CC BY
7
Gafforova S.Z.
2nd year student
Tashkent State University of the Uzbek language and literature
named after Alisher Navoiy Uzbekistan
ON THE QUESTION OF THE COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF FOLK
TALES
Abstract: For the first time, a comparative study of fairy-tale traditions is carried out in the article. In the course of the study, it was found that in the fairy tales under consideration there are both universal plots inherent in the fairy tales of other peoples of the world, and local plots identified directly only in these fairy tales of our nationalities. This division is based on the use of a universal, international index of fairy-tale plots during the analysis.
Key words and phrases: fairy tales; universal plot; local plot; fairy type.
Fairy tales, representing one of the oldest folklore genres, embodied the history, social strata, lifestyle and way of life of their creator — the people, their place in society, influence, occupation and other qualities. And for this reason, the formation of the ethnic composition of a certain people and its migration, international cultural and educational ties are an important tool for determining the foundations of primitiveness. This explains the fact that for many centuries fairy tales have been studied in various aspects: linguistic, literary, ethnographic, and historical. It should be noted that each of the scientists approaches the issue of comparative study of fairy tales from his own point of view. According to V.Y. Propp, "If we limit ourselves to comparing fairy tales with each other, we will remain within the framework of comparativism" [5, 16].
According to V.M. Jirmunsky, "The question of whether there are typological analogies or contact interactions between similar folklore plots is, first of all, a historical question. It should be considered not abstractly, but taking into account the specific conditions of the historical development of peoples and cultural interaction between them" [3, 336]. The issue of comparative study of epic plots that have become widespread in the West and East has found its sufficient coverage in the studies of A.N. Veselovsky, E.M. Meletinsky, G.L. Permyakov, N.Roshiyanu, from Uzbek scientists - G.A. Jalalov, H. Egamov and others. Our research concerns an aspect mentioned in the works of these scientists, but which has not received sufficient study. In general, a comparative study of the morpho-typo-poetics of fairy tales of peoples who lived in remote territories from each other, and different in their language, lifestyle, religious beliefs, social structure, customs, culture, economic and political development, has important theoretical and practical significance. In our research, we found it appropriate to refer to the fairy tales of the English,
French, Uzbek and Russian people. The Uzbek folklore has long known the fairy tale "Ur, tuqmok" ("Beat, baton!") [4, 56-60]. In turn, this plot also takes place in the folklore of English [7, 414-417], French [8, 57-63], Russian [6, 9799], German [1, 147-159] and other people.
The name of the fairy tale for each nation, having undergone creative processing, sounds different. In the Uzbek version - "Beat, baton!", in Russian folklore - "Horse, tablecloth and horn", in English folklore — "Donkey, table and stick", the Germans — "Cover the table, golden donkey and baton out of the bag", and the French have this fairy tale in two versions: the first is called "Tailor and whirlwind", and the second - "Devil's Castle". In the Uzbek fairy tale, the following sequence of events is observed: One day an old man set a snare and sat down to guard. Looks - a stork got into the snare. The stork asks the old man to let him go, which was done. The stork flies away. The old man goes to his house and asks him to "Boil, my pot." However, on the way home, he loses what he received. The second time he asks "Tablecloth, open up." And this gift was lost on the way. The third time he asks for "Hit, baton." After this event, everything stolen is discovered, and all the characters who deceived the old man are punished. In the German fairy tale, events are also based on this plot. However, the number of characters in it is larger, which ultimately led to an increase in the volume of this fairy tale. The exposition of the fairy tale tells about an event concerning a tailor, his three sons and a goat. The tailor tells his sons to herd the goat. However, he is not satisfied with their work, sends all three of them out of the house and begins to live alone.
