Analysis of Wallaces Tarrying with the N
Article Analysis Paper
Douglas A. Rist
HST 199K: History of Japan and Korea
Instructor: Jeffer Daykin
Winter 2011
In the article, “The Swan-Maiden Revisited: Religious Significance of 'Divine-Wife' Folktales
with Special Reference to Japan,” Alan L. Miller entreats us to reconsider the tale of the Swan Maiden.
This tale, the motif of which can be found in both the East and the West, revolves around the story of a
human male marrying a supernatural female who later disappears. Miller tells us that the logic of this
motif can be found by delving into its religious meaning and associated religious symbolic structure.1
The Swan Maiden motif was quite popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then they
have virtually disappeared. The tales themselves tended to be lumped with other groups such as animal
spouses or “magic.” Those using Western schema of classification tended to either ignore the tales or
subject them to such a level of atomization that they were no longer categorized as a recognizable
group. Miller finds this odd as the tale is obviously very old and must have been quite popular to have
lasted for as long as it has.2
Past studies on the topic, most of which date to 1958 or before, tended to focus on determining
the historical origins of the tale – rather than on determining what the tale may have meant in a cultural
or religious context. This obsession caused researchers to make jumps based on insufficient evidence
(by today's standards). Rather than telling us what the tale may have meant or symbolized, scholars
instead informed us that the tale originated in either Central Asia or India.3
Today, one may inform one's studies of folklore through inquiries into anthropology or religion.
This was not the case prior to 1958, when such things were kept separate. This kept the researchers
from seeing research that would have assisted greatly in understanding the Swan Maiden tale.4 Miller
1 Alan L. Miller, “The Swan-Maiden Revisited: Religious Significance of 'Divine-Wife' Folktales with Special Reference
to Japan,” Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 46, No. 1 (1987): 56.
2 Miller, 55.
3 Miller, 57.
4 Miller, 58.
Rist 2
informs us that complications arose from the use of the now discredited culture-stage theory of
totemism. Instead of the animal representing a totemistic regression of the human into a baser and more
primitive form, the animal is a sacred being which sanctifies and uplifts the human being. The animal's
status, power and value are superior to that of humans in their ordinary state.5
Another complication arises from the insufficiencies of the Western schema of folktale
classification. By lumping the Swan Maiden with Animal Brides and classifying these as being the
counterpart of the Animal Husband, one conflates the distinct symbols represented by each group by
falsely considering them both to be “Animal Spouses.” Even though both have the theme of a human
married to an animal, there is nothing dangerous or repellent about the female's animal form. It is
sublime. Contrast this to the male animal form (e.g. the Beast in “The Beauty and the Beast”) which is
terrifying and base. Miller ties this to differences in the conceptions of human sexuality with regard to
the male and the female.6
Miller then introduces us to two methodologies which he feels would be useful if applied to
folklore. The first makes use of techniques designed to find meaning via the medium of the individual
human psyche as pioneered by Freud and Jung7. Freudian analysis of folklore fails with the Swan
Maiden as the tale does not subscribe the Freudian system of interfamilial romance with its well known
Oedipus and Electra complexes.8
Miller then asserts that folktales carry religiously significant meanings9. These meanings may
be from a past tradition no longer in practice, or they may reflect the understanding of a dynamic
tradition still in practice today10. Contrasted with Freud, Jungian theory does assist with analyzing this
5
6
7
8
9
10
Miller, 59.
Miller, 62.
Miller, 61.
Miller, 62.
Miller 67.
