The Genre of Trolls - Doria

foreign land, bringing his riches with him, the latter is kidnapped and becomes
a servant. The Storkyro boy continuously prospers in his servitude
and returns a wealthy man, the prodigal son squanders his possessions and
comes back a starving pauper. Hence the former does not suffer from the
shame felt by the latter. Accordingly, the folk narrative (text 21) proves a
reversal of the New Testament story in this respect (text 26). The pride,
ambition and extravagance at the outset in the Gospel of Luke are transmuted
into a more nondescript humbleness in the folklore text; on the
whole the motivations of the peasant boy are harder to discern and analyze.
In the end, the prodigal son is mortified and realizes he has sinned against
heaven and his father, and returns with no great hopes, while the Storkyro
boy seems to have preserved a fairly meek attitude: the act of showing his
valuables might imply a desire to share them with his relatives, it is hardly
an expression of haughtiness.
Unlike the case in the Gospel text (text 26), the peasant boy’s parents are
no longer alive. He has no father to return to, his brother has taken his
place, and he does not deplore the arranging of a feast for a spendthrift
lacking in judgement, but he does resent his riches as long as he remains
secretive about his identity. Eventually his brother does organize a homecoming
festival for him, but prior to that a further complication is introduced.
His brother starts to covet his possessions and decides to kill him. He
gets his chance when the incognito guest wants work, and he kindly invites
him to stay within the household. The traveller agrees to the proposal, and
the two of them set out to work on a fence in the forest. Thrice a raven
comes to warn him of the other’s deceit, and he finally confronts his brother
and reveals his own identity.
The design of the brother recalls, unbeknownst to him, several Old Testament
narratives, the most prominent of which is the murder of Abel:
27) Och Adam kände sina hustru Hewa, och hon aflade och födde Cain, och sade: Jag
hafwer fått HERrans man. Och hon födde framdeles Habel hans broder. Och wardt
Habel en fåraherde, men Cain wardt en åkerman. Och det begaf sig efter några dagar,
at Cain offrade HERranom gåfwor af jordenes frukt. Och Habel offrade desslikes af
förstlingene af sin får, och af deras talg: Och HERren såg täckeliga til Habel och hans
offer. Men til Cain och hans offer såg han icke täckeliga. Då wardt Cain swårliga wred,
och hans hy förwandlades. Sade HERren til Cain: hwi äst du wred? Eller hwi förwandlas
din hy? Är det icke så? Om du äst from, så äst du tacknämlig; men äst du icke from,
så blifwer icke synden säker eller fördold; men städ henne icke hennes wilja, utan råd
Blindness and Illumination 175