The stories my mother told me : A comparative study of the folktales of Palmi in the context of the European oral tradition

Aims
The aim of this thesis is to record and preserve folktales from the oral tradition of the town of Palmi in Calabria, Southern Italy. It examines how the tales were the product of the time, place and culture from which they originated and how they reflected and transmitted the values and beliefs of that particular culture. It takes what has only ever existed in the oral tradition and transposes it into written text in the dialect of Palmi, which is then translated into English. It also seeks to place the stories within the broader context of the European Folktale Tradition.

Scope
The thesis examines stories from the oral tradition of the family of Mrs Carmela Speranza which were told to her by her father. It does not attempt to document the wider oral traditions of the town of Palmi, rather concentrating on the stories that were told within this one family.
Reference is made to other collections of Italian folktales taken from the oral tradition, including the works of writers such as Italo Calvino. Attention is also given to collections of folktales taken specifically from the Calabrian region, in particular the works of Letterio Di Francia and Raffaele Lombardi Satriani.

The thesis further attempts to examine Mrs Speranza’s stories within the conventions of folktale analysis and to show through this that they belong to the broader European Folktale Tradition.

Conclusions
The thesis concludes that the folktales told by Mrs Speranza are drawn from the oral tradition. They reflect the values and customs of the society from which they came and reveal universal truths about the human condition. The thesis also concludes that the stories can be justifiably placed within the broader context of the European Folktale Tradition as they contain the essential elements of these types of tales, complying, for example, with Olrik’s ‘Epic Laws of Folk Narrative’ and Bascom’s ‘Four Functions of Folklore.’ The stories also contain the style, composition, themes and structures which Luthi has identified as hallmarks of the European folktale.