Tenèze, Marie-Louise (1922-2016)

With a background in literature, French anthropologist Marie-Louise Tenèze (1922–2016) dedicated herself to French oral literature, particularly to folktales. Following in the footsteps of Paul Delarue, she authored Le conte populaire français. Catalogue raisonné des versions de France, in four massive volumes published between 1964 and 2000. In dialog with several Western scholars who were also updating this old theme of anthropology and folklore, she developed a wide-ranging theoretical framework on the marvelous tale as a narrative genre by redirecting Vladimir Propp’s morphological analysis to the French repertoire. Throughout the second half of the 20^th century, she actively participated in major international forums, sharing her reflections on the idiosyncrasy of the marvelous tale. A CNRS researcher from an early age (1947), she pursued her career at the musée national des Arts et Traditions populaires.

Keywords: 20^th century | France | Folk tales | Fairytales | Oral literature | Musée national des arts et traditions populaires | Vladimir Propp