SCIENTIFIC TRUTHS CONTAINED IN FAIRY STORIES
How many of us, re-reading the fairy stories of our childhood have for a
moment believed that many of these tales might be based upon scientific
truths? Of course it is probable that most of these stories have _no_
basis of fact behind them, but that they are merely the product of the
story-teller's imagination--just as similar stories today are produced
in this manner. But, on the other hand, it is quite conceivable that
many of the seemingly fabulous accounts are in truth based upon
realities; and that genuine occurrences may have happened, giving birth
to these tales. We all know the general character of many of the
legends. I may mention, as typical of the marvellous things done:
becoming visible and invisible, as did "Jack the Giant Killer"; the
existence of giants and dwarfs, as in _Little Tom Thumb_; incredibly
rapid growth of vegetation, as in _Jack and the Beanstalk_; being
suddenly transported without effort through immense distances and seeing
at the other end of such a journey scenes and events actually
transpiring at the time--as occurred in many of the _Arabian Nights_
stories; cases in which plates and dishes washed themselves, and many
other household feats were performed, as in _Prince Hildebrand and
Princess Ida_; cases of long sleep, such as the _Sleeping Beauty_;
cases in which human beings have been transformed into animals, and vice
versa, as in _Beauty and the Beast_; cases in which palaces have sprung
up over night, existing on the desert plain, only to vanish the next
night and leave it as barren as before--as so often happened in the
_Arabian Nights_.
Let us first of all consider the cases in which persons have caused
themselves to vanish and reappear at will. This power of becoming
visible and invisible to others is not limited to mythical times, but
may be reproduced today by artificial means. If a sensitive subject be
hypnotized (and there is some analogy to the hypnotic pass in the fact
that the fairy invariably waved her wand before the eyes of the
onlooker), hallucinations of various types may be induced. Thus, our
subject may be persuaded to see, for instance, a dog walking across the
carpet, whereas there is no dog there. He may be persuaded that there is
a stream in front of him flowing through the drawing-room, and that it
is necessary for him, in order to prevent his feet from becoming wet, to
take off his shoes and socks, and turn up his trousers. Hypnotic
suggestion will perform this, and it may be said that suggestion alone,
even when the subject is not in the hypnotic state, may be employed to
produce many of these hallucinatory pictures. On the contrary, it is
possible to suggest to our subject that such and such an object is
gradually diminishing in size, and finally that it disappears
altogether. He sees and describes this diminution, and finally looks in
vain for the object which, he asserts, has vanished, but which, as a
matter of fact, is perfectly visible to all others not under the
influence of the suggestion. We frequently suffer from these "negative
hallucinations," as they are called, in our ordinary daily life. We
cannot find an object which is perfectly visible--resting in the very
centre of the area over which we are searching diligently. Suddenly we
discover it; it seems incredible to us that we have not seen it before;
it seems to have sprung into being as though placed there by some
invisible hand. Nevertheless it had remained throughout in the one
position, and the only remarkable factor was our inability to see it.
Such cases are well known to psychologists (the power of suggestion in
inducing both positive and negative hallucinations), and this--both in
the normal and the hypnotic state--is well recognized.
Now it is only necessary for us to extend our conception somewhat in
order to see the scientific truths contained in many fairy stories, in
which one of the characters--hero, fairy, or what not--becomes visible
and invisible at will. It is only necessary for us to conceive that some
degree of mental influence had been brought to bear upon the minds of
the onlookers, and that suggestion had been skilfully employed, in order
to account for many of these stories. I know of a case in which the
operator made his subject, who remained practically in a normal state
throughout, see him floating about the room--whisking over chairs and
tables, as though the law of gravity had no further influence upon him!
