonate the Hogfather).

The Discworld Wiki has no article for the Tooth Fairy Country but refers to it in the Hogfather article as "a world created by children's imagination." (No reference to Stock Object Colours or the colours of the springtime of the eye!)

Discworld Wiki: Anthropomorphic Personifications article 

The Tooth Fairy lives in an unreal place shaped by the idea of a child's painting. (No reference to Stock Object Colours or the colours of the springtime of the eye!)

Quoting the source material:

Susan slid off, trying to keep her gaze low. That meant she was looking at the vivid blue of the water. There were orange fish in it. They didn't look quite right, as if they'd been created by someone who really did think a fish was two curved lines and a dot and a triangular tail. They reminded her of the skeletal fish in Death's quiet pool. Fish that were... appropriate to their surroundings. And she could see them, even though the water was just a block of colour which part of her insisted ought to be opaque... 

She knelt down and dipped her hand in. It felt like water, but what poured through her fingers was liquid blue. And now she knew where she was. The last piece clicked into place and the knowledge bloomed inside her. She knew if she saw a house just how its windows would be placed, and just how the smoke would come out of the chimney. There would almost certainly be apples on the trees. And they would be red, because everyone knew that apples were red. And the sun was yellow. And the sky was blue. And the grass was green. 

But there was another world, called the real world by the people who believed in it, where the sky could be anything from off-white to sunset red to thunderstorm yellow. And the trees would be anything from bare branches, mere scribbles against the sky, to red flames before the frost. And the sun was white or yellow or orange. And water was brown and grey and green... 

The colours here were springtime colours, and not the springtime of the world. They were the colours of the springtime of the eye. 

'This is a child's painting,' she said.

The oh god slumped onto the green. 'Every time I look at the gap my eyes water,' he mumbled. 'I feel awful.'

'I said this is a child's painting,' said Susan. 'I've seen dozens of pictures of it,' said Susan, ignoring him. 'You put the sky overhead because the sky's above you and when you are a couple of feet high there's not a lot of sideways to the sky in any case. And everyone tells you grass is green and water is blue. This is the landscape you paint. Twyla (a little girl Susan tutors) paints like that. I painted like that. Grandfather (Death, for Susan) saved some of-' She stopped. 'All children do it, anyway,' she muttered. 'Come on, let's find the house.'

'What house?' the oh god moaned. 'And can you speak quieter, please?'

'There'll be a house,' said Susan, standing up. 'There's always a house. With four windows. And the smoke coming out of the chimney all curly like a spring. Look, this is a place like ... Death's country. It's not really geography.' 

The oh god walked over to the nearest tree and banged his head on it as if he hoped it was going to hurt. 'Feels like geo'fy,' he muttered. 

'But have you ever seen a tree like that? A big green blob on a brown stick? It looks like a lollipop!' said Susan, pulling him along. 

'Dunno. Firs' time I ever saw a tree. Arrgh. Somethin' dropped on m'head.' He blinked owlishly at the ground. '

's red.'

'It's an apple,' she said. She sighed. 'Everyone knows apples are red.' There were no bushes. But there were flowers, each with a couple of green leaves. They grew individually, dotted around the rolling green. And then they were out of the trees and there, by a bend in the river, was the house. It didn't look very big. There were four windows and a door. Corkscrew smoke curled out of the chimney. 

'You know, it's a funny thing,' said Susan, staring at it. 'Twyla draws houses like that. And she practically lives in a mansion. I drew houses like that. And I was born in a palace. Why?'

'P'raps it's all this house,' muttered the oh god miserably.

'What? You really think so? Kids' paintings are all of this place? It's in our heads?'

'Don't ask me, I was just making conversation,' said the oh god. 

Susan hesitated. The words What Now? loomed. Should she just go and knock? And she realized that was normal thinking... 

From Zahnturm in the German thediscworld wiki:

Die Welt, in der der Zahnturm steht, sieht wie ein Kindergemälde aus. Die Landschaft besteht aus mit Buntstiften gestricheltem Gras, die Hügel und Berge haben leicht zittrige Umrisse und am Himmel ziehen kringelige Wolken und eine knallgelbe Sonne mit deutlich sichtbarem Strahlenkranz. Im kleinen Bach aus tiefblauem Wasser springen die Fische und an den Bäumen hängen überdimensionale rote Äpfel.

