A wish is a
hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.
As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
or
desire
Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...
for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing ...
s. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.
In fiction
In
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
a wish is a
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
demand placed on the recipient's unlimited request. When it is the center of a tale, the wish is usually a template for a
morality tale
The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
, "be careful what you wish for"; it can also be a small part of a tale, in which case it is often used as a
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing ...
. One can wish on many things for example:
wishing well
A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there as a ...
s,
dandelion
''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...
s when one blows the seeds or light them on fire, stars and much more. When one wishes on a well, a coin is thrown in and the thrower silently makes a wish in the hope it comes true.
A template for fictional wishes could be ''
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'', specifically the tale of
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
, although in the tale of Aladdin the actual wishes were only part of the tale. Also, Aladdin's demands, while outrageous, were mainly variations on wealth (which is still often taken as the most common request).
Classically the wish provider is often a spirit,
genie
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
, or similar entity, which is bound or constrained within a commonplace object (Aladdin's
oil lamp
An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. Th ...
for example) or a container closed with
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
's seal. Releasing the entity from its constraint, usually by some simple action, allows the object's possessor to make a wish.
The subservience of the extraordinarily powerful entity to the wisher can be explained in several ways. The entity may be grateful to be free of its constraint and the wish is a thank-you gift. The entity may be bound to obedience by its prison or some other item that the wisher possesses. The entity may, by its nature, be unable to exercise its powers without an initiator.
Other wish providers are a wide variety of, more or less, inanimate objects. W.W. Jacob's
Monkey's Paw is an example of this.
Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and Fantasy (genre), fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his :Xanth books, long-running novel series set in ...
puts a spin on this idea in ''
Castle Roogna
''Castle Roogna'' is a fantasy novel by British-American writer Piers Anthony, the third book in the Xanth series. The castle itself is also the residence of the present King of Xanth.
Plot summary
Dor, a twelve-year-old magician, is next in ...
'': a magic ring claims to grant wishes and then claims credit when a wish comes true, apparently from
the unaided efforts of the characters—but every wish made on the ring sooner or later comes true.
Some wishes appear to be granted by nothing in particular.
Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
's mother's wish for a beautiful child might have been a coincidence, but the father's wish in "
The Seven Ravens
"The Seven Ravens" (German: ''Die sieben Raben'') is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 25). It is of Aarne–Thompson type 451 ("The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers"), commonly found throughout Europe.
Georgios A Megas col ...
"
transforms
Transform may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Transform (scratch), a type of scratch used by turntablists
* ''Transform'' (Alva Noto album), 2001
* ''Transform'' (Howard Jones album) or the title song, 2019
* ''Transform'' (Powerman 5000 album) ...
his seven sons into ravens, just as the mother's wish in "
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myste ...
" transforms her daughter. This is common in a tale involving a person, male or female, wishing for a child, even one that is
a hedgehog, or
a sprig of myrtle, or no bigger than
a hazel nut.
The number of wishes granted varies. Aladdin had an unlimited number in the original story, but was restricted to three wishes in the
1992 Disney film. As in the
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
tale "
The Ridiculous Wishes
The Ridiculous Wishes or The Three Ridiculous Wishes (french: Les Souhaits ridicules) is a French literary fairy tale by Charles Perrault published in 1697 in the volume titled ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 7 ...
", three is the most
common, but
others may be granted to fit the constraints of the tale. Several authors have spun variations of the wish for more wishes theme, though some disallow this as
cheating.
In many stories the ''wording'' of the wish is extremely important. For example, characters often say, "I wish I was wealthy." This wording could be taken
literally, the wish granted so that at one time the wisher was (used to be) wealthy but is not any more. Saying, "I wish to be wealthy", then because "to be"
refers to either the present or the future, they would become wealthy.
A common problem is the granter of the wish being either
extremely literal or through malice granting the request in a manner designed to cause maximum distress (such as a request for wealth being granted through inheritance/insurance on the death of a loved one). Certain authors have also tried an "always on" approach: the careless use of the word "wish" in everyday conversation having, often unpleasant, consequences.
In practice
![银滩的许愿树 - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/%E9%93%B6%E6%BB%A9%E7%9A%84%E8%AE%B8%E6%84%BF%E6%A0%91_-_panoramio.jpg)
Several cultures engage in customs that entail wish-granting, such as blowing out the candles on a
birthday cake
A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of a birthday celebration. Birthday cakes are often layer cakes with frosting served with small lit candles on top representing the celebrant's age. Variations include cupcakes, cake pops, pastries, and ...
, praying, seeing a
shooting star at night, tossing a coin into a
wishing well
A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there as a ...
or
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
, breaking the
wishbone
Wishbone commonly refers to:
* Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs
Wishbone may also refer to:
* Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company
* Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football
* Wish ...
of a cooked
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, blowing a dandelion, or writing wishes on a ribbon or a
sky lantern
A sky lantern (), also known as Kǒngmíng lantern (), or Chinese lantern, is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended.
In Asia and elsewhere around the world, sky lanterns have bee ...
. Many believe such wishes can only come true if they are kept a secret from other people. Others, on the other hand, believe that wishes come true only if they are told to someone else.
In religion
In
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, especially among
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
and
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
denominations, believers pray
novena
A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...
s to request a favour they wish to obtain.
Within
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
, the
Kalpavriksha
Kalpavriksha () is a wish-fulfilling divine tree in Indian religions, like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Its earliest descriptions are mentioned in Sanskrit literature. It is also a popular theme in Jain cosmology and Buddhism. ...
trees were believed to have once held the ability to grant wishes. The
Cintamani
Cintāmaṇi (Sanskrit; Devanagari: चिंतामणि; Chinese language, Chinese: 如意寶珠; Pinyin: ''Rúyì bǎozhū''; Japanese Romanization of Japanese, Romaji: ''Nyoihōju; Tamil language, Tamil:சிந்தாமணி''), also ...
stone of Hindu-Buddhist origin is considered to parallel the
Philosopher's Stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
of western
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
and also thought to be capable of fulfilling any wishes.
See also
*
Children's Wish Foundation
The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada is a registered national Canadian charitable organization whose mission is to fulfill the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. Founded in 1983, the foundation
Foundation may refer ...
*
Kids Wish Network
Kids Wish Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. It has been the subject of negative publicity throughout its history, including accusations of trademark infringemen ...
*
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old.
Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...
*
Three wishes joke
The three wishes joke (or genie joke) is a joke format in which a character is given three wishes by a supernatural being, and fails to make the best use of them. Common scenarios include releasing a genie from a lamp, catching and agreeing to re ...
*
Wishful thinking
Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs based on what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief and desire.
Methodologies to examine wishful think ...
*
Wish Upon
''Wish Upon'' is a 2017 American supernatural horror film, directed by John R. Leonetti, written by Barbara Marshall, and starring Joey King, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park, Shannon Purser, Sherilyn Fenn, Elisabeth Rohm, and Ryan Phillippe. The film f ...
* ''
William's Wish Wellingtons
''William's Wish Wellingtons'' is an animated BBC children's television series produced by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment (who had previously created '' Spider!''), which was originally aired on BBC One from 25 October to 30 December 1994 ...
''
*
Stamping (custom)
References
{{Authority control
Superstitions
Recurrent elements in fairy tales