Let me start by admitting that I did not enjoy the Disney Fantasia version of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” when I was a child. (Scary! 😉 ) In fact, the whole young-person-apprentices-with-harsh-master-to-learn-showy-magic storyline isn’t one I’ve felt drawn to. However, I did appreciate the thought and scholarship that went into this week’s book, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales, edited by Jack Zipes. As the title implies, the book is a collection of stories that follow the same pattern as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” with an introduction that puts them into broader cultural context. And by “broader context,” I mean heavy-hitting points like this one:
“Ultimately, in both versions of [Sorcerer’s Apprentice-type tales], magic can be used for liberation only under conditions that allow for the democratic sharing of knowledge. Consequently, if magic is to have ethical and moral value, the struggle for it must become communal and universal.”
zipes, p. 29
Basically, Zipes’ argument is twofold: first, that Sorcerer’s Apprentice stories (officially designated as folklore tale type ATU 325) are consistently popular across times and cultures. He uses stories all the way from Ancient Greece up to Harry Potter to demonstrate this. Second, he argues that these stories reflect the way a culture thinks about power and master/servant relationships.
To support that second point, Zipes arranges the tales into two different categories. One is “humiliated apprentice” stories where the main character, like Mickey, tangles with forces he doesn’t understand and ultimately must be saved (or just dies–life is rough in fairy tale world!). Naturally, the lesson there is “be content with your lot.” The other is “rebellious apprentice” stories where the main character learns enough magic to destroy his evil master or opponent (e.g., Harry Potter facing Voldemort). These stories have a more uplifting message of good triumphing over bad.
As a lifelong fantasy reader, I’m familiar with the “rebellious apprentice” arc. And as a mystery writer (which entails lots of thinking about justice!), I’m all for stories where the downtrodden rise up in unexpected, often noble ways. However–perhaps because it’s Women’s History month, and perhaps because of reading The Heroine With 1,001 Faces recently–in my own opinion, these stories fall flat in one respect. They’re very masculine. Of the 50+ tales in the anthology, most if not all have male heroes. And by no means is that Zipes’ fault! I think it’s simply because of this type of tale. The whole idea of fantastical, esoteric magic and learning through strict obedience and considering oneself a “master” of any subject, magical or otherwise, has been traditionally associated with masculinity. The result is a set of stories that present the world in a dichotomy–good or bad, learned or not, killing the sorcerer or submitting to him–without any hint that there could be other paths. If you read straight through the book, it gets a little monotonous. It left me with questions:
What about a master sorcerer who accepts that he still needs to learn?
Well, then he wouldn’t be in this type of tale.
What about a master/apprentice relationship that doesn’t rely on servitude or impressing the apprentice with impossible feats?
Well, that’d be different too.
What if the apprentice had friends or a community? What if we befriended the sorcerer?
Oh, just stop, now you’re being unrealistic and saccharine . . .
In any case, perhaps you see my point. Maybe writing retold fairy tales has ruined me. 😉 I will say, though, that my favorite tale in the book by far was Edith Nesbit’s “The Magician’s Heart.” It’s of its time too, don’t get me wrong, but there are active female characters and flashes of humor as well.
Overall, my frustration with this type of tale shouldn’t reflect poorly on the anthology. It is painstakingly researched; the introduction–aka the first 80 pages of a 400 page book–touches on many facets of the sorcerer’s apprentice story. It would be well worth it for a student of folklore. For the rest of us, the variety of the tales included is intriguing. If you collect folklore, this book is worth it simply for the organization and unique tales, I think. (It is also nicely typeset and illustrated–though personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the illustrations.) I’ll end with one more quote from the introduction:
Tales about magical transformation will persist as long as voices of resistance to domination and exploitation continue to make themselves heard.
Zipes, P. 77
And that, I think, was the true strength of this book: a clear understanding of how tales of magic reflect real-world beliefs, injustices, and mechanisms of power.
Official Citation (Chicago Style)
Zipes, Jack, ed. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017.
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