Tor.com

Terry Pratchett Book Club: Hogfather, Part III

Emmet Asher-Perrin

Fri Aug 5, 2022 11:00am

Meanwhile, back at the main plot, Binky takes Susan and the Oh God to Violet’s location which turns out to be a children’s painting complete with a children’s drawing of a house.

Susan and Bilious arrive at the land where Violet is being held, and she finally realizes where this place is: It’s a child’s painting. She wonders why all children seem to draw things exactly like this, and Bilious (whose potion has worn off so that he’s feeling incredibly hungover again) suggests that perhaps children are all painting this place specifically.

Susan goes into the children’s drawing house with Bilious and finds a large mound of teeth on the floor, with a chalk circle indicating where it’s meant to go.

• There’s a fairly large aside to be made here about the psychology of children’s drawings because they really are a fascinating subject that still confuses psychologists, as far as I understand it. It’s being used here as a kind of chicken-or-egg scenario because do children really draw this place, or is it children’s innate understanding of this place that makes it real? But honestly, all I want to do is talk about perspective and how kids decide to make certain objects/subjects gigantic and others not. That would have changed that nature of this place a great deal.

WHY TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN

"Pleasure and action make the hours seem short," says Iago in Shakespeare's Othello. For coming from the mouth of a villain, this is one of the great truths of life. But are there any biochemical reasons why it should be so?

Theory 1: Retrospective Time Perception or Retrospective Timing (Using Brain's Memory Traces)

Writing in the August issue of the Psychologist, Israeli psychologist Dan Zakay explains why a watched pot never boils, why time flies when you’re having fun.

It has to do, says Zakay, with “one of the most important aspects of psychological time” — our imperfect and biased perception of duration.

We perceive time either retrospectively (by using the brain’s memory traces) or prospectively (by using the brain’s attentional mechanisms), and several factors affect each of these very different processes, explains Zakay.

When awareness of time is not important (when we’re reading a good book or enjoying the company of friends, for example), any time-duration estimation of the activity will be retrospective, Zakay says. Research has also shown that the length of our retrospective estimates of time intervals tend to rely on how much information we processed during the interval. The more information we processed (the greater the attentional demands of the experience), the longer we judge the amount of time that passed.

Imagine you try to recall how long a film was, or how much time it took you to type a report. In such cases the interval itself doesn’t exist any more; what is left of it are only memory traces. The outcome is ‘retrospective duration’.

The main model that explains retrospective timing is called the ‘contextual change model’. The idea is that our cognitive system is trying to retrieve from memory all the data we stored there during the target-interval whose duration we are trying to estimate. Retrospective estimation of a past event’s duration is based on the naive assumption that the more data that was stored in memory during an interval, the longer that interval should be. Thus, retrospective estimation of duration assigns longer durations for intervals when the amount of retrieved information is high, than for intervals for whom the amount of respectively retrieved information is low.

The problem is that in reality, during identical clock-time intervals, more or less information can be stored in memory depending on factors other than actual duration itself. One factor is the intensity of information processing in which one is engaged. For example, when one is asked to solve difficult arithmetic problems such as complex multiplication, more data will be stored in memory as compared with a same clock-time interval during which one is asked to perform simple addition problems. The result will be that the retrospective ‘multiplication interval’ will be estimated to be longer than the ‘addition interval’. In a classic study, Ornstein (1975), presented participants with either a simple or a very complex figure (a circle or an irregular polygon, respectively) and asked them to memorise them. Later on the participants were asked to retrospectively estimate the exposure duration of each figure. Though exposure was identical in terms of clock-time, those participants who were exposed to the simple figure estimated exposure duration to be significantly shorter when compared to participants exposed to complex figures:?much less information needed to be stored in memory.

A second factor is the amount of contextual changes occurring during the interval. The reason is that contextual changes (e.g. changes in background noise or level of lighting in room) are encoded and stored in memory alongside any other task-related information. While trying to make a retrospective estimation of duration, contextual changes are retrieved together with other information types, thus compounding the overall amount of retrieved information. Block and Read’s (1978) experiment involved participants engaging in identical information-processing tasks for a fixed interval. Some participants were exposed to changes in room lighting, the other participants were not exposed to any contextual changes. Consequently, the group exposed to change estimated the duration of the target interval as significantly longer than those not exposed.

A third factor refers to the level of segmentation into meaningful sub-intervals. The more an interval is segmented, the longer its retrospective duration estimation will be (Poynter, 1983). Intervals are segmented by high-priority events (HPEs), which attract attention, are stored in memory and are easily retrieved later on. Such HPEs act as cues, facilitating the retrieval of information from memory, thus enabling the retrieval of a larger amount of information leading to longer retrospective duration estimations. Contextual changes are most probably acting as HPEs.