Some related Swan symbolism: an escort on the journey to heaven, a symbol of religious ecstasy (ecstasis), a symbol of
the breath of the All-god, and a symbol for the metaphysical transcendent aspect of the soul. (Miller, 64)
Rist 3
folktale, as it posits the animal as a mystical being.11 Miller makes the argument that the union of the
mystical animal with the mundane human must be a significant part of the belief structure of people
where the Swan Maiden tale is (or was) told . If this were not the case, such a tale would have no
significance and this element would have faded away.12 Another interesting element is the violation of
the taboo against the miscegenation of the divine with the mundane, which is an underlying component
of these tales.13
The second tool employed by Miller is Structuralism. Structuralism seeks the meaning of
folktales within a collective psychology. It is also more concerned with literary analysis rather than
with some psychological mechanism.14 This form of analysis is derived from the works of Mircea
Eliade and Claude Lévi-Strauss. Eliade developed a method for understanding religious thought and
actions through a dichotomy of the sacred and profane as put forth by Durkheim. While this has been
quite useful with regard to religion, the technique has not been applied to folktales, which Miller
obviously feels to be a mistake.15
The Japanese variation of the myth is probably the most clear. Folktales in Japan circulated
freely among all social strata and the divisions between myth, legend and folktale (which are so
important to the Western researcher) are difficult to apply.16
Japan was made by the gods and inhabited by sacred beings beyond counting. These beings,
called kami, are everywhere and the Japanese believe themselves to exist amidst this throng. The forms
are as varied as their number, but they do include many animals. Some examples would be creatures
such as the fox, the bear, the swan, the carp, the catfish and the snake. This common knowledge of the
the kami, both in animal and non-animal forms, is delineated and reinforced by various folktales and
11
12
13
14
15
16
Miller, 62.
Miller, 63.
Miller, 60.
Miller, 61.
Miller, 66.
Miller, 66.
Rist 4
legends.17
The Swan Maiden motif is very old in Japan. China is the only country in Asia that can lay
claim to having records of tales that are older than those in Japan. The Fudoki (Records of Local
Traditions) dates from the early 8th century AD.18 Its version of the tale is summarized below.
A man sees a flock of swans descend to a lake where they transform into women by removing
their feather cloaks. Struck by the beauty of one of the maidens, the man steals the maiden's cloak so
that she cannot return to heaven. Trapped, she marries the man and they have children. After the
children are born, the woman finds her cloak and returns to heaven, leaving behind her husband and
their children.19
This forms the core of the Swan Maiden motif. Later versions append a quest by the husband to
regain his lost wife. Miller differentiates between the motif and the tale by virtue of the inclusion of
this quest.20
Using structural analysis, the tale is broken down as follows: [1] Lack (of a wife); [2]
Appearance of Mediating Elements (the Heavenly Swan Maidens); [3] The Theft (of the Cloak) & the
Removal of the Lack (by marriage to the trapped maiden); [4] Marriage and Children; [5] Theft
Negated (Cloak returned); [X] Disappearance of Mediating Element (Wife Returns to Heaven); [6]
Lack (of Wife) Reinstituted; [7] Pursuit and Struggle for Mediation (Quest to regain Wife); [Y] Lack
Removed (Wife Recovered); [8] Second Marriage.21
Both the motif and the tale are related by resonating themes. They both deal with the apparent
opposition of Heaven and Earth as represented by the Divine and the Human. The tale, which include
points 7, Y and 8, is strongly reminiscent of various transformation rituals (e.g. a Rite of Passage). The
17
18
19
20
21
Miller, 68.
Miller, 68.
Miller, 68.
Miller, 69.
Miller, 72.
Rist 5
tale element also adds a dimension to the motif which points to apotheosis, or a transformation of the
Human to the Divine.22
Miller tells us that we can find evidence for his view by looking to the various myths and cultic
structures of Northern and Eastern Asia. As similar myths have been told in Siberia, Korea and Japan,
we can view this as support for his assertion. Miller declines to share the Korean versions of these
myths, even in summary. He does, however, inform us that Korea has a strong tradition of Shamanism
with which bird symbolism is associated and that both Korea and Japan have many stories of a divine
or semi-divine couple founding clans, peoples and nations. Japan also has several examples of shaman
priestesses (such as Himiko) and their consort. Miller posits this as symbolizing the divine feminine
and the non-divine male and that these pairings are not surprising as the founder of the Imperial Clan
was Amaterasu.23
As this tale is common in both Europe and Asia, it would be logical to try and reconstruct the
cultic context. This is difficult as there is no clear evidence. One can infer some portion by claiming as
relics various pre-Buddhist statues known as hitogami (man-kami). In the written record, one can
interpret the stories of Susan-o, Jimmu and Yamato-takeru as supporting Miller's claim.24 Several of the
songs in the Kojiki also associate the the symbols of the bird-female, the cosmic weaver and the divine
feminine.25
Miller then brings us back to the tale. It is important to note that the Hero is one who is
necessarily at risk. Both he and his cause are in danger.26 One must also bear in mind that folk heroes
are not very “heroic” in the modern sense of the word. Folk heroes are more interested in winning than
22
23
24
25
26
Miller 72-3.
