Motif
image possession gives fatal power over the original person
image_possession_gives_fatal_power_over_the_original_person
A motif of the External Soul and Life-Token family, within the sub-family Portraits and Likenesses Holding Soul. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
comparative
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The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 3686-3742 confidence: high
Portraits are said to be often believed to contain the soul; people may avoid having likenesses taken because the portrait's possessor could exercise fatal influence over the original.
The passage repeatedly connects possession or making of a likeness with power over the original, including removal of the soul, death, or ill health.
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