FUNCTIONS OF MYTHOLOGEMES IN THE NOVEL “TOMU, SHCHO TY YE” BY DARA KORNIY

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of Dara Korniy’s work in the development of modern Ukrainian fantasy literature. Novels for an adult audience, works for children, a series of books “Magical Creatures of Ukrainian Myth” testify to the writer’s immersion in the worldview of her ancestors. It is noted that the writer’s artistic interpretation of mythology occurs at different levels of her novel: in plots, motifs, character system, chronotopes, problematics, and language. Attention is drawn to the origins of the plot of “Tomu, shcho ty ye” and the author’s explanation of the relevance of the novel. The first reviews of the work (which highlight the pervasive concept of love), linguistic and literary studies of the book are analyzed. Therefore, the tasks of exploration are defined, which have not yet been done by predecessors: a) to trace the names of characters or individual concepts from myths in the plot of the novel “Tomu, shcho ty ye”; b) to investigate their motivation in the poetics of the work; c) to establish the functions of mythologemes in the literary text of Dara Korniy. The issue of mythologeme in scientific discourse is briefly outlined, the names of the researchers are indicated. The study of mythologemes in the novel “Tomu, shcho ty ye” is based on their interpretation as intertextual elements that already have their own plot (semantic content about a mythical hero or concept, from which one should start in the analysis). Therefore, the article explains the plot schemes, functions, and images of mythical elements that “work” in the poetics of the novel. The image of Semargl, which comes from the pagan god Simargl, is a pervasive feature in the plot of “Tomu, shcho ty ye.” Dara Korniy interpreted the mythical character, transferring him from the sacred to the profane sphere. In the novel, Semargl is the name given to a seemingly unrelated dog that accompanies, sympathizes, helps, and controls the actions (the mythical scenario of Semargl) of the main characters. The mythologeme of Simargl performs a compositional function and helps the reader to construct the development of events in the lives of Oksana and Sasha. Since the work has a retrospective composition and the plot is interspersed with the characters’ memories, the appearance of the dog Semargl points to the most important moments in the characters’ lives. These are situations from Oksana and Sasha’s childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It is also noted that in the artistic world of the work, mythologemes help create images of people. In particular, the hero Sashko (doctor Oleksandr Petrovich) stands out from the others through a comparison with the angel, Icarus. The mythologeme of the angel became the basis for understanding the meaning and role of the children of Maryana and Eduard in the lives of their parents. The mythological functions of the angel indicated the opposite behavior of Sigismund and Vladislav Brekhiv. The mythologems of Janus and the gorgons of Medusa are reflected in the specifics of the characters of Sigismund Vladislavovich and Irena Georgievna, respectively. The biblical mythologems of Eve and Adam reflect the beginning of Oksana and Vladislav’s married life. The polar mythologems of heaven and hell clarify the circumstances of certain periods in the life of the main character. Therefore, we note that the novel involves mythologemes from three mythologies (ancient Ukrainian, biblical, Greek), which are activated in the artistic world of the work. Namely, they clarify the characters of the heroes, help to recreate their lives, relationships between the characters, the problems of the novel and the features of the composition “Tomu ,shcho ty ye”.