The ocean of story, being C.H. Tawney's translation of Somadeva's ...

APPENDIX I THE "SWAN-MAIDEN" MOTIF 233
Or he may look upon her as a being who has strayed from the
1 Isles of the Blessed, where she rightly belongs. He may, on
the other hand, regard her as a founder of clans, taking into
2
account only the totemistic aspect. There is but one other
theory he is likely
to advance that which would attach most
of taboo. 3
importance to the principle
Modern scholarship will at once discredit the two former
opinions, and will hesitate on which of the two remaining
theories to bestow its blessing. It will in all probability
make a compromise and stretch out both hands at once,
dividing the honours equally between totemism and taboo.
I often feel that in seeking a scientific " explanation " for
every motif we are very liable to forget what delicate and
elusive material we have to deal with. Surely a story may
be the result of a beautiful thought that by the merest chance
flitted through the brain of some unknown person whose
poetic imagination alone prompted its creation. The sub-
sequent shaping of the tale may perhaps be governed by the
creator's subconscious obedience to the manners and customs
of his own environment.
It is none the less a spontaneous and unpremeditated
invention. In the case of the swan-maiden we have one
of the most beautiful themes in the whole world of fiction.
Her personal charm and elegance, the setting in which she
and the
appears, the manner in which she is captured,
all add to her
mystery surrounding her origin and abode,
fascination, and make us love her.
The simile implied in the very term " swan-maiden " is
beautiful in itself. The pure whiteness of the swan, the soft
down of its breast, the grace of its movement, the poise of
its head how could it escape being likened to a lovely
woman ? No wonder the swan-maiden was not easy to
capture, and, being captured, was still harder to keep. It
would require little less than a superman to make such a
being from another world happy
and contented in her new
mortal home. And so the story grew.
Look upon her as you will, ascribe to her what origin you
1 F. Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, Heilbronn, 1879, pp. 54-65.
2 E. S. Hartland, Science of Fairy Tales, 1891, pp. 346, 347; Frazer,
Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii, p. 566 et seq. ; ditto, Golden Bough (Dying God),
p. 130 et seq.
3 Hartland, op. cit., pp. 304-322 ; J. A. Macculloch, Childhood of Fiction,
p. 342.