We might, perhaps, also account for "invisibility" in one or two other
ways. Thus, the magician or fairy might possess the power of interposing
some veil or screen between himself and the seer--etheric or
physical--by some act of will. Or we could suppose that some chemical
might be applied to the body, rendering its structure and tissues
transparent. (One is here reminded of H. G. Wells' _Invisible Man_.) Or,
we might assume that the magician possessed the power of neutralizing
light-waves, reflected from his body, by some method of
"interference"--thus rendering himself invisible. This might be due
either to a greater understanding of the laws of physics--i.e., the
ability to manipulate light-energy in this manner, or to some purely
psychic power--volitional, etc. Precise instructions for doing this have
indeed been published (_Equinox_, vol. iii.). Of course, all such
speculations as these are purely fantastic, until some proof of their
possibility be forthcoming.
It may be thought that this knowledge was not possessed by the ancients
to the requisite extent; but there is abundant evidence to show that
"mesmerism" has been practised from very ancient times. It is probable
that the passage in Exodus vii, 10, 11, 12, refers to this, when it
says: "Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants,
and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and
the sorcerers: and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner
with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they
became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." It is
interesting to note that Professor S. S. Baldwin, otherwise known as
"The White Mahatma," recently saw a very similar feat performed in
Egypt, and gives an account of it in his book, _The Secrets of Mahatma
Land Explained_. Doubtless the effects in both cases were produced by
suggestion, and a species of hypnotic influence. That the ancients were
well versed in magic, and the power of suggestion and personal
influence, is best illustrated by an old Egyptian papyrus at present in
the British Museum, which contains an account of a magical seance given
by a certain Tchatcha-em-ankh before King Khufu, 3766 B. C. In this
manuscript it is stated of the magician: "He knoweth how to bind on a
head which hath been cut off; he knoweth how to make a lion follow him,
as if led by a rope; and he knoweth the number of the stars of the house
(constellation) of Thoth." The decapitation trick is thus no new thing,
while the experiment performed with the lion, possibly a hypnotic feat,
shows hypnotism to be old.
In the _Arabian Nights_, and in various other fairy tales, we also read
of the sudden appearance and disappearance of palaces, castles, and
other buildings of monumental character. This strange phenomenon has
frequently been paralleled in recent times. It is a species of
hallucination, induced by auto-suggestion or hetero-suggestion--that is,
suggestion given to oneself, or suggestion from outsiders. Madame
Blavatsky, in her _Nightmare Tales_, relates an interesting experience
of this character:
"A curious optical effect then occurred. The room, which had been
previously partially lighted by the sunbeam, grew darker and darker
as the star increased in radiance, until we found ourselves in an
Egyptian gloom. The star twinkled, trembled, and turned, at first
with a slow, gyratory motion, then faster and faster, increasing
its circumference at every rotation until it formed a brilliant
disk, and we no longer saw the dwarf, who seemed absorbed in its
light.... All being now ready, the dervish, without uttering a
word, or removing his gaze from the disk, stretched out a hand, and
taking hold of mine he drew me to his side, and pointed to the
luminous shield. Looking at the place indicated, we saw large
patches appear, like those of the moon. These gradually formed
themselves into figures, that began moving themselves about in
higher relief than their natural colours. They neither appeared
like a photograph nor an engraving, still less like the reflection
of images on a mirror, but as if the disk were a cameo, and they
were raised above its surface--then endowed with life and motion.
To my astonishment and my friend's consternation, we recognized the
bridge leading from Galata to Stamboul spanning the Golden Horn
from the new to the old city. There were the people hurrying to and
fro, steamers and caiques gliding on the blue Bosphorus, the
many-coloured buildings, villas, palaces reflected in the water;
and the whole picture illuminated by the noonday sun. It passed
like a panorama, but so vivid was the impression that we could not
tell whether it or ourselves were in motion. All was bustle and
life, but not a sound broke the oppressive stillness. It was
noiseless as a dream. It was a phantom picture.... The scene faded
away, and Miss H---- placed herself in turn by the side of the
dervish."