Indeed, Block and Read (1978) suggested that changes in the type of information that should be processed, the context or the mood one experiences during an interval have a high probability of being retrieved, and they concluded that retrospective duration judgement is actually based on the amount of changes of any sort that occurred during the target interval. This is an interesting conclusion because it suggests that the notion of retrospective time is very similar to the notion of physical time: they both reflect change, which might be mental or physical, respectively. The ‘Filled-Time Illusion’ (Wearden et al., 2007), which refers to the common experience that in retrospect intervals filled with intensive mental activity are recalled as longer than same clock-time intervals that were 'empty' of mental activity.

When you recall the duration of a past experience you must rely on your memory of the event – “retrospective timing”. The main psychological model that explains retrospective timing is the “contextual change model”. You estimate the duration of the event by recalling the data stored in your memory of the event. The more data stored, the longer the estimation of the duration of the event.

However, different amounts of information can be stored in memory during identical clock-time intervals, depending on several factors, eg the intensity of the information processing in which one is engaged. The higher the intensity, the longer the duration seems to be. In a classic experiment, participants were asked to memorise either a simple [a circle] or complex figure . Although the clock-time allocated to each task was identical, participants later estimated the duration of memorising the complex shape to be significantly longer than for the simple shape.

Other factors that lengthen retrospective timing estimations are the amount of contextual changes that occur during the interval, or the level of interval segmentation into sub-intervals. These are interpreted by the contextual change model simply as adding to the amount of information stored in memory.

Theory 2: Dopamine

The dopamine clock hypothesis holds that increased dopamine release speeds up an animal’s subjective sense of time—its internal clock. For example, rats treated with amphetamine, which enhances dopamine release, respond earlier than when they are tested without the drug. Curiously, a simple prediction of the dopamine clock hypothesis would seem to be that time doesn’t fly, but rather crawls, when you’re having fun. Unexpectedly pleasurable events boost dopamine release, which should cause your internal clock to run faster. Your subjective sense of time in that case grows faster than time itself, so that short intervals seem longer than they are. The dopamine clock hypothesis accounts for this counterintuitive prediction by an additional assumption about attention: When things are good, attention to time is reduced, such that intervals seem shorter than they are (5).

To clarify the role of dopamine in interval timing, Soares et al. investigated midbrain dopamine neuron activity in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of mice performing a timing task. They presented mice with two brief tones, and trained them to classify the interval between the tones as shorter or longer than a standard criterion. They then observed calcium influx into dopaminergic SNc neurons, which signals activity. Consistent with standard reinforcement learning theory, the authors observed bursts of activity in dopamine-synthesizing neurons that were locked to the second tone, reflecting the probability of an upcoming reward. This probability was greatest when the in-tertone duration was much shorter or much longer than the criterion—i.e., when the duration could be easily discriminated from the intermediate, criterion duration.

Again, in rodents, Paton and his colleagues found that a set of neurons that releases the neurotransmitter dopamine — an important chemical involved in feeling rewarded — impacts how the brain perceives time. When you're having fun, these cells are more active, they release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. When you're not having fun, these cells don't release as much dopamine, and time seems to slow down.

Paton and his colleagues found that a set of neurons that release the neurotransmitter dopamine — an important chemical involved in feeling rewarded — impacts how the brain perceives time. When you're having fun, these cells are more active, they release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. When you're not having fun, these cells don't release as much dopamine, and time seems to slow down.

THE TOOTH FAIRY COUNTRY IN HOGFATHER...

 ...is, for a good reason, similar to toddlers' crayon drawings/paintings. Because it has been created from the minds of toddlers. That is also why Death is powerless there, because toddlers cannot grasp the concept of death.

Hogfather, Terry Pratchett (TV Tropes)

Stock Object Colours: Discussed when Susan and the Oh God of Hangovers end up in the Tooth Fairy's country, which resembles a child's (toddler's) drawing. Susan realises what it is because (among other simplifications) the water in the creek is blue, the fish in the creek are bright orange, the treetrunks are plain brown, and the apples are bright red... even though creeks are usually transparent, freshwater fish are most often silver, treetrunks have a whole range of colors from brown to grey to green, and only some apples are red. But children (ie toddlers) draw brown treetrunks, orange fish, blue water, and red apples, green grass, and a buttercup-yellow sun, because that's what they "know" they're supposed to be. Terry Pratchett calls these Stock Object Colours the colours of the springtime of the eye. The phenomenon occurs because, according to Terry Pratchett, when you are a toddler or young child "everyone tells you grass is green and water is blue."

