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DOI:10.29013/EJLL-23-3-60-64
THE GENRE OF THE PARABLE, ITS GENESIS, DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT STATE
Guljakhon Bolikulovna Sharipova 1
1 Researcher of the Department of French Philology, National University of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Cite: Sharipova, G. B. (2023). The genre of the Parable, its Genesis, Development and Current State. European Journal of Literature and Linguistics 2023, No 3. https://doi.org/10.29013/ EJLL-23-3-60-64
Abstract
This article is a study of the poetics of J. de Lafontaine's works. In it, the parable genre in fiction, the history of its genesis and development, and J. In the works of de Lafontaine, special attention is paid to the study of the relationship between nature and man, individual and society. Also, the article provides information about scientific sources that reflect the illumination of the life of animals (animals, birds) and its characteristics in the works of J. de Lafontaine. Comparative-typological analysis methods were used to clarify this problem. In France, compared to other Western countries, in the XVII-XVIII and XX centuries, the writing of works in the animalistic genre increased. According to the researchers, there are principles of "anthropological" and "zoological" direction in the French fable genre, and the anthropological direction of the fable genre can be distinguished from them: 1) direction, i.e. transfer of animal characteristics to humans (Fables of Lafontaine); 2) the direction arising from realism in highlighting the characteristics of animals, in which the direction of natural science prevails. So, the anthropological direction prevailed in fiction, the reason being that the parable is based on the folklore of a certain area, mythological elements and epic sources, or it may be completely invented by the writer. Parables are very similar in one thing: the characteristics of animals help to express and understand major events in human life. Race, class, gender, and other risks are explored through animal imagery.
Keywords: parable genre, image of animals, mythopoetic thinking, folklore, folklore, symbols
Introduction
Images of animals in fiction, the relationship between humans and animals, and the role of animals in human life are not new phenomena in world literature. The parable genre has gone through a long historical develop-
ment. Its roots go back to ancient times - the times when life appeared on earth. Humans and animals are united by long evolutionary development. During this development, animals closely assisted humans in overcoming difficulties. It is for this reason that man
praises animals, praises them, bows to them, dedicates to them the best works he creates in sculpture, architecture, visual arts and, finally, in fiction. "Legends about birds and animals, tales about cunning creatures, parables about strange creatures and writings with a fantastic character, epic poems and satirical stories about the kingdom of animals - these are incomplete artistic forms of animalistic literature" (Orekhova Yu.S., 2008).
Materials and methods
More attention was paid to the parable genre in the following studies by French scientists: Sh. Causeret (Causeret 1889), L. Herve (Hervieux 1893-1894), J. Janssens (Janssens 1955), L. Errmann (Herrmann 1963-1964), L. Levro (Levrault 1967), P. Bornek (Bonecque 1972), P. Malandena (Malandain 1981), K. Massron (Masseron 1988), J.-N. Pascal (Rassa11992).
E. It is also necessary to emphasize the research of Chenault (Chaigneau 1937) devoted to the creation of animal images in poetry on the example of the works of the French romantics, painters and symbolists.
The article used philological, analytical and comparative-typological methods of analysis.
The period of flourishing of purely literary animalistic fables in France corresponds to the second half of the 17 th century and the beginning of the 18 th century. This period is called the "golden age" of French literature in Western literary studies (Charpenter H., 1932). Literary tales of the "Golden Age" are characterized by rare authorial approaches that expanded the boundaries of the genre and, at the same time, strengthened its connection with the finest examples of the earlier literary tradition and modern English literature of the time.
Science developed in Europe in the 19 th century brought changes to animal science. Charles Darwin created a fundamental work called "On the Origin of Species" and made great discoveries not only in zoology, biology, genetics, but also in social sciences and fiction. After that, the views of animals in fiction changed. We can cite hundreds of works of French literature as an example.
Among the works written in the animalistic genre in France in the 19 th century, it is
possible to single out the miniature collections of Jules Renard (1864-1910) "Natural stories" (Histoires naturelles) and "L'Eco-nifleur", as well as "Journals". J. Renard's miniatures are distinguished by their deep lyricism and humor, and their linguistic and stylistic skill in creating animal images.
By the 20 th century, the genre of animalistic fables lost its position in other countries of Western Europe, but the tradition of literary animalistic fables was continued in France. At the beginning of the 20 th century in France, the parable and its animalistic direction became a special phenomenon that educates the important qualities of a person, develops imagination and fantasy, and describes the universe as a multifaceted, interesting and complex system. By the middle of the century, new authors entered the field of animalistic fables, and this direction of fables became richer.
