Contes en réseaux: l’émergence du conte sur la scène littéraire européenne by Patricia Eichel-Lojkine (review)

In her substantial book, Patricia Eichel-Lojkine offers a detailed and well-researched analysis of the Italian tales of Straparola and Basile and of the French tales of Perrault and d’Aulnoy in light of earlier roots, such as medieval romances, Oriental sources, and even Yiddish storylines.

In the introduction the author announces that “once upon more than one time” would be the most suitable expression to qualify the genre (10). Indeed, Contes en réseaux, composed of three parts, proposes to revisit the European tales that we know and to consider their multiple transformations and migrations since their origins. The fairy tale is a developing and migrating genre (42).

The first part of the book with its three chapters is “Rémanences,” in reference to Foucault’s L’archéologie du savoir (1969). Its main purpose is to highlight the cultural interaction between the various versions of the same tale from diverse Western and Eastern traditions, whether Christian or non-Christian. Chapter 1 brings to light these networks between tales, leading to the conclusion that the identity of the written tales results from several factors involving a network of circulation and cultural transfers (43). Eichel-Lojkine states that the tales emanate from a process of multiple transformations and interactions; they exchange their former function to acquire a new one, determined by other literary and sociocultural factors (43). Chapter 2 focuses on how stories became tales. The author points out that even though the Middle Ages did not witness the fairy-tale genre, without the melting pot in which oriental and occidental sources blended, the genre itself would not have existed (66). A multitude of traditions has been woven into the fairy tales to become the literary genre that we know. The last chapter of this part details the works of Straparola and Basile, including the themes, structure, sociocultural context, translations of their works, and their influence on French tales, such as those of d’Aulnoy and Perrault. The “mutation” (167) of the Italian tales with certain “codes” (179) reveals how the transforming dynamic (dynamique transformationnelle) operates to infuse the enchantment, as well as the humor, in the French tales.

The second part of the book, “Enquête sur des chats plus fins que leurs maîtres” (Cases of Cats More Intelligent than Their Masters), is composed of two chapters. It is through a carefully detailed analysis that Eichel-Lojkine studies the three versions of “Puss in Boots” (“Costantino Fortunato” from Straparola, Basile’s “Cagliuso,” and “Maître chat ou le chat botté” by Perrault). In particular, Eichel-Lojkine highlights how the gift exchange is significant in these “rise tales.” The animal is key to these stories because it helps the main character achieve a higher social status. In Straparola’s version the poor young man ends up being the head of the kingdom; in Basile’s, he becomes a gentleman; and in Perrault’s, the former miller is crowned a prince. Eichel-Lojkine notes that the ascension of a feminine character never coincides with an increase of power but only results in a change of social status. Chapter 4 focuses more specifically on the Italian accounts of this ATU 545 tale type—the cat as helper. The individual particularities of both versions are underlined, especially details regarding the role of faith, gift exchange, or even erotic connotations. Chapter 5 is a meticulous exploration of Perrault’s “Puss in Boots” version, revealing its multiple transformations. Eichel-Lojkine takes on the task of unfolding the French tale at its structural, figurative, and symbolic level (224). This approach unveils the tale’s multilayered mutations.

The last and third part, “Enquête à partir d’un cheveu d’or” (Cases from a Golden Hair), is a comprehensive investigation of the ATU 531 tale type—Fair Goldilocks (Faithful Ferdinand). Eichel-Lojkine generates a case study using...