The Tooth Fairy Country has been created from the minds of young children (toddlers), and looks like a child's (toddler's) painting (think crayons). The sky is bright blue, the ground is bright green (grass sketched with bright green crayons, hills with slightly tremulous contours) the trunks of the trees are all plain brown, all those trees are lollipop-shaped with round blob-shaped tops and slender stick-shaped trunks, all apples on those trees are oversized and bright red, and the river is a block of deep blue liquid (when picking up some of the liquid, Susan realises the "water" is blue instead of transparent) through which orange cartoon fish swim. There are no bushes, neither any other fauna besides those stylized goldfish, and flowers similar to daisies, each one with two leaves, grow dotted across the bright green grass. The Sun is bright buttercup yellow with clearly visible rays. The clouds are all fluffy white cumulus. There are no variations in colour, or hues, or textures; everything is one colour. The sky does not extend as far as the horizon; in between the ground and the sky is an empty void, not occupied by black starry space or anything else. It is easy to see why the criminals hate it so much.

By a bend of the stream is the Tooth Fairy's tower, which on the outside looks like a stock one-family house with white walls and a red shingled roof, a single floor, four windows and a single front door, and gray smoke curling out the chimney like a curlicue or corkscrew. There is always a house like that in a crayon drawing or painting made by a toddler. (On the inside, however, the Tooth Fairy's tower looks way higher and bigger.)

The childlike quality of the Tooth Fairy Country is beginning to affect the criminals, and they begin to revert further into infantile mindsets (fear of Poorly-Lit Pareidolia for Chickenwire, fear of the dark and claustrophobia for Catseye, fear of bullying at boarding school for his feminine-looking curly hair for Sideney, Oedipus complex for the Lilywhite brothers).

It is impossible to die in the Tooth Fairy Country-a little child (toddler) believes that dead people have just "gone away". Therefore, when someone dies, they disappear back to the Discworld. People who die in the Tooth Fairy's castle or tower get teleported away. This is because the place is based on the imagination of children (toddlers), who do not really grasp the concept of death or what happens after you die.

Adaptation Distillation: The adaptation shows all the events as they happen chronologically, even those that Susan (and through her, the readers) does not learn about until almost the very end of the book (most notable are the relation between the Tooth Fairy's realm and children's ie toddlers' crayon drawings, how death is treated in the Tooth Fairy's realm, the outright spelling-out of Teatime's plan for the teeth starting with punching Banjo, and the no-longer-behind-the-scenes nature of Death's decision to impersonate the Hogfather).

The Discworld Wiki has no article for the Tooth Fairy Country but refers to it in the Hogfather article as "a world created by children's imagination." (No reference to Stock Object Colours or the colours of the springtime of the eye!)

Discworld Wiki: Anthropomorphic Personifications article 

The Tooth Fairy lives in an unreal place shaped by the idea of a child's painting. (No reference to Stock Object Colours or the colours of the springtime of the eye!)

Quoting the source material:

Susan slid off, trying to keep her gaze low. That meant she was looking at the vivid blue of the water. There were orange fish in it. They didn't look quite right, as if they'd been created by someone who really did think a fish was two curved lines and a dot and a triangular tail. They reminded her of the skeletal fish in Death's quiet pool. Fish that were... appropriate to their surroundings. And she could see them, even though the water was just a block of colour which part of her insisted ought to be opaque... 

She knelt down and dipped her hand in. It felt like water, but what poured through her fingers was liquid blue. And now she knew where she was. The last piece clicked into place and the knowledge bloomed inside her. She knew if she saw a house just how its windows would be placed, and just how the smoke would come out of the chimney. There would almost certainly be apples on the trees. And they would be red, because everyone knew that apples were red. And the sun was yellow. And the sky was blue. And the grass was green. 

But there was another world, called the real world by the people who believed in it, where the sky could be anything from off-white to sunset red to thunderstorm yellow. And the trees would be anything from bare branches, mere scribbles against the sky, to red flames before the frost. And the sun was white or yellow or orange. And water was brown and grey and green... 

The colours here were springtime colours, and not the springtime of the world. They were the colours of the springtime of the eye. 

'This is a child's painting,' she said.