In the French animalistic literature of the first half of the 20 th century, the name of Sido-nie-Gabriel Colette (1873-1954) stands out. S.-G. Colette is one of the greatest masters of "animalistic portrait" not only in French, but also in world literature of the 20 th century. The entire work of S.-G. Colette is related to the animalistic genre. These include the fable collections The Cat (La Chatte), Dialogues of Animals (Dialogues de betes) and Life Among Wild Animals (Aventures quotidiennes).
A number of studies have been carried out about the work of S.-G. Colette in the West, including in his native France (P. Traar, G. Tryuk, I. Gadon), three candidate theses were defended in Russia (Fomin S. M., 1985).
Yu. S. Orekhova stated that "S.-G". Colette's animalistic work is a synthesis of two different approaches to describing animals in literature: "anthropological" and "zoological". Each animal of literature includes both open (the image of the animal) and closed, invisible (the function performed by this animal in the story) literary elements. The duality of animal characters - both naturalness and symbolism at the same time - is a defining feature of S.-G. Colette's animalistic work (Orekhova Yu.S., 2008).
Results and Discussion
The role of animals in myths is incomparable. In mythopoetic thinking, animals
appear as a form of a mythical code, and myths and mythical tales are created based on this code. Mythological animals are a way for humans to express themselves and their environment. The mythological embodiment of man in nature gave way to totemistic mysteries. A totem (an animal, plant, stone, etc., worshiped by clans) connects a certain community of people, clan with the area where they live, the past with the present (Mikhe-eva A. P., 1990). Seed totems are usually associated with a specific animal. Here, the element of animalism is manifested in the clan's customs, images, beliefs, and way of life. These motifs eventually lead to the appearance of cosmogonic myths in which animals are depicted as creators. In the myths of many peoples, a number of animals are directly involved in the creation of the world. Animals have been the main subject of the image in the monuments of ancient fine art.
If in myths animals appear in the form of gods or demigods, in fiction they are depicted as images that are close to reality. Every nation has animals in its folklore. The creatures have appeared in folklore since ancient times. They were treated as mere human servants, depicted as living things. The type of animals is related to people's occupation, geographical location, culture, outlook, traditions and customs. Horses, camels, large-horned cattle, and sheep have been sung about in the oral works and epics of the Uzbek people. They were considered a symbol of wealth, satiety and peace.
The image of animals in fiction is a method of figurative-emotional impact on the reader. The content of works depicting animals is characterized by high emotionality. Depicting human life through animal images is one of the main tasks of the animalistic genre in fiction.
The sources of fiction and literary studies used in the research allow to analyze the images of animals in different literary genres, to consider their mutual relations and connections, and to follow the change of perceptions about animals during the historical-literary process in Europe, including France. The main artistic principles of the literature about animals are defined in the folklore (oral creativity) of the peoples, while the general animalistic motifs were developed by each
people and representatives of each national literature in their own way. Animals, especially birds, were treated with deep respect in written literature, including one of the most ancient and immortal examples of human artistic thinking, "Avesta" (Mirsaidov B. T., 2004).
Images of animals can be found in the literature of all periods. There are many such works in world literature. In the ancient world, a certain criterion, a certain pattern of depicting animals in fiction appeared. Animals and birds became the heroes of fables. The famous Aesop wrote immortal examples of this genre. Gradually, this criterion did not fit into the usual brochure. Later, animals were depicted as mediators in fiction. The author uses animals when necessary and not when necessary to achieve his purpose.
In medieval France, animals, especially domestic animals and birds, first became the characters of works of small genres such as "le" and "fablio", the animals spoke their language with the people in the works, and often escaped from the hands of their captors as chases and tricks. Medieval French fables such as "Estula" (The Star), "Le dit des perdrix" (The story of the turkeys) and "Du vilain et de l'oiselet" (The cunning man and the little bird) are still popular (Russian-Uzbek dictionary (1984). Two-roofed. T. N. Russian-Uzbek dictionary (1984). It has two roofs. T. N.- T.: Uzbek Soviet Encyclopedia Chief Editor, 1984.- 581 p.).
