Królewna z brodą - realizacje motywu w bajkach polskich, żmudzkich i białoruskich

Abstract

Four texts were subjected to a comparative and contextual analysis: two variants of Polish fairy tales with the motif of “the Princess With a Beard” (from Silesia and Kujawy), one Samogitian variant recorded in Polish and one Belarusian variant. A permanent element appearing in the same function in all the analyzed fairytales is the motif of a maid with a male beard and is considered to be perceived as the realization of the folk sense of justice. However, the blending process of this motif with other fairytale themes determines the different message of fairy tales. The analysis included among others: the context of folk funeral, wedding ceremonies and exemplifications of convergent motifs (a woman with facial hair) in magical and humorous fairy-tale themes. According to the author of the article, all four analyzed variants of fairy tales containing the “princess with a beard” motif, meet the criteria of the thread T 326 “The seeker of fear” in which the daredevil spends the night in an abandoned building controlled by fears.