Flesh and bones: On literary and real codes in fairy tales

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to analysis of efficacy of cliche and formula as means of encoding realia, particularly in case of 'human flesh and bone' motif in Serbian and Russian fairy tales. The present approach is grounded on several prepositions: 1) that structure of fairy tale is complex; 2) that realization of this structure is simple; 3) that the former is possible to achieve by cliche and formula; 4) that fairy tale, as well as oral literary texts in general, is burdened by two dominant codes: a real and a literary 5) that cliche and formula, keeping the same qualities in many different types of application, are successfully used as means of encoding on both levels - the level of realia and the level of literary text. The choice of means and evaluation of their efficacy are specially stressed: cliche offers best results on the level of global organization of sujet ('roasted children' and cannibalism), and formula is the best choice for multilevel connection between realia and text itself ('rolling over the bones').

U ovom radu učinjen je pokušaj da se efikasnost klišea i formule, u svojstvu sredstava za kodiranje realija, proveri na motivu ljudskih kostiju i mesa kao hrane u srpskim i ruskim narodnim bajkama. Prikazana analiza zasnovana je na nekoliko teorijskih pretpostavki: 1) da je struktura bajke složena; 2) da je realizacija te strukture jednostavna; 3) da je jednostavnost njene realizacije omogućena primenom klišea i formule; 4) da u bajci, kao i inače u tekstovima usmene književnosti, postoje dva dominantna koda: realni i književni; 5) da kliše i formula, zahvaljujući posebnim osobinama koje zadržavaju u različitim tipovima primene, uspešno služe kao sredstva za kodiranje u obe ravni - ravni realija i ravni književnog teksta. Poseban akcent stavljen je na izbor sredstava i procenu njihove efikasnosti: kliše daje najbolje rezultate u ravni globalne organizacije sižea ('pečena deca' i ljudožderstvo), a formula u dubinskom povezivanju realija sa tekstom ('valjanje po kostima').