I have long preferred the term Wonder Tales to Fairy Tales or Marchen and part of the reason for that is that it combines all the associations of the noun and the verb wonder. The noun comes from old germanic, frisian, norse with a predominant meaning of something that causes astonishment, or that is marvellous. Supernatural or amazing natural forces may often be implied. Meanings almost always include admiration, although in modern usage this can be reversed to convey contempt – as in “gutless wonder” from the film Strictly Ballroom.
Interestingly, the milder connotations of the verb wonder that I had in mind are not listed as within general usage. The roots are the same as the noun, and examples given retain the sense of surprise, astonishment or marvel, whereas I would have also expected to see usage relating to reflecting, mulling over or considering. Which is a shame, as I like the concept that Wonder Tales have the power to evoke those states as well as astonishment.
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Gloss "marvel" and you will find a Latin source word mirari "to wonder at."
ReplyDeleteWonder if "wonder" is not also related to "weird" in days gone by. “Weird” sometimes carries the same contempt in modern usage but in Old English has more to do with the power of nature to connect all things as in “the fates.” Like "occult," maybe “weird” and “wonder” are words that have slid down the steps of good usage to make way for more empirical frames off reference. I just hate it when that happens.
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