The system of images in Romanian-Moldovan folklore (based on the fairy tales by M. Eminescu and I. Creangă)

Abstract

The article deals with the system of images in the magic fairy tales by M. Eminescu and I. Creangă. The research purpose is to determine the invariant features of the characters in Romanian-Moldovan folklore, to contrast the authors’ images of the characters with their prototypes and to compare the systems of images of both M. Eminescu and I. Creangă. The nominative approach allows us to find out how this specificity is manifested in the fairy tale texts through the names of various characters. The article covers detailed descriptions of Romanian-Moldovan magic fairy tale personages. These include positive characters, such as Făt-Frumos and Ileana Cosânzeana, as well as villains, for instance, Muma Pădurii, Statupalmă-barbă-cot and Zmeul. The classification of characters is based on the V. Propp and E. Meletinsky approach to the magic fairy tale. The article studies primary and secondary nominations of magic fairy tale personages and determines their stylistic, national and cultural potential. The study shows that the image of a character is formed through the use of nominations, whose semantics indicates certain attributes of the personage under consideration. These attributes include the character’s name, age, appearance, moral virtues, occupation and place of residence. Some nominations can have a number of positive meanings and play a pivotal role in shaping the ideal image of the protagonist. In magic fairy tales, antagonists are presented by means of nominations with negative semantics.