The contradicting symbolism present in The Brothers Grimm tale The Three Sons of Fortune underscores its primary meaning and message to the audience. The fortune gained by the three sons also brings burden, distress, and misfortune to those who came in contact with the sons. The old cliché ‘one man’s fortune is another man’s misfortune’ is the highlight of this tale, with its message being illustrated repeatedly throughout the storyline.
As a final gift from their father before death, the three sons were each presented with a gift (a rooster, a scythe, and a cat) which the father believed would bring them great fortune and should provide them will all they need to carry on a wealthy and successful life. The first son departs only to become discouraged upon realizing that almost everyone already knew about roosters. When he comes to an island and finds that they have never seen a rooster, he rejoices in his new found riches. The storyline continues with the last two sons departing on a journey which ends with new wealth much like the eldest son’s. Just as the tale is coming to a close and the reader becomes frustrated with the trouble of trying to see the meaning behind the tale, there is a change of events in the town where the cat had been introduced. Rather than delighting in the newfound usefulness of the cat, they are unused to and unfamiliar with it, and so are frightened by its meow. Unable to understand the nature of this creature, the entire village enters a state of panic and the chaos only ends with the destruction of the castle.
While burning down a castle sounds like a bit of an overreaction to a simple ‘meow’, this village was simply unprepared for the change and so did not know how to properly handle the situation. Regardless, this is meant to represent the unfortunate consequences of change and the unknown. In looking at the symbolic meaning behind the three gifts, one can better come to understand the meaning of the tale. According to Tucker (1997), the rooster represented qualities such as vigilance, courage, and pride, while at the same time it represented arrogance, and lust (Tucker 1997). Both of these meanings can be applied to the eldest son in that it took courage to embark on his journey alone in search of a better future, while at the same time, the son possessed the quality of lust as he searched for wealth and fortune for his own personal gain. The scythe has commonly represented the hope of a fruitful harvest, but has become a symbol of death at the same time as well. While the son with the scythe brought a “fruitful harvest” upon himself financially, the scythe later represented how the constant chopping down of grain left the island’s resources depleted. With no way of knowing how to upkeep a field of grain that was harvested in this new way, they undoubtedly faced much hardship. Finally, according to Like a Cat (2007), cats are both a symbol of wholeness and cleverness, as well as a symbol of bad luck or a bad omen (Like a Cat 2007). Just as the first two sons’ gifts brought both great fortune, and great turmoil, the cat first symbolized the son’s cleverness in introducing it to the islanders. At the same time, the cat was a bad omen, predicting the hardships and burden that the islanders had to face once the son was gone.
After examining the symbolism behind these three gifts, one can see their important contribution to the overall meaning of the tale. The contradicting meanings of all three gifts given to the three sons represent the ultimate contradicting futures of the sons and whoever receives their gifts. While the sons receive their fortune as they had hoped, the villages and cities that were introduced to the gifts are negatively affected by change and by the new and unfamiliar gift. Delving deeper, one may also extract from the tale the moral against personal gain. Each of the sons departed on their journeys in hopes of finding wealth for themselves and their futures. When anything is done for one’s personal gain or benefit, others are almost always negatively affected by it and must pay for that person’s selfishness. The tale is meant to enlighten those of us who have ever done something out of our own selfishness about the consequences we may burden our friends with. If time had been taken to explain every aspect of the gifts the sons brought to the island, the islanders may have had a different future and may have been able to better adapt to the changes that accompanied these gifts. The tale teaches us that with a few selfless acts and a little extra time taken to ensure the comfort of our friends, all concerned parties can find fortune in change.
Works Cited
Like a Cat. (2007). Cat symbolism. Retrieved July 14, 2008 from http://www.likeacat.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=12
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