The oh god slumped onto the green. 'Every time I look at the gap my eyes water,' he mumbled. 'I feel awful.'

'I said this is a child's painting,' said Susan. 'I've seen dozens of pictures of it,' said Susan, ignoring him. 'You put the sky overhead because the sky's above you and when you are a couple of feet high there's not a lot of sideways to the sky in any case. And everyone tells you grass is green and water is blue. This is the landscape you paint. Twyla (a little girl Susan tutors) paints like that. I painted like that. Grandfather (Death, for Susan) saved some of-' She stopped. 'All children do it, anyway,' she muttered. 'Come on, let's find the house.'

'What house?' the oh god moaned. 'And can you speak quieter, please?'

'There'll be a house,' said Susan, standing up. 'There's always a house. With four windows. And the smoke coming out of the chimney all curly like a spring. Look, this is a place like ... Death's country. It's not really geography.' 

The oh god walked over to the nearest tree and banged his head on it as if he hoped it was going to hurt. 'Feels like geo'fy,' he muttered. 

'But have you ever seen a tree like that? A big green blob on a brown stick? It looks like a lollipop!' said Susan, pulling him along. 

'Dunno. Firs' time I ever saw a tree. Arrgh. Somethin' dropped on m'head.' He blinked owlishly at the ground. '

's red.'

'It's an apple,' she said. She sighed. 'Everyone knows apples are red.' There were no bushes. But there were flowers, each with a couple of green leaves. They grew individually, dotted around the rolling green. And then they were out of the trees and there, by a bend in the river, was the house. It didn't look very big. There were four windows and a door. Corkscrew smoke curled out of the chimney. 

'You know, it's a funny thing,' said Susan, staring at it. 'Twyla draws houses like that. And she practically lives in a mansion. I drew houses like that. And I was born in a palace. Why?'

'P'raps it's all this house,' muttered the oh god miserably.

'What? You really think so? Kids' paintings are all of this place? It's in our heads?'

'Don't ask me, I was just making conversation,' said the oh god. 

Susan hesitated. The words What Now? loomed. Should she just go and knock? And she realized that was normal thinking... 

From Zahnturm in the German thediscworld wiki:

Die Welt, in der der Zahnturm steht, sieht wie ein Kindergemälde aus. Die Landschaft besteht aus mit Buntstiften gestricheltem Gras, die Hügel und Berge haben leicht zittrige Umrisse und am Himmel ziehen kringelige Wolken und eine knallgelbe Sonne mit deutlich sichtbarem Strahlenkranz. Im kleinen Bach aus tiefblauem Wasser springen die Fische und an den Bäumen hängen überdimensionale rote Äpfel.

Tor.com

Terry Pratchett Book Club: Hogfather, Part III

Emmet Asher-Perrin

Fri Aug 5, 2022 11:00am

Meanwhile, back at the main plot, Binky takes Susan and the Oh God to Violet’s location which turns out to be a children’s painting complete with a children’s drawing of a house.

Susan and Bilious arrive at the land where Violet is being held, and she finally realizes where this place is: It’s a child’s painting. She wonders why all children seem to draw things exactly like this, and Bilious (whose potion has worn off so that he’s feeling incredibly hungover again) suggests that perhaps children are all painting this place specifically.

Susan goes into the children’s drawing house with Bilious and finds a large mound of teeth on the floor, with a chalk circle indicating where it’s meant to go.

• There’s a fairly large aside to be made here about the psychology of children’s drawings because they really are a fascinating subject that still confuses psychologists, as far as I understand it. It’s being used here as a kind of chicken-or-egg scenario because do children really draw this place, or is it children’s innate understanding of this place that makes it real? But honestly, all I want to do is talk about perspective and how kids decide to make certain objects/subjects gigantic and others not. That would have changed that nature of this place a great deal.

THREE NIGHTS TALES: PSYCHOLOGY

THREE NIGHTS TALES: PSYCHOLOGY

"Eine Suchwanderung führt sie zu Sonne, Mond, und Nachtwind (Nordwind). Sie erhält Rat, verhilft der Ehemann, der seine Frau vergessen hat, auch einer in einen Drachen verwandelten Königstochter, verliert jedoch beide, die mit dem Greif in eines fernes Land fliehen. (Mot. B 42) Die Frau setzt ihre Suchwanderung fort, erfährt von der geplanten Heirat ihres Mannes und erkauft sie mittels ihre von Sonne und Mond erhaltenen Zaubergaben (Sonnenkleid, Goldhuhn mit Küken) Nächte beim Ehemann. Zwar verhindert die Braut durch einen Schlaftrunk die Wiedererkennung, aber ein Diener offenbart dem Königssohn das Komplott. Jener erkennt seine Frau wieder, und beide fliehen auf dem Greif. Die Flucht gelingt dank der dritten von Nachtwind erhaltene Zaubergabe, einer Nuss, die mitten auf dem Meer zu einer Nussbaum wird, auch dem sich der Greif kurz ausruhen kann, bevor er das Heimatland erreicht."

