Legendy i baśnie Trok Haliny Bogdel wobec wzoru ludowego

Abstract

The book Legendy i baśnie Trok [Legends and Tales of Trakai] by Halina Bogdel consists of nineteen short stories based on folk accounts that the writer heard in person from her field informants. The collection includes several literary genres: fairy tales, tales of unhappy love based on ballad themes as well as etiological, historical and religious legends. These works of fiction often contain demonic characters associated with the water element, in particular water nymphs based on traditional beliefs. However, while referring to the folk tradition and sometimes even letting the folk narrators speak for themselves, the author tries to transform the source text into an autonomous literary work, which is part of a new communication situation. Thus, Bogdel enriches fairytale and legend-based narrative stereotypes with new content, primarily of ethical nature; she also introduces motifs unknown to folk tradition, associated with the figure of an artist, often misunderstood and underappreciated by the people around them. This allows the author to express her idea of art as a means to ennoble and embellish human life.