However, in the Middle Ages, under the influence of religions, a "Chinese wall" was placed between humans and animals in Europe. In Europe, while the theological philosopher Thomas Aquinas taught that "animals have no soul", in the East, on the contrary, animals were treated differently. In the epics, horses were described as the best friends of man. Abulqasim Firdavsi created an immortal image of the legendary Semurg bird in his famous "Shahnoma". Sanoyi Raz-vani "Tasbihi tuyur" and Hokroni Sharvani wrote the first works about the life of birds and their languages in the odes "Mantiq ut-tayr". Later, this tradition was continued by Shaykh Farididun Attar in his work "Mantiq ut-tayr" and Alisher Navoi in "Lison ut-tayr" (1499). In his work "Lison ut-Tair" - "The Language of the Bird", Ulug' Navoi artisti-
cally described the issue of man and nature, theology. The great poet expressed his views figuratively through the language, actions, and adventures of more than thirty birds such as Parrot, Peacock, Popishak (Mir-saidov B. T., 2004).
In the 18 th century, the French naturalist and writer J. L. L. Buffon (1707-1788) created the forty-four-volume "History of Nature" (Histoires naturelles). Count Buffon, the king's chief gardener (since 1739), helped his colleagues academician L. J. M. Doben-ton (1716-1800), abbot Bexon, count Geno de Montbeliard, baron L. B. Guyton de Mor-vaux (1736) to create this work.- 1816) and worked in collaboration with others for 45 years (1744-1788). In this famous work, Buffon drew the life and behavior of animals living around us, created their unique portraits.
Russian researcher Yu. S. Orekhova, while researching the genre of French parables, singles out two main principles: 1) "anthropological" trend that prevailed until the 18th century. In it, animals are compared to humans. These are the folk tales, medieval bestiaries, and Lafontaine's parables that we cited above; 2) the "zoological" direction arising from realism in the description of animal characteristics. According to the researcher, this direction was founded by J. L. L. Buffon (Orekhova Yu.S., 2008).
We agree with the opinion of the Russian scientist and would like to point out that the "anthropological" image was mainly the product of folk oral creativity, and later, the thinking of talented poets and writers. Artistic image prevails in it. The "zoological" image differs from the "anthropological" image in its scientific nature. "These are works of art, but not works of art, works of science, but not works of science. They could not rise to the level of a true work of art and became subordinate to science. As a result, it became a textbook in its field" (Murad Togay, 2010).
Until the 18 th century, the "anthropological" factor prevailed in animalistic literature. An example of this can be given dozens of parables of French writers created in this period. However, with the development of natural sciences, the idea of the unity of man and the animal world began to prevail in the parable genre, and the "anthropological" factor gave way to the "zoological" factor.
Conclusions
The genre of the parable is a separate genre, which, along with the general features similar to traditional folklore, has its own characteristics that are significantly different from it, because it consists of a "conditional literary form with folklore". The fable genre may be based on local folklore, mythological elements, and epic sources, or it may be completely invented by the writer.
The parable genre consists of a variety of genre forms subject to different historical-literary laws. Animalistic texts are very similar in one thing: the characteristics of animals help to express and understand large-scale events in human life. Race, class, gender, and other risks are explored through animal imagery. V. Ya. Propp understands the parable genre as the parables whose main object or subject is animals. According to the scientist, these signs distinguish parables from other parables, in which animals play an auxiliary role and are not the main characters of the story.
In animalistic parables, animals act like humans, feel like humans, have human characteristics, and react to events like humans. They behave like people: they build houses, live as a family, visit each other's houses, talk to each other and to people. Certain aspects of human character are typified in animal images. The fox, among other things, is a cunning animal, and the ants are funny. The struggle for life between animals is depicted as a metaphorical expression of social conflicts. Animal parables have had deep symbolic meanings since ancient times. Among other things, they taught young people from life experience, and in particular, knowledge about the animal world. With the deepening of man's knowledge of nature, new plots appeared in parables, including plots about tamed domestic animals.
In animalistic parables, we can observe cultural patterns of using certain types of animals as characters. Animals such as bears, wolves, foxes, dogs, and cats take part in the French linguistic culture. In the English language culture, bear, rabbit, cat (tiger, panther), snake and pig (pig) are the main animal-heroes. There are stereotyped views of animals listed not only in French and English animalistic fables, but also in animal fables of other nations. The most common animal in
these parables is the bear, a symbol of friendship and nobility. In animalistic fables, the wolf is a wild and merciless creature, the fox
is cunning and dexterous, the wild rabbit is active and independent, and the donkey is a cunning, short-sighted, but loyal animal.
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submitted 27.08.2023; accepted for publication 20.09.2023; published 8.10.2023 © Sharipova, G. B.
Contact: guljaxonsharipova758@mail.com
