Line #32 Literature/EastOfTheSunAndWestOfTheMoon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oestenforSolVestenforMaane_9414.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[-"[[WakingUpElsewhere She was lying on a small green patch]] in the midst of a dark, thick wood. By her side lay the [[MementoMacGuffin self-same bundle of rags which she had brought with her from her own home.]] So when she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, [[FantasticAngst and wept till she was weary]], [[TheQuest she set out on her way.]]"-] ]]
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4	"East of the Sun and West of the Moon" is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} Norwegian]] {{fairy tale}} collected by [[Creator/AsbjornsenAndMoe Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jorgen Moe]].
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6	It involves a white bear that offers to take the youngest child to fix a family's poor situation. They accept and the bear takes the young girl to a castle where a man slept in the same room as her at night in the dark. As such, she could not see who it was. When she was homesick she was allowed to go home with one condition: She is not allowed to stay with her mother alone. Of course, the young girl doesn't listen and takes a magical candle from her mother. When she returned to the castle, she was able to see the face of the man that has been visiting her bed at night -- who was actually the bear. After a [[WhatTheHellHero what have you done moment]] he gets taken away by his [[AllTrollsAreDifferent troll]] stepmother to marry a troll princess. Before leaving, he tells her that he will be at a land East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
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8	She sets off to find him and meets a woman and her daughter on the way. This woman gives her a golden apple and lets her borrow a horse. Next, she meets a woman who gives her a golden carding comb. A third woman gives her a golden spinning wheel and tells her that she should go find the east wind who might take her to the place that she seeks. The east wind could not help her as he never blew that far so he tells her to visit the west. After facing the same scenario, she visits the south and finally the north wind. The girl then gives up all of her golden items to the princess in exchange for a night with the prince. On the first two nights, she could not wake him. Eventually the servants tell the prince about the girl and he tosses away the drink -- actually sleeping potion -- from the princess that night. In the end, the girl defeats the trolls (the stepmother and the princess) by washing out the tallow of one of the prince's shirts, because the prince refuses to marry someone unable to do something so simple. The story ends with [[StuffBlowingUp all the trolls exploding]]. Everyone else lives happily ever after.
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10	It's Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom", a subtype of the cycle of "The Search for the Lost Husband", [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/other.html a type of which there are many variants]]. Compare ''Myth/CupidandPsyche'', ''Literature/TheFeatherOfFinistTheFalcon'' and ''Literature/{{Pintosmalto}}'', and for the GenderFlip ''Literature/SoriaMoriaCastle'' and ''Literature/TheBlueMountains''.
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12	The tale, with all related versions, is reckoned to be related to the tale of ''Myth/CupidAndPsyche'', as re-told in the book ''Literature/TheGoldenAss'' by the author Apuleius, from the Roman era. This version is probably the UrExample of the story. As everyone will understand, the girl has the role of Psyche, while the prince has the role of Cupid/Eros.
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14	For a modern novel version, see ''Literature/{{East}}'' by Edith Pattou or ''Literature/OnceUponAWintersNight'' by Dennis L. [=McKiernan=]. There is also ''Literature/{{Ice}}'', by Sarah Beth Durst, which adds in some Inuit legends into the mix, and ''Film/ThePolarBearKing''.
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16	A number of famous illustrated versions of this fairy tale have been published, including by [[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/633668.East_of_the_Sun_and_West_of_the_Moon Mercer Mayer]], among others. All of the versions are [[ContinuitySnarl slightly different]]. [[SimilarlyNamedWorks Do not confuse]] with the Creator/HarukiMurakami book ''Literature/SouthOfTheBorderWestOfTheSun''.
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18	You can read the tale online in translations by [[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Blue_Fairy_Book/East_of_the_Sun_and_West_of_the_Moon Andrew Lang]] or [[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Popular_Tales_from_the_Norse/East_o%27_the_Sun_and_West_o%27_the_Moon George Dasent]].
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20	!! Tropes in ''East of the Sun and West of the Moon'':
21	* {{Animorphism}}: The result of a {{Curse}} placed upon the prince by his WickedStepmother.
22	* BeastAndBeauty: For a while, the story focuses on the marriage of a bear and maiden.
23	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: You can tell that the trolls are evil because they're both clearly described as hideous.
24	* BigFancyCastle: The bear takes his new wife to live in a great, ornate castle.
25	* ClassicalElementsEnsemble: Creator/MercerMayer's retelling of the story has the role of the four winds filled by [[FierySalamander the Salamander]] (fire), [[PlantPerson Father Forest]] (earth), [[SeaMonster the Great Fish of the Sea]] (water) and finally [[TheOldNorthWind the North Wind]] (air).
26	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In this and many of the story variations, the groom's animal form is often white. This ties into the cross-cultural concept that white animals are believed to have magical properties.
27	* {{Curse}}: The prince was cursed by his stepmother to spend every day as a white bear and only turn human at night.
28	* CurseEscapeClause: The prince will regain his human form in permanence and be free from his WickedStepmother if his wife will go for one full year without betraying his trust. She fails to reach that goal before spying on him, however, and off to the trolls' castle he goes.
29	* DisproportionateRetribution: Poor girl makes one mistake, then must trek all over Scandinavia to right it.
30	* DoggedNiceGuy: The groom, who is always described as treating his bride extremely well when they get to his palace -- servants to tend to her every need, great food, etc. This is a strange variant in that he already ''has'' the girl; she's just repulsed by his animal appearance.
31	* EarnYourHappyEnding: And how! The girl has to travel all over the world, begging sages and the winds for information to help her get her husband back, before the North Wind allows her to travel with him to the ends of the earth -- and only then can she start actually trying to free him.
32	* GagNose: Some versions describe the troll bride as having a nose three ells long, or about four and a half feet.
33	* IfICantHaveYou: The groom is cursed because he won't marry another princess, who is unpleasant and [[BeautyEqualsGoodness often hideous]].
34	* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: The groom turns into a bear every morning and a man every night, and cannot control this.
35	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Following her mother's advice, the heroine brings a candle to her bedroom to check on her mysterious bedmate. This is what eventually leads to their separation.
36	* TheQuest: The wife has to search for her husband by going [[TitleDrop east of the sun and west of the moon.]] This may or may not be an allegory for [[BeyondTheImpossible finding a nonexistent place]] through ThePowerOfLove.
37	* TextileWorkIsFeminine: The final thing she had to do was wash his shirt clean.
38	* VillainessesWantHeroes: The troll bride, who wants to marry the prince.
39	* WhatBeautifulEyes: The prince nearly always has gorgeous blue eyes, yet rarely is his hair color even ''mentioned'', which is possibly so he doesn't outshine his wife in the looks department.
40	* WickedStepmother: The prince's stepmother -- who is a troll, no less -- cursed him into his ursine form, keeps him prisoner and tries to make him marry her hideous daughter.
41	* YoungestChildWins: The bride is the youngest child in [[MassiveNumberedSiblings a very large and poor family]].

Context Literature / EastOfTheSunAndWestOfTheMoon