Numbers and Fairy Tales
There are numbers in folklore and mythology that are acknowledged as significant, and even when they don't seem to hold any particular symbolism, still seem to come up a lot. 3, 7, and 12 come to mind readily. And of course there are so many variations of counting rhymes (see icon!) in which different numbers mean different things.
A lot of the time, the numbers are solidly fixed in the tradition of a particular story. Three brothers is a pretty common thing to find in a fairy tale. The 12 Dancing Princesses are (almost) always 12. On the other hand, there are stories like The Wild Swans, and in versions of that there are 3, 6, 7, 11, or 12 brothers.
What are some of the commonly accepted meanings of numbers in stories?
What numbers stand out in your favorite stories?
Are there any numbers that are specifically meaningful to you -- lucky numbers or numbers that remind you of something?
A lot of the time, the numbers are solidly fixed in the tradition of a particular story. Three brothers is a pretty common thing to find in a fairy tale. The 12 Dancing Princesses are (almost) always 12. On the other hand, there are stories like The Wild Swans, and in versions of that there are 3, 6, 7, 11, or 12 brothers.
What are some of the commonly accepted meanings of numbers in stories?
What numbers stand out in your favorite stories?
Are there any numbers that are specifically meaningful to you -- lucky numbers or numbers that remind you of something?