Miller ,74-5
Miller, 75.
Miller, 78.
Miller, 75.
Rist 6
being “noble.”27 It is interesting that in the Swan Maiden motif and tale, the hero is a thief.28
The assumptions of the Swan Maiden tale show us that the swan maiden is divine and regains
heaven as her natural environment. She is not degraded by her dalliance with a mortal. Neither is the
husband exalted by his association with the divine feminine. He still needs to embark on a quest to
become worthy of heaven. One should also note that this tale does not depict any cosmic struggle of
transpersonal forces. This struggle is not of order vs. chaos, nor is it of good vs. evil. Rather, it is the
struggle between the mortal condition and the heavenly. It is a quest for the attainment of immortality
and divinity. It is the story of the husband's apotheosis is pursuit of his love. It is attained not through
some external agency but by the realization of his own inner power. This power is called tamashii in
Japanese and refers to the concentration of “kami-ness” within a person. Miller points out in support of
this that the husband, despite having ample opportunity, never attempts to gain heaven by donning the
swan maiden's cloak.29
To summarize Miller's points, the symbolic elements of the swan maiden are very old. There is
evidence of a cultic context for the bird and garment association which may have its source in the
aboriginal Siberian shamans. The symbology of the transformative nature of the cloak reinforces the
claim for its origins being with shamanism30. Miller then goes on to claim that these points can be
interpreted as indicative of some great divine feminine creatrix cult whose influence and teachings
were so prevalent that they are still present today under the guise of the Swan Maiden tale.31
27
28
29
30
31
Miller, 76.
Miller, 59.
Miller, 76-7.
Miller, 80.
Miller, 81.
Douglas A. Rist
HST 199K: History of Japan and Korea
Instructor: Jeffer Daykin
Winter 2011
In the article, “The Swan-Maiden Revisited: Religious Significance of 'Divine-Wife' Folktales
with Special Reference to Japan,” Alan L. Miller entreats us to reconsider the tale of the Swan Maiden.
This tale, the motif of which can be found in both the East and the West, revolves around the story of a
human male marrying a supernatural female who later disappears. Miller tells us that the logic of this
motif can be found by delving into its religious meaning and associated religious symbolic structure.1
The Swan Maiden motif was quite popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then they
have virtually disappeared. The tales themselves tended to be lumped with other groups such as animal
spouses or “magic.” Those using Western schema of classification tended to either ignore the tales or
subject them to such a level of atomization that they were no longer categorized as a recognizable
group. Miller finds this odd as the tale is obviously very old and must have been quite popular to have
lasted for as long as it has.2
Past studies on the topic, most of which date to 1958 or before, tended to focus on determining
the historical origins of the tale – rather than on determining what the tale may have meant in a cultural
or religious context. This obsession caused researchers to make jumps based on insufficient evidence
(by today's standards). Rather than telling us what the tale may have meant or symbolized, scholars
instead informed us that the tale originated in either Central Asia or India.3
Today, one may inform one's studies of folklore through inquiries into anthropology or religion.
This was not the case prior to 1958, when such things were kept separate. This kept the researchers
from seeing research that would have assisted greatly in understanding the Swan Maiden tale.4 Miller
1 Alan L. Miller, “The Swan-Maiden Revisited: Religious Significance of 'Divine-Wife' Folktales with Special Reference
to Japan,” Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 46, No. 1 (1987): 56.
