Visual symbols in Romanian epic works. Theoretical foundations of the research and description of the plot

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National aviation university

Visual symbols in Romanian epic works. Theoretical foundations of the research and description of the plot

YE. R. Koren,

postgraduate student at the department of sociology and political science faculty of linguistics and social communications

Abstract

It is noted that these patterns can be assimilated in the processes of inculturation and socialization of recipients of different ages, as well as relate to issues related to the reproduction and preservation of social systems, through the information transmission of the centralizer - the image of the Absolute and the hierarchy of axiospheres associated with it, which include, including, and art.

The attention is focused on the fact that this image of the Absolute, presented in religion and recursed in the value components of philosophy, ideology, morality, law and art, contains information that has the status of a regulatory for the activity of the social system, since it involves an inculturating and socializing impact on the recipients of various social (age) groups. The transmission of such information through the text of an epic work and the visual images, symbols and patterns contained in it that occur in the plot makes it possible to represent in the form of symbols the key elements of the social system reflected in fairy tales, legends and myths as products of culture.

Key words: cultural system, social system, centrator, image, symbol, plot, symbolic descriptor.

Анотація

Корень Є. Р. Візуальні символи в румунських епічних творах. Частина 1. Теоретичні основи дослідження та опис сюжету

У статті проаналізовано теоретико-методологічні підстави для дослідження візуальних образів, символів та патернів, що зустрічаються у сюжеті казки, як символічних дескрипторів центратора як елемента аксіосфери, представленого у культурній та соціальній системах.

Визначено, що емпіричний матеріал, у предметному полі соціології мистецтва, дозволяє нам розглянути візуальні образи, символи та патерни відображені в сюжеті казки, щодо наявності не лише символічної складової колективного несвідомого, а й повторюваних патернів ціннісно-значущого соціального поведення. Констатовано, що патерни ціннісно-значущої (ідеалізованої чи знеціненої) соціальної поведінки є епіфеноменами культурної та соціальної системи, вираженої у візуальних образах і знаках.

Зазначено, що ці патерни можуть засвоюватися в процесах інкультурації та соціалізації реципієнтів різного віку, а також стосуватися питань, пов'язаних із відтворенням та збереженням соціальних систем за допомогою інформаційної трансляції центратора - образу Абсолюту та пов'язаної з ним ієрархією аксіосфер, до яких належить, у тому числі мистецтво.

Акцентовано увагу на тому, що цей образ Абсолюту, представлений у релігії та рекурсований до ціннісних складових філософії, ідеології, моралі, права та мистецтва, містить інформацію, яка має статус регуляторної для активності соціальної системи, оскільки передбачає інкультураційний та соціалізуючий вплив на реципієнтів різних соціальних (вікових) груп. Трансляція такої інформації через текст епічного твору і візуальні образи, що містяться в ньому, символи і патерни, що зустрічаються в сюжеті, дозволяє подати у формі символів ключові елементи соціальної системи, відображені в казках, легендах і міфах як продуктах культури.

Ключові слова: культурна система, соціальна система, центратор, образ, символ, сюжет, символічний дескриптор.

Main part

Formulation of the problem. The texts of epic works contain a wealth of information that, when used both as tools of analytical psychology and neofunctionalist theories, provides important sociological information. Having an idea of the integrity of the cultural and social systems of their work on self-reproduction in the highest cultural register, it can be stated that epic works, which include fairy tales, are symbolic products that reflect the social system and its features.

This empirical material, in its sociological subject field, allows us to consider visual images, symbols and patterns displayed in the plot of a fairy tale. They can be analyzed for the presence of not only a symbolic component of the collective unconscious, but also repetitive patterns of value-significant (idealized or devalued) social behavior. Patterns of valuesignificant (idealized or devalued) social behavior are epiphenomena of the cultural and social system expressed in visual images and symbols.

These patterns can be assimilated in the processes of inculturation and socialization of recipients of different ages, as well as relate to issues related to the reproduction and preservation of social systems, through the information transmission of the centrator - the image of the Absolute and the hierarchy of axiospheres associated with it, which include, among other things, art. This image of the Absolute, presented in religion and recursed in the value components of philosophy, ideology, morality, law and art, contains information that has the status of a regulatory for the activity of the social system, since it implies an inculturating and socializing effect on recipients of different social (age) groups. The transmission of such information through the text of an epic work and the visual images, symbols and patterns contained in it that occur in the plot makes it possible to represent in the form of symbols the key elements of the social system reflected in fairy tales, legends and myths as products of culture.

