Motif
portrait or likeness contains the soul
portrait_or_likeness_contains_the_soul
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 explicitly states that portraits are often believed to contain the soul, so that taking or possessing a likeness can endanger the person portrayed.
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