We thus see that expectancy and suggestion alone may induce sufficiently
abnormal mental states to ensure the occurrence of such
images--especially in a mind previously wrought by imagination,
superstition, love, or any emotion tending to bring about its temporary
lack of balance. The visions induced would, of course, be mental, and
not physical, in their character; they would nevertheless appear just as
real to the onlooker.
Closely akin to these visions are those in which, it is reported,
journeys have been made through space on a magic carpet--as in the
_Arabian Nights_--or merely at the wish or command of some fairy or
magician. Frequently, in such cases, it is reported that a vision is
seen at the other end of the journey, coinciding with reality. It may be
that the princess is, at that moment, being captured by a hideous giant;
or that her lover is in great danger of losing his life. These visions
have stirred the recipient into action, the result being that he or she
arrives in the nick of time to prevent some fearful catastrophe. Such
visions, too, have foundation in fact. There are many cases in which
distant scenes have been visited in sleep, and places accurately
remembered--the seer never having visited that locality in his life.
Very much the same has happened in hypnotic trance, and even
occasionally in the waking state, spontaneously. This is a species of
clairvoyant vision; operative either during sleep, hypnotic trance, or
daydream; and while it accurately represents scenes transpiring at a
distance, here too, it will be noted, there is no corporeal
transition--only mental adjustment from one scene of activity to
another. Yet the subject remains under the distinct impression that he
has been there in person, and actually visited the spot indicated.
The Sleeping Beauty is an example of a story, typical of many, which
illustrates the tradition that on certain occasions persons have passed
into a sleep-state in which they have remained for long periods of time
without apparent injury. While we must assume that the periods over
which this sleep-state extended have been greatly overdrawn, the
reported cases of hypnotic trance, and of voluntary interment, among the
Hindus and elsewhere, lend probability to these stories, because of the
fact that long periods of trance have been undergone by various
individuals--who awakened from these states in apparently perfect
health, and none the worse for their remarkable experience. Several
spontaneous cases have been reported quite recently, in which the
subject has passed several months, or even a year or more, in a
sleep-state--awaking every few days or weeks, speaking a few words,
taking perhaps a little nourishment, and then lapsing into oblivion! The
older cases of extended sleep thus find a close parallel in the newer
cases.
One of the chief constituents of every fairy story is the giant or
dwarf, who occupies a central position. That giants and dwarfs exist
today there can be no doubt. They are frequently to be seen in the
side-shows, and even in public life. But it is now known that giants and
dwarfs suffer from a certain disease, which renders them particularly
short-lived; and they are, generally speaking, muscularly weak for their
size. They are not the stalwart, fierce race of beings imagined in the
fairy stories, and which popular belief still pictures them. For the
fairy tale, the giant is always enormous and powerful, and generally
cannibalistic in his habits! Have giants of this character existed?
Could such a race have existed? To this question it is almost certain
that we must answer "No." M. Dastre, of the Sorbonne, Paris, has gone
into this question at great length, and has given us the result of his
researches in his essay on _The Stature of Man at Various Epochs_. Here
he says:
"It is incontestable that beings of gigantic size do appear from
time to time.... Giants are men whose development, instead of
pursuing a normal course, has undergone a morbid deviation, and
whose nutrition has become perverted. They are dystrophic. Their
great stature shows that one part has gained at the loss of
another. It is a symptom of their inferiority in the struggle for
existence. Their condition is not only a variation from the
ordinary conditions of development--that is to say, they are
'congenital monsters,' the study of which belongs to the science of
teratology--but it is a variation also from a state of health,
physically and normally sound. In other words, they are diseased,
and fall within the domain of the pathologist. Here then, as
Brissaud says, you have your giants despoiled of their ancient and
favourite prestige. Mythology yields the place to pathology."
The _causes_ of gigantism and of dwarfs are now well known. In the brain
there is a tiny gland known as the pituitary gland, weighing little more
than half a gram, and divided into two portions--the "anterior" and the
"posterior" lobes. Hypertrophy of the _anterior_ lobe causes gigantism.