Purpose of the article. Analyze the visual images, symbols and patterns found in the plot of the tale as symbolic descriptors of the centralizer as an element of the axiosphere, represented in the cultural and social systems.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The work of Parsons and Kroeber presents a structural-functionalist understanding of culture and the social system. The authors point to the existing (at the time of writing) disagreements between anthropologists and sociologists in the interpretation of the concepts of culture, society and social system. The result of inconsistency was semantic inconsistencies that created confusion and opposed the search for consensus for researchers in these sciences. Researchers come to the conclusion that it is necessary to overcome the militant attempts to «win» a particular science, citing as an example of such failure the obtaining of the primacy or supremacy of biology or psychology in sociology. The authors propose an approach for complementing the traditional approaches of both sciences in the study of common problems with the existing distinction between approaches [1].

Parsons' article on social systems touches on a number of important points in his theory. It considers the issues of defining a system as an integral ensemble of interrelated elements that have mutual influence within themselves and mutual influence between themselves and the external environment. The author also points out the importance of distinguishing between such concepts as theoretical and empirical systems, with an emphasis on the abstractness of the first without belittling its practical significance [2].

Parsons points to the leading role of the social system as an intermediary between culture and the individual. He insists on considering the actor as an acting subject (individual, group unit) within the social system. At the same time, the action of the functioning of the system is indicated, mainly within the framework of its environment, the opposite situations of reference to external environments are separate situations, and not the environment [2, p. 38-44].

Modernization and detailing, when considering social systems in their communication aspect, is the result of the theoretical developments of Niklas Luhmann. Luhmann's primary task and interest was not further consideration of theories that answered the question since the days of classical sociology about «what is society?». The German sociologist was interested in the answer to the question: «how does society function?». Hence the author's point of view on society as a system of continuous social comprehensive communications. The author actively used achievements in biology and cybernetics, which allowed him to significantly enrich sociological science. An example of this is the discovery of self-reproducing systems in biology, which Luhmann made one of the methods in his sociological theory. He extrapolated this principle to the issues related to self-preservation and reproduction of society [3].

The work of S. Eisenstadt «Revolution and transformation of societies» presents the main results of the four general components of his concept. This includes both a structural analysis of political formations in a historical context, as well as a theory of civilizations. No less important are the theory of modernization as a result of a search in the field of the historical dynamics of the development of various types of societies, as well as the recognition of the important creative role of the revolutions of the Modern Times in the formation of modern societies [4].

The collective monograph by Romanenko Yu. and other authors, under the general title «Ethnic identity: sociosystemological dimension of geopolitics» is based on the theory of neo-functionalism and offers a presentation of a number of important ideas necessary for understanding the cultural and social system, ethnicity and ethnic identity in sociological discourse, as well as constructivist and primordialist paradigms of their analysis [5, pp. 42-77].

The author proposes his own version of the Parsons-Luhmann theory, in the «culture-society-psyche-body» model, which is similar to the original Parson's model in the presence of a number of innovations that are absent in Parsons' theory. In the understanding of Yu. Romanenko, «culture-society-psyche-body» is not only hierarchically subordinated, but also has its own «residences» within each of these structures, thus, the four-level structure of sociality has 4 more similar levels within each of these levels. sublevels, for a total of 16 sublevels. This allows you to significantly differentiate the sociological information obtained through the use of this model regarding the symbolic reality of fairy tales, myths and legends as products of culture [5, p. 104-132].

Also, the article uses some results that were obtained by the author of the article in the materials of his previous article [6]. First of all, we are talking about the use of a number of ideas of the analytical school of psychology by C. Jung and the individual authors following him, who dealt with the problems of archetypes and symbols of the collective unconscious. The tools developed by this school of psychology make it easier to identify symbols. This, in turn, is supplemented by the above sociological studies, which allows us to more fully explore the reality of visual images and cultural constructs «viewed» through these images.

Statement of the main provisions. The following is a description of the plot of the Romanian fairy tale «Princess Illeana». Initially, we will give a brief description of the plot of the fairy tale with further interpretation of its individual elements. Here, for the sake of brevity, only individual quotations from the tale can be omitted, which allow us to demonstrate individual images that are symbolic descriptors of the cultural system. For a complete acquaintance with the plot of the fairy tale, the corresponding link to the original source is given in the text [7]. The plot of the tale itself is offered in a selective presentation.

