TY - JOUR
T1 - Vernacular Economics and Stories of Fights
T2 - Finnish Folktales through the Lens of the Civilization Process
AU - Stark, Eija
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Using Norbert Elias's theory of the civilizing process, this article explores Finnish folktales on petty trade and markets collected in the early twentieth century. In folktales, the marketplace as the arena of commercial dealings was understood as a distinct zone with its own code of behavior. It was a public place that differed from the private sphere. As part of folk life, the marketplace required social interaction, which provided both literal and metaphorical spaces especially for masculine performances. One outcome of this performance was aggression. The analysis is based on the exploration of the tale structures where the sequence of events follows the fight tale structure.
AB - Using Norbert Elias's theory of the civilizing process, this article explores Finnish folktales on petty trade and markets collected in the early twentieth century. In folktales, the marketplace as the arena of commercial dealings was understood as a distinct zone with its own code of behavior. It was a public place that differed from the private sphere. As part of folk life, the marketplace required social interaction, which provided both literal and metaphorical spaces especially for masculine performances. One outcome of this performance was aggression. The analysis is based on the exploration of the tale structures where the sequence of events follows the fight tale structure.
KW - folktales
KW - civilization process
KW - Finnish folklore
KW - fight stories
KW - vernacular economics
M3 - Article
SN - 0066-8176
VL - 77
SP - 87
EP - 104
JO - Arv: Nordic Yearbook of Folklore
JF - Arv: Nordic Yearbook of Folklore
ER -