Elves instill an encompassing fear on humans. Whether it be giving an explicit fear through practices of control and nightmare or an implicit fear through practices of gift giving and non-threatening power demonstration, elves produce multiple degrees of fear into the inferior, unfortunate humans.
Elves use multiple methods to make themselves feared explicitly. Some methods found in folktales include: task requests (cf. The Godmother, Elfin Woman in Childbirth), physical control (cf. Hild Queen of the Elves), and mental control (cf. Albtraum).
When elves encounter a problem they cannot solve and humans can, they directly go to humans and force them to oblige. In “The Godmother,” a poor servant one day received a letter from an elf requesting …show more content…
A wichtelnmanner is an ambiguous creature whose origins are unknown. However, in the English translation, it is considered to be a “house elf” (Sfetcu). The shoemaker was on the brink of bankruptcy when two house elves ‘saved’ his shoe business. The elves took the shoemaker’s supplies and crafted brilliant shoes while he was unaware. The house elves knew their work would be highly appreciated by humans, so they continued making leather shoes for the shoemaker. This was a clever act from the elves, for from the shoemaker’s perspective, the elves were doing this good deed merely as an act of kindness. The elves however, secretly did this in hope of gaining something invaluable - freedom. The shoemaker naturally got curious one night to see whom he can credit his business to, and that is when he saw two naked house elves. The shoemaker then thought about a way to repay the elves for their generosity and decided he could provide them clothing. The elves accepted this gift and never returned, for they were then free. The elves were very witty creatures- they knew humans are sensitive and proper people who will inevitably seek out a way to thank a creature that provided him with a new life. Thus, although the elves are viewed as nonthreatening creatures, they still had the power to manipulate a human to achieve their goal. This manipulation is what leads to them being …show more content…
In these two stories, a human has to resist temptation in the hopes of acquiring something even better. The elves are effectively enforcing a fear in the humans by making humans think they are receiving a gift when in fact it is actually a trick. Also humans face the dilemma of deciding when to accept a gift (cf. Gundarsson rules), so this uncertainty adds to the already existing
Elves use multiple methods to make themselves feared explicitly. Some methods found in folktales include: task requests (cf. The Godmother, Elfin Woman in Childbirth), physical control (cf. Hild Queen of the Elves), and mental control (cf. Albtraum).
When elves encounter a problem they cannot solve and humans can, they directly go to humans and force them to oblige. In “The Godmother,” a poor servant one day received a letter from an elf requesting …show more content…
A wichtelnmanner is an ambiguous creature whose origins are unknown. However, in the English translation, it is considered to be a “house elf” (Sfetcu). The shoemaker was on the brink of bankruptcy when two house elves ‘saved’ his shoe business. The elves took the shoemaker’s supplies and crafted brilliant shoes while he was unaware. The house elves knew their work would be highly appreciated by humans, so they continued making leather shoes for the shoemaker. This was a clever act from the elves, for from the shoemaker’s perspective, the elves were doing this good deed merely as an act of kindness. The elves however, secretly did this in hope of gaining something invaluable - freedom. The shoemaker naturally got curious one night to see whom he can credit his business to, and that is when he saw two naked house elves. The shoemaker then thought about a way to repay the elves for their generosity and decided he could provide them clothing. The elves accepted this gift and never returned, for they were then free. The elves were very witty creatures- they knew humans are sensitive and proper people who will inevitably seek out a way to thank a creature that provided him with a new life. Thus, although the elves are viewed as nonthreatening creatures, they still had the power to manipulate a human to achieve their goal. This manipulation is what leads to them being …show more content…
In these two stories, a human has to resist temptation in the hopes of acquiring something even better. The elves are effectively enforcing a fear in the humans by making humans think they are receiving a gift when in fact it is actually a trick. Also humans face the dilemma of deciding when to accept a gift (cf. Gundarsson rules), so this uncertainty adds to the already existing