The bones grow to an exaggerated length; the hands, feet, and bones of
the face grow enormous. When, on the contrary, the secretions of the
anterior lobe are insufficient, the body remains small, undergrown and
delicate. The secretions of the _posterior_ lobe, on the other hand,
insure the undue accumulation of fat, and disturb the functional
activities. Other ductless glands in the body also affect the mental and
physiological functions of the whole organism.
Nevertheless it is realized that beings have existed from time to time
far larger and more powerful in every way than the ordinary human being,
and the mythopoeic tendency of the human mind has doubtless supplied the
rest, and accredited to them marvellous powers which they did not in
reality possess.
In not a few fairy tales we read that the plates and dishes, which were
upon the fairy's table, ran of their own accord to the kitchen, washed
themselves, and came back to the table; that a cake was cut by a knife
held by no visible hand; a decanter of water, of its own accord, moved
about from place to place on the table, refilling the glasses of the
guests; and in various other ways duties were performed which we are
accustomed to consider as necessarily performed by ourselves. All this
was accomplished by the objects without any external assistance, and of
their own accord. Incredible as such accounts may appear, they are,
nevertheless, not so extraordinary, viewed in the light of some newer
researches--which in fact, if proved to be true, render phenomena of
this sort quite credible. During seances held with Eusapia Palladino,
objects were moved from place to place in the room without visible
contact, and apparently of their own accord. They were also lifted from
place to place and floated about in the air without visible support.
These phenomena have been observed for a number of years by scientific
men on the Continent, and they are unanimous in asserting that
manifestations of this character do in fact take place, and that they
are not due to any force or forces known to physical science. On one
occasion, for example, a glass decanter was seen to be moved from the
sideboard on which it stood on to the seance table, and thence rise and
float around the room, no one touching it--there being no possibility of
any connection between it and any object in the room. Finally, the glass
bottle held itself, or was held by invisible hands, to Eusapia's mouth,
and she thereupon drank some of the water it contained. The same thing
happened to an investigator, another member of the circle. The glass
decanter was then transported back to the sideboard, and a pile of
dishes and other objects were moved on to the table.[49] Similar
phenomena are said to have occurred in the presence, or through the
mediumship, of D.D. Home. Sir William Crookes informs us that on several
occasions a bunch of flowers was carried from one end of the table to
the other, and then held to the noses of various investigators in turn,
for them to smell. Some of those present at the seance saw a white hand,
visible as far as the wrist, carrying the bouquet. Others saw merely a
whitish cloud-like mass connected with the bunch of flowers. Still
others saw nothing--save that the flowers themselves were transported
through space without visible means of support.
Here, then, we have phenomena, attested by scientific men, all happening
within the past few years, rivalling any of a like nature that are
reported to have occurred in fairy stories! If _invisible beings_,
possessing intelligence, constantly move about us, and are capable, at
times, of affecting the material world, surely there should be no
objection to many of these fairy stories, since the difference in the
facts is one merely of _degree_ and not of _kind_; and this would be
true even were the phenomena proved to be due only to the action of some
force or forces (under more or less intelligent control) within
ourselves, producing the phenomena.
Other extraordinary narratives will doubtless occur to the mind. The
bean-stalk which grew overnight, might be referred to; and it is
possible to compare this with cases of electrically or artificially
forced vegetation. But, of course, the majority of the wonders reported
in fairy stories find their probable interpretation in those tricks of
the imagination which have now been duplicated by artificial means, and
which science is beginning to understand and interpret according to
well-known psychological laws. Fairy stories may thus present (in many
instances) the germ of a truth, which it has taken many centuries to
elaborate and comprehend in detail.
FOOTNOTES:
[49] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. vi. p. 356. All this was observed by Sir
Oliver Lodge, Prof. Ch. Richet, Mr. Myers, and Dr. Ochorowicz.