"Der Trommler begibt sich zu seinen Eltern und küsst sie trotz den Warnung des Mädchens auf die rechte Wange (Kuss des Vergessens); das vergangene Geschehen entschwindet ihm dadurch. Die verlassene Braut geht auf die Suche, erkauft bei der neuen Braut gegen Hergabe wunderschöner Kleidung drei Nächte bei ihren Geliebten und kann sich ihm, nachdem der List mit dem Schlaftrunk durchschaut ist, offenbaren. Es folgen Wiedererkennung und Heirat."

Der Grad weiblicher Schönheit ist nicht selten durch Vergleiche bestimmt, wobei eine besondere Affinität zu Gestirnen besteht, die, da zeitenüberdauernd, Gleiches auch für die Kleidung der Heldin signalisieren sollen. Auf diese Weise bezieht das Märchen den Kosmos mit ein und wird universal. Das Sonnen-, Mond-, und Sternenkleid kann sich die Schwanenjungfrau mittels eines Wunschringes verschaffen, nachdem ihr Befreier sie nichtsahnend vergessen hat, um eine andere zu heiraten. Die Signalwirkung dieser Kleider auf die neue Auserwählte ist so stark, dass sie die Kleider gegen das Versprechen tauscht, dass die 'rechte' Braut vor dem Zimmer ihres Geliebten einer Nacht zubringen darf. Trotz der angewandten List des Schlaftrunks siegt die 'wahre' Liebe. Während in Löweneckerchen die neue Braut nach dem Wiederfinden der beiden Geliebten aus dem Blickfeld gerät, folgt hier eine harmonische Ausgang: Sie darf die Kleider behalten und gibt sich damit zufrieden.

Häufig aber nimmt die Szene einen ganz leibhaften Charakter an dadurch, daß sie (die herbeigerufene Frau) ihn (den Held) einschläfert, durch Lausen etwa oder sogar durch einen Schlaftrunk, und es mag von Bedeutung sein, daß diese Schläfe des öfteren draußen, im Garten, in einer Laube, auf einer Wiese, im Walde stattfinden.

In dem Maße, wie in dieser Episode das Geschehen den Anschein der Körperlichkeit annimmt, entschwindet den Erzählern das Empfinden für die Wesensbedingtheit des Ablaufes, und sie verlegen den Antrieb dazu in den Willen des Weibes. Vergessen ist, daß die Verbote im Verhältnis der Naturen des weltseitigen Mannes und des wesenseitigen Weibes begründet sind, und wenn die Frau den Schlafenden, dem Anscheine nach, heimlich verläßt, so kann das nurmehr aus ihrer Willkür, Laune oder Untreue herrühren. Vergessen ist, daß der Mann im hiesigen Dasein ihrer nur als eines erscheinenden Wesens ansichtig werden kann und daß ihr demgemäß die Fähigkeit zu verweilen ganz und gar abgeht. Wo das Verständnis für diesen Hintersinn der Begebenheiten verlorengegangen ist, droht die tradierte Form des Geschehens sich aufzulösen.

Eine andere Art von Zwangsschlaf findet ihren Ausdruck regelmäßig durch einen Schlaftrunk, der verabreicht wird, und zwar in dem Motivzusammenhang der vergessenen Ehefrau des Typs 425 A. Dort hat die junge Frau ein Verbot übertreten, infolgedessen wird der Mann ihr entrückt, und er hat sie vergessen. Am Ende sucht sie sich dem Schlafenden wieder ins Gedächtnis zu rufen durch die nächtliche Schilderung ihrer Suchwanderung oder durch die Anrufung des gemeinsam Erlebten. In den ersten beiden Nächten vernimmt der Mann nichts; denn seine jetzige Braut reicht ihm, nachdem sie der ersten Frau gegen eine Kostbarkeit die Nacht verkauft hat, abends einen Schlaftrunk. Nur die Diener tragen ihm am Morgen eine verworrene Kunde zu von der nächtlich klagenden Frau. Am dritten Abend meidet er den Trunk, vernimmt selbst die Klage, die Erinnerung kehrt ihm zurück, und das Paar hat sich damit wiedergefunden.