The plot begins with the mention of a powerful king who defeated all other neighboring kings and princes. He demanded from the vanquished that they send their eldest sons to serve him for a period of ten years. After that, one of the defeated kings is mentioned, who in his youth was a strong and courageous warrior, but, having grown old, fell under the power of a powerful king. He also had to send his eldest son to the court of the victorious king, but he could not do this, since he had three daughters. This saddened the defeated king, for he was afraid of the punishment of the victorious king and the possibility of deprivation, because of this, of his throne [7].

His daughters noticed his sadness and found out, through long inquiries, what was troubling him. The eldest daughter began to beg her old father, the defeated king, to allow her to disguise herself as a man and go to the victorious king, posing as the son of the defeated king. The king did not agree, for he knew that she was not able to overcome the numerous obstacles on the way. After a while, the eldest daughter persuaded her father. Dressed in luxurious clothes, choosing magnificent horses and taking a large amount of money, the princess set off [7].

But the king overtook her and waited for her at the border of his kingdom. The king had the power to transform into any animal, given to him by an old fairy who knew his parents. He decided to use the old gift and test the courage of his daughter. He turned into a wolf and hid under the bridge, waiting for his daughter to pass over it. When the eldest daughter drove up to the bridge, the wolf rushed at her, snapping his teeth. The princess was frightened, but managed to keep from fainting, after which she turned back home. At home, the king-father met her and reproached her for her arrogance [7].

On another day, the middle sister did the same and the result was repeated: the frightened princess returned home, and the king reproached her for the same thing as the first. A few days later, the youngest daughter also asked the king to let her go, as she, like her sisters, wanted to help her father. The king was surprised at her request, doubting that she, the youngest daughter, would be able to do what her older sisters failed to do. But she insisted, pointing out that out of love for her father, she was ready to take the risk. Hoping in God, she suggested that perhaps she would have the courage. Otherwise, she pledged to return home. Having convinced her father, she began to prepare for the journey. She dressed very simply and went to the stable to choose a horse for herself. After reviewing all the magnificent horses, she chose an old horse with which her father won brilliant victories [7].

She found an old horse in a dark corner on a dirty bed. Looking at the old and weakened horse, Illeana felt sorry for it. The horse turned to the princess and, having told about past exploits with the king, said that it was waiting for death. But at the same time, its offered to take care of horse for ten days, then her strength would return to her and she would become stronger than ten purebred horses. After finding out how to care for the horse, Illeana agreed to do this, and in return to receive further help from the horse in her business [7].

Fulfilling the promise of courtship, on the tenth day, the horse got up from the bed. Illeana marveled at the horse's transformation: it looked stronger and faster than a young foal. Further, after finding out about the matter in which Illeana needed help, the horse offered to go with the princess and said that in order to succeed, the princess only needed to listen to the advice of the horse. After that, it expressed her willingness to go. The princess, in turn, changed into a man's dress and went to say goodbye to the king father [7].

Further, the king decided to test the youngest daughter. He turned into a wolf and waited for the princess on the bridge. The horse warned the princess, although it did not say that the wolf was her own father. When the wolf rushed at Illeana, she drew her sword and almost cut off his head, but he dodged and ran into the forest. The princess crossed the bridge safely, proud of her feat [7].

After that, the situation repeated itself, at the second bridge, the princess was warned by a horse, but now the king was turned into a lion. And then the princess showed herself bravely and almost killed the lion, but he dodged and disappeared. The third time, the king turned into a fire-breathing dragon and met the princess at the third bridge. Illeana was also warned, but became confused and trembled all over. In a moment of doubt, the horse whinnied loudly, reminding her of her intention not to lose courage. Illeana entered the fray and fought for over an hour before finally defeating the dragon. The dragon, as if recognizing himself defeated, prostrated himself at her feet, touched the ground three times with his head and then rose [7].

After that, the girl saw that the dragon was her own father. The father blessed her and told her to follow the advice of the horse, confirming that his old comrade Luchesar would faithfully serve her. Arriving at the court of a powerful king, she began to serve him. The victorious king was pleased that such a young and handsome knight began to serve him, who soon became his favorite. The sons of other kings became jealous of Illeana and formed a slanderous plot to destroy her. They lied to the king that their new comrade knew the whereabouts of the beautiful princess Helena, who had been wanted by the king for a long time. The king immediately summoned Illeana and ordered his new knight to bring Elena, threatening death as punishment for non-compliance [7].

Illeana sadly told everything to her horse Luchesar. He encouraged her and told her where to look for Princess Elena, who was kidnapped by the sea king. The horse also told Illeana what to do. She demanded from the king the best of his ships and enough money to buy expensive fabrics. She undertook to bring Princess Elena to him in a few days. The king agreed, whereupon Illeana set off. They quickly reached the required shore, where they met the three slaves of Princess Helena. Seeing a rich trading ship and a handsome man in luxurious clothes, who was, in fact, Princess Illeana, the slaves went and persuaded their mistress to come on the ship and look at the riches brought by the handsome [7].

