Definition Of A Wish

In fiction a wish is a supernatural gift granting the recipient's unlimited request. The wish is usually a template for a morality tale, "be careful what you wish for" writ large.

The template for most fictional wishes is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, specifically the tale of Aladdin. Although in the tale of Aladdin the actual wishes were only part of the tale and his demands, while outrageous per se, were mainly variations on wealth (which is still often taken as the most 'common' request).

Classically the wish provider is typically a spirit, jinni or similar entity. The entity is bound or constrained within a commonplace object (Aladdin's oil lamp for example) or a container closed with Solomon's seal. Releasing the entity from its constraint, usually by some simple action, allows the object's possessor to 'make a wish', that is present their demands to the entity.

The subservience of the, by necessity, extraordinarily powerful entity to the wishee is explained in a number of 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 in the wishee 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 being a well-known example. The manga Doraemon is a modern spin on this theme.

The number of wishes granted is variable. Aladdin had an unlimited number, but three is more common. Several authors have spun variations of the 'wish for more wishes' theme, though some sources see this wish as 'cheating'. For example, in Douglas Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize winning book GÐ"¶del, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid,