The Concept of Family in Traditional Narratives of Tale Type ATU 1343* “The Children Play at Hog-Killing”

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of verbal repre- sentation of the real experience of family tragedies in the cultural baggage of European oral and handwritten traditions, which is becoming particularly relevant in modern conditions of the growth of information flows, a change in communicative paradigms and the transformation of social roles and value hierarchies. The object of study is the popular tales of the plot ATU 1343* “The Children Play at Hog-Killing”, considered in terms of motive structure, genesis, as well as genre forms of its implementation (rumor, short story, ballad, life of the saint, novel, urban legend).

The study shows that for the traditional minds the depiction of bloody details and the elaboration of an atmosphere of horror aims not to entertain the audience, but to form a collective psychological response to such a powerful existential challenge as a bloody family tragedy.

In turn, for a researcher folk narratives about fatal events breaking the structure of everyday life is a way to get out the traditional point of view on the subject and at the same time is a chance to give a correct typological scale and historical perspective for these acutely relevant and socially significant narratives.