Elena saw a beautiful stranger and boarded the ship. While she was examining the beautiful fabrics and gems, Illeana gave the order to raise anchor and make haste to sail away. After a while, Princess Elena discovered that she was in the middle of the ocean, far from the kingdom of the sea king. Outwardly, she was angry, but inwardly she rejoiced at the release from her unloved sea king. She also admired the courage of her new kidnapper and desired to marry him. When she went ashore, she was upset, for Illeana had given Elena to the king, whom she did not want to marry [7].

In order to get rid of an unwanted marriage, she set the condition that the king must get a precious lamp from a church on the banks of the Jordan River. But the king summoned his faithful servant, who was Princess Illeana disguised as a knight. Disappointed, Illeana again went to Luchesar, who warned of the great difficulty of the task and the grief that awaits the king who gave her this task. Luchesar suggested how to steal this precious lamp, which the nuns guard day and night. There is a time when the priest preaches in the church, then instead of two nuns, only one guards the lampada, and it is then that you need to pick it up [7].

Again Illeana and Luchesar were on their way. After a long and difficult journey, Illeana and Luchesar reached the church on the banks of the Jordan. And when the necessary hour came, during the sermon of the priest, only one nun guarding the lamp fell asleep at her post. Just at that moment, Illeana sneaked in and stole the precious lamp. After a while, the nun woke up from her sleep and raised a cry, from which everyone in the church fled, and the priest fell to his knees and said a prayer: «Just God, punish the thief of our shrine, if this is a man, then let him turn into a woman, and if it is woman, let her become a man». The priest's prayer was heard. Princess Illeana felt that she had suddenly turned into a young man. Her posture and gait became warlike, her beautiful face was adorned with a graceful mustache, and when she appeared at the court of the king, everyone was surprised at the change that had happened to her. Now it was no longer the princess of Illeana, but the beautiful knight Illean [7].

Illean approached the king, wishing him well and asking for rest for his labors. The king thanked Illean for his service and named him his heir if he did not have a son. Princess Elena was saddened, as nothing more interfered with her marriage to the king. But fate took pity on her and saved her from the unwanted king. Before the wedding, the king decided to take a bath, but one of his enemies placed a brazier with coals under it, after which the king boiled and died. No one pitied him, for he oppressed the weak and caused trouble to the strong. Prince Illean, whom the king had appointed as his heir, ascended the throne, he married Princess Elena and lived very happily. Everyone loved him - his wife, numerous children, and all the people [7].

To interpret this text of the tale in the second part of the article, a number of theoretical provisions of Jungian analytical psychology and cultural and social systemology will be used. The culture-society-psyche-body scheme proposed in the collective monograph of 2016 [5] is a development of the Parsons model, in the understanding of which the hierarchically highest level belongs to culture, and the lowest level belongs to the behavioral organism.

In turn, Romanenko points out that culture, society, psyche and body, in addition to hierarchical subordination, also have corresponding «representations» of themselves and other registers within themselves. Thus, for example, culture is represented in itself («culture in culture»), and then society («society in culture»), psyche («psyche in culture») and body («body in culture») are successively represented in culture. According to the same principle of recursion, each underlying level of this scheme is structured: (culture-society-psyche-body), which forms a hierarchical tetracluster, including a total of 16 sublevels. The four sublevels basic for each level perform four basic functions: centering, verticalization/integration, ordinal - ization and incorporation/materialization [5, p. 105-115].

Conclusions. In the second part of this article, using the «culture-society-psyche-body» model, symbols and symbolic patterns will be analyzed that visually and behaviorally correspond to the sublevel of «culture in culture» and its key element, the centrator, with peripheral mention of other sublevels of this model and their elements.

The sub-level «culture within culture» contains such elements that are internally subordinated: 1) centrator, 2) mission, 3) identity, 4) worldview. These elements have the corresponding functional content, which is responsible for the formation of higher axiostasis, providing certain «gathering points» of the cultural system in relation to the transcendent reality.

This «gathering» is related to such dimensions of reality as the spiritual, social, mental and bodily components of a person/society [5, p. 106]. They correspond to the recursion of meanings. Such a logical scheme allows us to consider individual visual images of fairy tales and their plots as symbolic descriptors that transmit implicit information about cultural and social systems through the imagination of the recipients, exposing the latter to unconscious inculturation and socialization.

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