Laura
Registered User
(9/9/01 7:06:26 pm)
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is this a class?
I must say I'm curious -- is this board on a class syllabus? There've been several "three"-themed questions of late, and it seemed unusual.
I'm not sure what you mean by only talking about 2 of them. Most tales I can think of either mention all siblings about equally or focus on one protagonist. As for the youngest, on on of the other three threads there's a comment on the idea that the older siblings represent the child's feeling of inferiority to more accomplished parents. That's a very psychoanalytic approach. To be very basic, these tales originated long ago, when families tended to have many children. Naturally, the youngest were the most likely to be listeners (someone correct me if I'm wrong -- this is all just an intuitive leap). Having a young protagonist gives the audience an underdog to root for and identify with.
Laura Scheuer
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