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The motif Purification with water is a part of: Magic

Keywords:

Water, purification, magic, power

Description of this motif: Purification with water reminds of several forms of religious purification, i.g. baptism. In Andersen's tales the motif is found as a magic ritual in "Dødningen" ('The Dead Man' or 'The Ghost' (1830) and "The Travelling Companion" (1838)) and as redeeming tears, e.g. in "The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf", where an angel's tears fall on Inger in Limbo, and Gerda's tears, that thy Kay's frozen heart in "The Snow Queen".

Overview

The tales are sorted by year. The leading numbers refer to the number of occurrences of the motif in the respective texts.