A Comparative Analysis of Sohni Mahiwal and Cinderella: A Proppian Model of Narratology

Abstract

The present study is a comparative analysis of ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ (Punjabi folktale) and ‘Cinderella’ (English fairytale) in the light of Propp’s Model of Narratology, which he presented in the “Morphology of Folktales” (1928). Propp proposes the idea that all the fairytales have the same underlying structures. He talks about two basic ideas in a narrative Fabula (Story) and Sujzhet (Plot). He says that every time the plot remains the same, but the story is changed. He proposes 31 functions and 7 characters of narration, found in every fairytale. The present research is an investigation whether Proppian model is applicable for all sort of literary genres without the influence of time, geographical boundaries and cultural differences. The study also investigates the similarities and disparities in application of Propp’s model on Punjabi folktale and English fairytale. The results from the analysis of the tales reveal that both the selected stories contain more similar characters and functions proposed by Propp. The time, geographical boundaries and culture do not influence the representation of characters and functions in any narration.