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princessterribel
Registered User
(3/22/06 12:28 pm)
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3 is a magic number
I remember a discussion on here about magic numbers and the significance of the number 3. I am thinking of it in relation to the 3's in Cinderella, 3 balls, attending the grave 3 times a day etc and its repetition in general. I know that it was intended more for children so the repetition in terms of that is understandable, but if anyone has any ideas or can point me in the direction of that last discussion I would be very greatful.
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Erica Carlson
Registered User
(3/22/06 2:44 pm)
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Re: 3 is a magic number
Threes are fascinating and ubiquitous - celtic mythology features goddesses with three aspects, and threes were important to Greek mythology (the fates, the furies) and to the Nordic (the norns), and to the Christian (the trinity). And threes are still very much with us - I'm kind of turned off by diamond commercials, but I believe the significance currently assigned to the 3-stone ring is to symbolize "past, present, and future."
And this probably isn't quite the sort of thing you were looking for, but in addition to any magical and symbolic connotations, three is also a very good and practical number in terms of storytelling, and not just storytelling for kids. A good pattern of three allows for repetition, which can build up suspense and expectations, while not dragging the repetition on so long that listeners get bored or tired. Also, it is much easier for the storyteller to remember a pattern of three than a pattern of, say, 7 or 9.
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Heidi Anne Heiner
ezOP
(3/23/06 12:31 am)
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Re: 3 is a magic number
Significance of the number 3 in fairy tales
Number Three
the numbers three and seven
Also, here's a link about the best way to search SurLaLune: Managing the Archives
Heidi
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DividedSelf
Registered User
(3/23/06 5:17 am)
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Re: 3 is a magic number
Really enjoyed those archives, especially the stuff about different traditions having different magic numbers.
The only thing I'd tentatively add is that some of these numbers do have special significance beyond any particular culture. Three is for instance a universal pattern of synthetic development, and for that reason is very suited to the development within a story and the depiction of process. (At it's simplest: beginning, middle and end!) The three bears is a good example - too hot, too cold... just right! Or the three dresses of sun, moon and stars in Allerleirauh. (Etc. etc...)
But I think the so-called "rule of three" has also become a bit of a stylistic twitch, and there are (European) stories where you get nearly meaningless threes... where the second instance is just an undevelopmental repetition and often the writer can't even be bothered to repeat it, just saying "oh, and the same thing happened as to the first one by the way"...
The significance of four, I think, is more to do with combined polarities. The four quarters... crossroads... Cartesian axes... The dialectic pattern is about polarities too, but it's synthetic, showing ways forward from opposition. The binary gridding is analytic, and says nothing about process or development, and in that limited sense could be said to be "timeless".
These two uses of polarity might account for some of the annoying overlap in analyses of stories. One person says, such and such is a triad, where someone else says it's a group of four, to suit whatever agenda. It could be both. I'm possibly stretching the point here, but while the three bears are a great example of threes, I think you could (if you were of that frame of mind) make an analysis based on polar opposites - say, Mother Bear/Father Bear, Baby Bear/Goldilocks, male/female, parent/child, parented/unparented etc. etc... and that the story actually depicts a group not of three, but four: the 3 Bs + G.
Maybe more to the point (re different magic numbers across cultures) is you could re-tell the three bears story in such a way that it emphasised its "fourness" over its "threeness".
I think what I'm saying is these numbers really are magic in a sense - regardless of culture - they encapsulate some of our most basic relations in space and time.
I think what's most interesting is why one culture would see the magic in one, but less so another.
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DividedSelf
Registered User
(3/23/06 5:27 am)
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Re: 3 is a magic number
(...if it's really true that they don't see it...)
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princessterribel
Registered User
(3/23/06 7:59 am)
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the magic of three
Thank you all very much. There were some really good points that I hadn't considered.
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