Draft:Dschinnistan

Dschinnistan oder Auserlesene Feen- und Geistermärchen, teils neu erfunden, teils übersetzt und umgearbeitetis a collection of fairytales by the German author Christoph Martin Wieland, which appeared between 1786 and 1789. Many of the tales are of an oriental nature, most likely influenced by the translations of the One Thousand and One Nights which were popular in Europe at the time. The collection has to date not yet been translated into English.

Content
The collection contains nineteen fairytales in total, twelve of which originate from Wieland himself. These are Nadir und Nadine, Adis und Dahy, Neangir und seine Brüder, Argentine und ihre Schwestern, Der Stein der Weisen, Timander und Melissa, Himmelblau und Lupine, Der goldene Zweig, Die Salamandrin und die Bildsäule, Alboflede, Pertharin und Ferrandine, Der eiserne Armleuchter und Der Greif vom Gebirge Kaf. Four further tales can be attributed to Wieland's friend Friedrich Hildebrand von Einsiedel, and these are Der Zweikampf, Das Labyrinth, Die Klugen Knaben und Die Prinzessin mit der langen Nase. Wieland's son-in-law contributed two tales, which are Der Korb and Lulu oder die Zauberflöte. Die Palast der Wahrheit is considered to be a collective work which Wieland undertook with an unmaned co-author, most likely Caroline von Wolzogen.

Utopia

A motif that frequently appears in the stories is that of a fairytale, utopian realm behind the Kāf mountains called Dschinnistan, inhabited by fairy-like beings and simple, frugal, virtuous people - fitting with the tradition of pastoral idylls that were popular in the Rococo period (Der Stein der Weisen). This utopian scene sometimes appears as an idyllic alternative to court life, that is strikingly reminiscent of the princely courts of late absolutism (Timander und Melissa).

Magical Elements

The tales are feature many sorcerers, magicians, and fairies. These can be forces for destruction, such as the lustful and greedy Astramond in Nadir and Nadine or the false alchemist Misfragmutosorisis in Der Stein der Weisen. But they also bring salvation, such as the fairy queen Sofronia in Timander und Melissa or the genius Alzindor, who frees Alazin and Marmotte from their deformity with the golden branch. Miraculous objects are also frequently encountered, such as the ring that enables King Siopas to read the thoughts of his corrupt courtiers, or the throne of roses carried through the air by doves, which transports Timander to a foreign realm.

An occasionally encountered narrative technique is that the reader is presented with only a small fragment of the story at the beginning, which later proves to be one small part of a large-scale process that began many years ago, and was set in motion by powerful sorcerers and fairies (Die Salamandrin und die Bildsäule).

Separated Lovers

Separated lovers frequently feature at the heart of the stories, who must fight to be finally reunited (Himmelblau und Lupine, Der goldene Zweig, Nadir und Nadine).

Form and Being

The relationships between being and appearance is very important in Dschinnistan. The protagonists of the story Himmelblau und Lupine are first beautiful but arrogant, then kind but ugly - and as a result can never be united. Prince Alazin and Princess Marmotte in Der goldene Zweig possess abnormal ugliness despite their moral virtues. In Timander und Melissa, the lovely Princess Pasithea hides her monkey's face under a veil - which repels Timander, her lover, when she finally lifts it. In Adis und Dahy, the two brothers are cursed by a magician and become ugly old men until they can find a true love which sees beyond their outer appearance. Shapeshifting of all kinds also frequently takes place, with the gullible royal couple in Der Stein der Weisen becoming a donkey and a goat and the ungrateful lover Timander becoming a butterfly.

Oriental Motives

Many of the stories are based on motifs from the Orient, such as stories from Ancient Egypt (Der Stein der Weisen), which aroused great interest at the time. Turkish themes are also borrowed (Der eiserne Armleuchter, Der Greif vom Gebirge Kaf, Adis und Dahy, Neangir und seine Brüder).

Publication and reception
In terms of content and style, the stories are based on French fairy tales, which had become extremely popular in Europe following the publication of Contes nouveaux ou les fées à la mode by Madame d'Aulnoy in 1698. The works of Pajon, François Pétis de la Croix, Mme de Lanton, Marie-Antoinette Fagnan, the Comte d'Hamilton, the Comte de Caylus and Félicité de Genlis should also be noted as models for Dschinnistan. In some cases (Himmelblau und Lupine), the French original was translated to varying degrees of faithfulness, but in most cases Wieland and his co-authors borrowed motifs, reworked them, and thus created entirely independent works.

The title Dschinnistan goes back to the Jinn, Arabian spirits that are also frequently encountered in The One Thousand and One Nights.

The first edition was published in three volumes in Winterthur in 1786, 1787 and 1789, and the title vignettes were created by the engraver Johann Rudolph Schellenberg.

Later Editions and Impact

Despite the appeal of Dschinnistan to the general public, literary critics gave more reserved reviews. At the time, the genre of the fairy tale was frowned upon and considered unworthy of study by serious intellectuals.

Nevertheless, individual motifs from the collection were subsequently taken up by other artists. For example, Lulu oder die Zauberflöte inspired Emanuel Schikaneder to write the libretto for Mozart's 1791 opera The Magic Flute, as well as Wenzel Müller for his musical comedies Der Fagottist, oder: Die Zauberzither and Das Sonnenfest der Braminen from 1790/1791. In 1824 the German-Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau was inspired to write his musical comedy Lulu. Der Stein der Weisen, on the other hand, was adapted into an opera of the same name in a collaborative project by Schack, Schikaneder, Mozart, Henneberg and Gerl.

In E.T.A. Hoffmann's fairy tale Klein Zaches genannt Zinnober (1819), Prince Paphnutius introduces Enlightenment to his country and expels the fairies to "Dschinnistan".

The story Ardistan und Dschinnistan was published between 1907-1909 by Karl May.

Adaptations
• 2016: Prinz Himmelblau und Fee Lupine. Germany, fairy tale film from season 9 of the ARD series Sechs auf einen Streich, based on the fairy tale "Himmelblau und Lupine"" from the Dschinnistan collection.