Między baśnią a mitem. W pustyni i w puszczy Henryka Sienkiewicza z perspektywy krytyki tematycznej

Abstract

In the article, the author analyses relationships between Henryk Sienkiewicz’s In Desert and Wilderness and myth, folk magic tale and parable. She also discusses the problem of iconicity, i.e. the repetitiveness of pictures, themes and motifs (e.g. the knight, garden, guide, book) in Sienkiewicz’s work – a characteristic feature of classical literature for young people. Moreover, she distinguishes language formulas as well as plot and narrative stereotypes typical for the adventure prose in the novel. The researcher claims that the universality of Sienkiewicz’s work consists exactly in its relation with magic tale and myth which causes that the reading of In Desert and Wilderness not only shapes the awareness of a young reader but, above all, influences his subconscious and emotional spheres. Two theoretical-literary methodologies were used in the article: the concept of a structuralist Vladimir Propp and Northrop Frye’s mythographic criticism.