From pope to Popess” as a metaphor for social change : the motif of Popess Johanna in fairy tales

Blažič, Milena (author), Iseni, Arburim (author)

This study critically examines gender dynamics in fairy tales, with particular attention to the legend of Popess Johanna as a narrative vehicle for interrogating patriarchal structures. Through an analysis of The Fisherman and His Wife (KHM 19) from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Children’s and Household Tales (1812–1857), this investigation explores the concealment –and subsequent tragic unmasking –of gender identity within hierarchical power systems. The tale’s engagement with authority, identity, and societal expectations provides crucial insights into medieval gender constructs and their resonance in European literary traditions (Grimm & Grimm, 2015; Uther, 2011).

• Language: English
• Keywords: ATU 514, ATU 884, Popess Johanna, fairy tales, literary analysis, Pope Joan, social change, representation, The Fisherman and His Wife
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: PEF - Faculty of Education
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 49–53
• Numbering: Vol. 10, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-169999
• UDC: 82-343
• ISSN on article: 2545-420X
• DOI: 10.58885/ijssh.v10i1.49.mb
• COBISS.SI-ID: 240944387
• Publication date in RUL: 02.07.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of social sciences & humanities
• Publisher: Association-Institute for English Language and American Studies
• ISSN: 2545-420X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 140597763

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: papežica Johana, motivi, literarna analiza, družbene spremembe