Our foremost theorist of myth, fairytales, and folktales
explores the magical realm of the imagination where carpets fly,
objects speak, dreams reveal hidden truths, and genies grant
prophetic wishes. "Stranger Magic" examines the wondrous tales of
the "Arabian Nights, " their profound impact on the West, and the
progressive exoticization of magic since the eighteenth century,
when the first European translations appeared.
The "Nights" seized European readers' imaginations during the
siecle des Lumieres, inspiring imitations, spoofs, turqueries,
extravaganzas, pantomimes, and mauresque tastes in dress and
furniture. Writers from Voltaire to Goethe to Borges, filmmakers
from Raoul Walsh on, and countless authors of children's books have
adapted its stories. What gives these tales their enduring power to
bring pleasure to readers and audiences? Their appeal, Marina
Warner suggests, lies in how the stories' magic stimulates the
creative activity of the imagination. Their popularity during the
Enlightenment was no accident: dreams, projections, and fantasies
are essential to making the leap beyond the frontiers of accepted
knowledge into new scientific and literary spheres. The magical
tradition, so long disavowed by Western rationality, underlies
modernity's most characteristic developments, including the charmed
states of brand-name luxury goods, paper money, and psychoanalytic
dream interpretation.
In Warner's hands, the "Nights" reveal the underappreciated
cultural exchanges between East and West, Islam and Christianity,
and cast light on the magical underpinnings of contemporary
experience, where mythical principles, as distinct from religious
belief, enjoy growing acceptance. These tales meet the need for
enchantment, in the safe guise of oriental costume.
General
Imprint: |
The Belknap Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
October 2013 |
First published: |
November 2013 |
Authors: |
Marina Warner
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 156 x 37mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
560 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-72585-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Earth & environment >
Geography >
General
|
LSN: |
0-674-72585-9 |
Barcode: |
9780674725850 |
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