Schläferische Taubheit, vernehmendes Wachsein gegenüber den Erinnerungsworten sind in dieser Weise ganz sachlich verknüpft - der Sinn dieses Ablaufs aber scheint doch verborgener zu sein. Mit unwiederbringlichen Kostbarkeiten erkauft sich das junge Weib die Nächte von der zweiten Braut - statt auf eine praktische Weise entweder selbst dem Manne aufzulauern oder ihm in Gestalt von Worten oder Zeichen Kunde von sich zu übermitteln, ein Dienst, den sie ja ebenfalls leicht hätte erkaufen können. Auch sollen es ohnehin die Diener gewesen sein, die ihm den Hinweis auf die Klagende gegeben haben. lhre absonderliche, dem Anscheine nach umständliche oder unzweckmäßige Verfahrensweise muß auch einen sachlichen Grund haben, und der liegt eben darin, daß der Appell an den gemeinen Tagesverstand des Mannes sein Ziel nicht erreichen würde, was in der oben Seite zitierten irischen Fassung auch klar zu Tage liegt. Die Frau muß versuchen, durch die Nacht den Zugang zu seinem auf jeden Fall, ob mit oder ohne Trunk, schlummernden Gedächtnis zu finden, muß suchen, die in umnachtete Tiefe abgesunkene Gemeinsamkeit der Erinnerung wieder ins Tagesbewußtsein zu heben. Indem die zweite Braut, die dämonische Gefährtin in der Entrückung, den Mann absichtlich in Tiefschlaf versenkt, verhilft sie sogar dazu, den sinnvollen Vorsatz der ersten Frau zu verwirklichen. Auch die horchenden Diener könnte man als eine Teilkraft im Helden selbst auffassen, als ein Bild für sein Ahnungsvermögen, insofern sie dem im Tiefschlaf scheinbar gehörlos Versunkenen eine erste ferne Witterung vermitteln von dem, was in ihm aufdämmern will. - In dieser Szenerie wäre daher der durch den Trunk hervorgerufene Zwangsschlaf alles andere als ein Verschluß für das Miterleben, sondern vielmehr ein Zauberschlaf, der gerade zum Aufschließen der verkapselten Erinnerung verhilft.

Sehen wir uns veranlaßt zu behaupten, daß die Suchwanderin notwendigerweise die Verbindung zum Nachtbewußtsein ihres Mannes herzustellen sucht, dann erinnern wir uns daran, daß die Nacht für das Märchengeschehen uberhaupt eine bedeutsame Rolle spielt. Gewiß geht in den Märchen vieles auch unterm Tageshimmel vor, und wir haben schon gesehen, daß dies nicht etwa bedeutet, es verliefe das Geschehen in leibhaft-nüchterner, alltäglicher Weise. Auch im Sonnenschein, gerade auch am hohen Mittag vermag das Geschehen unter den Spiegel des Bewußtseins hinabzutauchen. Aber symbolisch für diese Nachtseite der Natur ist eben auch die Erdennacht, in die das märchenhafte Erzählen manches höchst Wichtige hineinlegt.



"Auf ihrer Suche kommt sie zu einem alten Häuschen mit kleinen dicken Kröten. Die alte Kröte gibt ihr drei Nadeln, drei Nüsse und ein Pflugrad. Damit überwindet sie einen gläsernen Berg, drei schneidende Schwerter und reißendes Wasser und lässt sich im Schloss des Prinzen als Magd anstellen. Sie erhandelt sich von seiner neuen Braut dreimal die Erlaubnis, in seiner Kammer zu schlafen im Tausch gegen die schönen Kleider aus den drei Nüssen. Zweimal erfährt er nur von den Dienern von ihrem nächtlichen Jammern, so dass er beim dritten Mal den Schlaftrunk nicht nimmt und mit ihr flieht. Das Haus mit den Kröten ist zu einem Schloss geworden mit Kindern. Sie heiraten."