2 Miller, 55.
3 Miller, 57.
4 Miller, 58.
Rist 2
informs us that complications arose from the use of the now discredited culture-stage theory of
totemism. Instead of the animal representing a totemistic regression of the human into a baser and more
primitive form, the animal is a sacred being which sanctifies and uplifts the human being. The animal's
status, power and value are superior to that of humans in their ordinary state.5
Another complication arises from the insufficiencies of the Western schema of folktale
classification. By lumping the Swan Maiden with Animal Brides and classifying these as being the
counterpart of the Animal Husband, one conflates the distinct symbols represented by each group by
falsely considering them both to be “Animal Spouses.” Even though both have the theme of a human
married to an animal, there is nothing dangerous or repellent about the female's animal form. It is
sublime. Contrast this to the male animal form (e.g. the Beast in “The Beauty and the Beast”) which is
terrifying and base. Miller ties this to differences in the conceptions of human sexuality with regard to
the male and the female.6
Miller then introduces us to two methodologies which he feels would be useful if applied to
folklore. The first makes use of techniques designed to find meaning via the medium of the individual
human psyche as pioneered by Freud and Jung7. Freudian analysis of folklore fails with the Swan
Maiden as the tale does not subscribe the Freudian system of interfamilial romance with its well known
Oedipus and Electra complexes.8
Miller then asserts that folktales carry religiously significant meanings9. These meanings may
be from a past tradition no longer in practice, or they may reflect the understanding of a dynamic
tradition still in practice today10. Contrasted with Freud, Jungian theory does assist with analyzing this
5
6
7
8
9
10
Miller, 59.
Miller, 62.
Miller, 61.
Miller, 62.
Miller 67.
Some related Swan symbolism: an escort on the journey to heaven, a symbol of religious ecstasy (ecstasis), a symbol of
the breath of the All-god, and a symbol for the metaphysical transcendent aspect of the soul. (Miller, 64)
Rist 3
folktale, as it posits the animal as a mystical being.11 Miller makes the argument that the union of the
mystical animal with the mundane human must be a significant part of the belief structure of people
where the Swan Maiden tale is (or was) told . If this were not the case, such a tale would have no
significance and this element would have faded away.12 Another interesting element is the violation of
the taboo against the miscegenation of the divine with the mundane, which is an underlying component
of these tales.13
The second tool employed by Miller is Structuralism. Structuralism seeks the meaning of
folktales within a collective psychology. It is also more concerned with literary analysis rather than
with some psychological mechanism.14 This form of analysis is derived from the works of Mircea
Eliade and Claude Lévi-Strauss. Eliade developed a method for understanding religious thought and
actions through a dichotomy of the sacred and profane as put forth by Durkheim. While this has been
quite useful with regard to religion, the technique has not been applied to folktales, which Miller
obviously feels to be a mistake.15
The Japanese variation of the myth is probably the most clear. Folktales in Japan circulated
freely among all social strata and the divisions between myth, legend and folktale (which are so
important to the Western researcher) are difficult to apply.16
Japan was made by the gods and inhabited by sacred beings beyond counting. These beings,
called kami, are everywhere and the Japanese believe themselves to exist amidst this throng. The forms
are as varied as their number, but they do include many animals. Some examples would be creatures
such as the fox, the bear, the swan, the carp, the catfish and the snake. This common knowledge of the
the kami, both in animal and non-animal forms, is delineated and reinforced by various folktales and
11
12
13
14
15
16
Miller, 62.
Miller, 63.
Miller, 60.
Miller, 61.
Miller, 66.
Miller, 66.
Rist 4
legends.17
The Swan Maiden motif is very old in Japan. China is the only country in Asia that can lay
claim to having records of tales that are older than those in Japan. The Fudoki (Records of Local
Traditions) dates from the early 8th century AD.18 Its version of the tale is summarized below.
A man sees a flock of swans descend to a lake where they transform into women by removing
their feather cloaks. Struck by the beauty of one of the maidens, the man steals the maiden's cloak so
that she cannot return to heaven. Trapped, she marries the man and they have children. After the
children are born, the woman finds her cloak and returns to heaven, leaving behind her husband and
their children.19
This forms the core of the Swan Maiden motif. Later versions append a quest by the husband to
regain his lost wife. Miller differentiates between the motif and the tale by virtue of the inclusion of
this quest.20
Using structural analysis, the tale is broken down as follows: [1] Lack (of a wife); [2]
Appearance of Mediating Elements (the Heavenly Swan Maidens); [3] The Theft (of the Cloak) & the
Removal of the Lack (by marriage to the trapped maiden); [4] Marriage and Children; [5] Theft
Negated (Cloak returned); [X] Disappearance of Mediating Element (Wife Returns to Heaven); [6]
Lack (of Wife) Reinstituted; [7] Pursuit and Struggle for Mediation (Quest to regain Wife); [Y] Lack
Removed (Wife Recovered); [8] Second Marriage.21
Both the motif and the tale are related by resonating themes. They both deal with the apparent
opposition of Heaven and Earth as represented by the Divine and the Human. The tale, which include
points 7, Y and 8, is strongly reminiscent of various transformation rituals (e.g. a Rite of Passage). The
17
18
19
20
21
Miller, 68.
Miller, 68.
Miller, 68.
Miller, 69.
Miller, 72.
Rist 5
tale element also adds a dimension to the motif which points to apotheosis, or a transformation of the
Human to the Divine.22
Miller tells us that we can find evidence for his view by looking to the various myths and cultic
structures of Northern and Eastern Asia. As similar myths have been told in Siberia, Korea and Japan,
we can view this as support for his assertion. Miller declines to share the Korean versions of these
myths, even in summary. He does, however, inform us that Korea has a strong tradition of Shamanism
with which bird symbolism is associated and that both Korea and Japan have many stories of a divine
or semi-divine couple founding clans, peoples and nations. Japan also has several examples of shaman
priestesses (such as Himiko) and their consort. Miller posits this as symbolizing the divine feminine
and the non-divine male and that these pairings are not surprising as the founder of the Imperial Clan
was Amaterasu.23
As this tale is common in both Europe and Asia, it would be logical to try and reconstruct the
cultic context. This is difficult as there is no clear evidence. One can infer some portion by claiming as
relics various pre-Buddhist statues known as hitogami (man-kami). In the written record, one can
interpret the stories of Susan-o, Jimmu and Yamato-takeru as supporting Miller's claim.24 Several of the
songs in the Kojiki also associate the the symbols of the bird-female, the cosmic weaver and the divine
feminine.25
Miller then brings us back to the tale. It is important to note that the Hero is one who is
necessarily at risk. Both he and his cause are in danger.26 One must also bear in mind that folk heroes
are not very “heroic” in the modern sense of the word. Folk heroes are more interested in winning than
22
23
24
25
26
Miller 72-3.
Miller ,74-5
Miller, 75.
Miller, 78.
Miller, 75.
Rist 6
being “noble.”27 It is interesting that in the Swan Maiden motif and tale, the hero is a thief.28
The assumptions of the Swan Maiden tale show us that the swan maiden is divine and regains
heaven as her natural environment. She is not degraded by her dalliance with a mortal. Neither is the
husband exalted by his association with the divine feminine. He still needs to embark on a quest to
become worthy of heaven. One should also note that this tale does not depict any cosmic struggle of
transpersonal forces. This struggle is not of order vs. chaos, nor is it of good vs. evil. Rather, it is the
struggle between the mortal condition and the heavenly. It is a quest for the attainment of immortality
and divinity. It is the story of the husband's apotheosis is pursuit of his love. It is attained not through
some external agency but by the realization of his own inner power. This power is called tamashii in
Japanese and refers to the concentration of “kami-ness” within a person. Miller points out in support of
this that the husband, despite having ample opportunity, never attempts to gain heaven by donning the
swan maiden's cloak.29
To summarize Miller's points, the symbolic elements of the swan maiden are very old. There is
evidence of a cultic context for the bird and garment association which may have its source in the
aboriginal Siberian shamans. The symbology of the transformative nature of the cloak reinforces the
claim for its origins being with shamanism30. Miller then goes on to claim that these points can be
interpreted as indicative of some great divine feminine creatrix cult whose influence and teachings
were so prevalent that they are still present today under the guise of the Swan Maiden tale.31
27
28
29
30
31
Miller, 76.
Miller, 59.
Miller, 76-7.
Miller, 80.
Miller, 81.