@Eviltwinq
Actually, I think it goes considerably further back than that in European literature...
But I might be wrong about that.
No question about it's being a trope of long standing within Euroamerican culture.
@migh Thanks for the link. I'm gonna read ahead now. Slim chance I might translate them (shittily) and up them on a different site since I don't think I can put that source on here.