Im Märchen macht sich die Prinzessin auf die Suche nach dem verlorenen Geliebten, es ist der Teil des narzißtischen Menschen, der sich auf die Suche nach seiner Liebesfähigkeit macht. Sie nimmt alle Mühen auf sich, scheut keine Gefahr und doch macht ihr Verhalten irgendwie einen kindlichen Eindruck. Wie kann man nur, so möchte man fragen, seine eigene Persönlichkeit so vollkommen aufgeben? Wer tut so etwas? Kleine Kinder! Sie tun einfach alles, um die Liebe der Eltern zu gewinnen, überhaupt Liebe zu gewinnen. Notfalls stellen sie sich selbst und ihre Bedürfnisse zurück, um den Erwartungen der Eltern gerecht zu werden. So bleibt die Prinzessin kindlich, sucht die Abhängigkeit und glaubt, ohne diese nicht leben zu können. In ihrem Verhalten erkennt man eine Form der Abhängigkeit, die nur zu oft verwechselt wird mit reifer, partnerschaftlicher Liebe.

Nur die Frage: „Wer bin ich wirklich?“ führt weiter. Die Suchwanderung der Königstochter ist ein Bild dafür. Die Suche nach sich selbst braucht viel Anstrengung und einen enorm hohen Einsatz. Die Königstochter beginnt ihre Suche erst in der größten Not, oft ist es so, dass Menschen erst zu einer Veränderung bereit sind, wenn es ihnen sehr schlecht geht. So wie es auch ganz deutlich ist bei den Suchterkrankten, erst wenn sie ganz am Boden sind und keine Hilfe mehr ihr Leiden verlängert, dann erst bekommen sie die Chance, in ihrer Not neu zu beginnen, manche ergreifen sie dann. 

Das Märchen zeigt beide Seiten der Medaille: die Königstochter, die alles hingibt, sich veräußert, alle Äußerlichkeiten opfert, um beim Königssohn zu sein. Ihre Trauer ist tief, und ich Treue hat kindlich anhänglichen Charakter. Auf der anderen Seite der Königssohn, betäubt durch Erfolg, Prestige, Macht, Einfluß und die Jagd danach. Alles wird perfektioniert, mit viel Energie erreicht, mit allen möglichen Mitteln erkämpft. Lieben zu erlernen ist da kein erstrebenswertes Ziel, das soll von alleine kommen, in der Form des richtigen Partners.

„Sehnsucht nach Liebe ist Liebe. Und siehe, du bist schon gerettet, wenn du versuchst, der Liebe entgegenzuwandern.“ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Für den Mann gilt es, die verlorene weibliche Seite, die weiche Seite, das Yin zu erlösen. Sie wurde eingesperrt in der Zeit der Verletzung, denn sie war nicht hilfreich. Sie sucht integriert zu werden. Sich positiv abhängig machen zu können, die Fähigkeit zur mitfühlenden, warmherzigen Beziehungsgestaltung, dann muss durch Eroberung und Verführung nicht mehr die „Männlichkeit“ bewiesen werden.
Für die Frau gilt es unabhängig und selbstständig zu sein, ihren Mann zu stehen. Dazu gehört, sich angemessen wehren zu können, eigene Ziele zu verfolgen, selbstsicher und selbstbewußt zu leben. 

Sie erkauft sich dann mit Gegenständen, die sie auf ihrer Suchwanderung bekommen hat, eine Nacht mit ihrem Geliebten. Dieser aber hat einen Schlaftrunk bekommen und hört nicht zu. Sie erzäht dann unter Weinen und unter grösster Verzweiflung, was ihr zugestossen ist, stösst diesen Mann an und sagt: "Hör doch endlich einmal zu. Hör doch!" Er hingegen ist unrührbar, unberührbar und schläft einfach weiter. In diesem Märchen wird eine ungeheure Verzweiflung der Frau angesichts dieser schlafenden Gleichgültigkeit ausgedrückt. Gelöst wird das Problem nur dadurch, dass letzlich dieser schlafender Prinz noch spürt, dass irgend etwas nicht so ist wie sonst. Meistens sagt ihm ein Diener - der eine Seite von ihm verkörpert, die nicht ganz so gleichgültig ist - dass da irgend etwas nicht mit rechten Dingen zugeht. Dadurch, dass er die emotionale Erinnerung an seiner Geliebte wieder mitbekommt, wird er rührbar und berührbar, wird die Gleichgültigkeit aufgehoben, und es kann wieder Beziehung einstehen.
Das Märchengeschehen zeigt den Weg, wie man auch in Beziehungen, in denen nur einer der Partner gleichgültig geworden ist, möglicherweise wieder an die zugewandten, interessierten Gefühle herankommen kann.