Fair maiden: As you have probably noted, epithets do not change in folk tales. There is no point of view: objects and characters are not described from the point of view of the hero or the villain, but as elements of the tale. A "fair maiden" remains "fair" and a "maiden," even though, by her actions, she does not seem either "fair" or "a maiden:" that is because any beautiful, young-looking woman is a "fair maiden," as an element of the tale, not as a descriptor of a specific character.

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