Семантичне поле мотиву відьомства в сучасній українській літературі (на матеріалі "Казки про калинову сопілку" Оксани Забужко)
Semantic Field of the Motif of Witchcraft in Modern Ukrainian Literature (Based on the Material of "The Reedpipe Tale" by Oksana Zabuzhko)

Author(s): Halyna Żukowska
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Ukrainian Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: motif of witchcraft; image of a witch; folk and ethnographic myth; Biblical myth; literary interpretation; images and symbols
Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the motif of witchcraft and its semantic field in modern Ukrainian literature based on the material of Oksana Zabuzhko’s "The Reedpipe Tale". It reveals the symbolic modulations of the witch’s image in the context of ideology, philosophy, and Zabuzhko’s writing style. An analysis of the interpretive model of the witch’s image in Oksana Zabuzhko’s story shows that in contemporary feminist postmodernism witchcraft represents the inner state of a woman in the patriarchal society, her peculiar way of defence and protest. The interpretation of the demonic possession of a woman in Oksana Zabuzhko’s story is carried out in several interpretative vectors, but they all remain closely connected with folk and mythological ideas: the image of a witch has a dual nature, reflecting a struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, the human and the demonic. In Oksana Zabuzhko’s literary interpretation, a woman in the traditional society is its mirror reflection, so the innate demonic nature of a woman is not associated with evil, and the transformation of this force into destructive one is due to the detrimental influence of the social environment. The use of Biblical myths, folklore, and ethnographic images and symbols in Oksana Zabuzhko’s story is shown to be a way of creating a timeless background for philosophical reflections on the eternal questions of human existence.

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