From Folktales to Fiction: Orphan Characters in Children's Literature

Library Trends, Wntr, 1999 by Melanie A. Kimball

In other stories, the danger is supernatural: either an evil sorcerer or witch (Foni and Fotia; Julio; Quick-Witted; Old Verlooka; and John and Mary), a monster (Qalutaligssuaq), or a bad spirit (The Skull). Less often it is the orphan's loneliness or extreme poverty that causes problems (The Orphan and the Leper; Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle; The Strongest Boy in the World; and Dick Whittington). The character becomes so overwhelmed by his situation that he wants to give up, perhaps even commit suicide.

SURMOUNTING OBSTACLES

Because orphans are without the natural protection of family, they must stand on their own to conquer their problems. As is common in folktales, assistance is always provided at the crucial moment and is often rendered by supernatural means in the form of magical human beings, talking animals, or enchanted inanimate objects. Luthi (1982) notes that, infolktales, such magical assistance is accepted without remark by the hero or heroine. No expression of astonishment is made when animals begin to talk, sorcerers appear, or ordinary objects run amok. These are simply taken for granted in the world of the folktale.

Supernatural assistance comes in many guises. Magic animals provide assistance for many characters (Yeh-Hsien; Khavroshechka; The Poor Turkey Girl; King Zargand's Daughter, Kenzuko Sudden Wealthy; and Yukiko and the Little Black Cat). Supernatural helpers can also come in the form of spirits disguised as mortals (The Prince and the Orphan; King Zargand's Daughter and Julio). The gods provide another means to help orphans (The Angekkok; Kautaluk; The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dogs; The First Tears; The Legend of The Chingolo Bird; and The Girl in the Moon). A very powerful supernatural ally is the spirit of the dead mother. When, In The Market of the Dead, the twin boys go to the underworld and tell their mother about their stepmother's cruelty, she gives them a poison palm nut which kills the stepmother after she eats it. Still other supernatural assistance takes inanimate form (Spindle, Shuttle and Needle; Mannikin Spanalong; and Old Verlooka) .

Supernatural help is not the only way that orphans surmount barriers. Sometimes the orphan uses his wits to outsmart his opponents (The Dragon; Sliced In Two; Qalutaligssuaq; Johnny and the Witch Maidens; Quick-Witted; Hans and His Master; and The Jurga). Some orphans prosper because of their virtue and kindness to others (The Prince and the Orphan; The Magic Drum; and Julio). Wend'Yamba is unfailingly good to his foster family even when they treat him badly. At the end of the story, he becomes a king:

   My countrymen, when our king died, you sent me out into the world, as is
   our custom, to comb even the smallest village in order to find a truly
   virtuous young man to be our next king. I found this young man. He is an
   orphan.... His patience is equaled only by his kind heart, and his heart is
   that of a king. (Guirma, 1971, p. 67)

Other orphans are hardworking, industrious, or brave (Dick Whittington; Mannikin Spanalong; and The Skull). In some cases this virtue is not explicitly stated but is observable as the orphan endures abuse without complaint (Yeh-Hsien; Khavroshechka; Little Berry; and The Wooden Bowl). Finally, some characters are assisted by means other than the supernatural, wits, or virtue. Bhikkhu Sok (The Story of Bhikkhu Sok) is rescued by various kindly people as he runs from the murderous villagers who killed his family, and Sehou in The Orphan and the Leper is encouraged by the faith of a leper. In order to punish Tosuke for his greed (Ooka and Tosuke's Tax), Ooka, the wise judge, orders him to open his home to orphans who have lost their orphanage in a storm. Basia Gittel's Obsession With Clothes leads her to wrongly punish her orphaned relative. When Basia is on her deathbed, she asks her husband to marry the orphan girl in order to atone for this abuse.