The eldest son is apprenticed to a blacksmith. When his apprenticeship ends, the master gives him a "Self-made Tablecloth". When the guy returned home, it was abducted from his inn. He discovers the loss only upon arrival at his father's home. The middle son enters the service of a miller, and at the end of his apprenticeship, the master gives him a donkey capable of giving birth to gold. And this son's donkey was replaced at the inn where he spent the night; he discovers the substitution only upon arrival at his home. The youngest son enters an apprenticeship to a turner. The master gives him a "Hit, baton". He also stops at the same inn where his older brothers were deceived, in order to spend the night here. The owner of the establishment, seeing the bag of his young guest, plans to replace it at night in order to take possession of the contents. The young man, who was waiting for these actions, gives the order "Hit, baton" at this time. At these words, a baton jumps out and beats the innkeeper to death. This subject is begging for mercy, promising to return everything stolen earlier. The youngest son arrives home with a cargo, the contents of which were "A self-made tablecloth", "A Golden donkey" and "Beat, baton". He passes what he brought to his brothers, and this is the end of the fairy tale. The Russian version of the fairy tale is built in a slightly different way. As narrated here, an old woman had a stupid son. One day he finds a pea seed, which he plants and guards his crop. He manages to ambush a stork, which he is going to kill. Then
the stork asks not to kill him and gives him a horse for it. If you order the horse to "Stop", then it gives birth to gold, with the words "but" it stops this action. The young man brings the horse home and gives it to his mother; she was very pleased with this gift. The fool goes to the stork again, scares him and this time returns with a "self-made Tablecloth". It was also given to his mother. The young man goes to the stork for the third time, threatening to kill him. He gives him a horn this time. When a fool asks what the horn is for, the stork orders: "out of the horn." At the same time, two hefty fellows appear who beat the guy up. And the stork soars into the sky with the words: "into the horn." The fellows stop the beating and return to their hollow. Then the fool invites local dignitaries to his home and shows them a horse that gives birth to gold, and a "self-made tablecloth" capable of reproducing various dishes. In the end, the dignitaries, mocking him, ask:
- Hey, fool, what else do you have wonderful? Then he gives the order to the horn. The stalwart fellows who appeared at the same time beat these dignitaries half to death. They had previously managed to hide the gold born by the horse. After the beating, the dignitaries are forced to flee, abandoning everything they stole. This is where the fairy tale ends. The means connecting the plot of all three folk tales — a source of wealth (a horse or donkey giving birth to gold, and a jug), a source of viands (a tablecloth), a patron punishing the sinful, the guilty (beat, baton) - are fantastic elements that determine the movement of events. Of course, each of these plots has been reworked in the aspect of the peculiarities of the worldview of individual peoples, national identity. The German fairy tale differs significantly from the previous two fairy tales. National traits are clearly manifested in it, events cover a wider spectrum. And the Russian fairy tale has a laconic form and a small volume. In the English version of the fairy tale "Beat, baton!" the fantastic image is not predominant. Vitality and realism dominate here. Here, the idea is put forward that only if the conditions associated with work are met, one can become the owner of a magic object. For the hero of the fairy tale, Jack, in order to become the owner of the donkey that gives birth to silver, works incessantly for 12 months and one day. Having been deceived, he loses the donkey, and again works continuously for 12 months and one day to become the owner of the "Table, cover up". When this magical object was also lost, he begins to work again, and becomes the owner of "Beat, baton", which ends this fairy tale. Among the French people, the plot of "Beat, batons" is spread through two independent fairy tales. The first of them is called "The Tailor and the Whirlwind". The exposition of the fairy tale looks quite different, acquiring a household character. A tailor marries a grumpy woman and constantly lives in a scandalous situation. Knowing this, the whirlwind gives him a donkey as an aid. From that moment on, the events form the plot line of the fairy tale "Beat, baton!". When a donkey is stolen, the hero is given a napkin. After it was lost, he was presented with "Beat, baton!", and events begin to unfold in favor of the tailor. The second fairy tale is called "The
Devil's Castle". The exposition of this fairy tale is also very original. Here, three sons of a certain peasant, in the process of various adventures that they had to go through, encounter the devil. His condition is fulfilled by the youngest son, who receives a gift of "Beat, baton!". This weapon in the French fairy tale is able to reproduce gold. However, it was stolen from the brothers. Then the devil gives them a tablecloth, which was also lost.
In the end, the devil presents them with a cloak. These clothes had magical properties, the person wearing the cloak was invisible to others, and he could see and observe everything around him. The fairy tale ends with the three brothers marrying the three daughters of the king by means of these objects. The fairy tale "The Tailor and the Whirlwind" to a certain extent shows similarities with the Uzbek fairy tale. There is a donkey, a tablecloth and a baton. Only in the Uzbek version, a jug appears instead of a donkey, and everything else is practically repeated. As for the question of the patron, the function of the stork from the Uzbek fairy tale in French folklore is performed by a whirlwind. In the second fairy tale from French folklore, more space is given to other details and the traditional functions of the objects that manifest their activity are changed. In particular, if in most fairy tales the baton is given as an instrument of punishment, then in this fairy tale it is given as a means of reproducing gold. In addition, in this fairy tale, the cloak is mentioned as a means that is absolutely not found in the fairy tales of other people. Most importantly, the process of punishment is carried out in a completely different form. The punishment of the rapist who appropriated magic objects is assigned to wonderful pears. This, in turn, manifests itself as the fourth miraculous remedy, which is not found in Uzbek, Russian, German and English fairy tales. Consequently, although this fairy tale is based on the plot of "Beat, baton", it has undergone significant processing. However, in any case, these fairy tales are connected by a single plot through three wonderful objects. This case shows the principles of processing literary connections and influences in thinking through different worldviews. Among the fairy tales analyzed above, the English fairy tale has the most realistic character. The main emphasis in it is on labor activity. In the fairy tales of other people, the fantastic spirit prevails. Since, "Any fiction in art is a technique, a way of embodying an idea" [2, 148]. This feature acquires a commonality for all archaic motifs. The idea of fighting for a happy life of every person has been embodied since ancient times through a fantastic image. Each nation processed the basic idea contained in these fairy tales based on the traditions of its folk literature, lifestyle, worldview, social ideal, showing its national identity in it. Thus, comparison, as a method of research, provides an opportunity for a deeper, historically grounded explanation of this national identity.
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