National And Author’s Worldviews In The Story By A. Batyrov

Abstract

In recent years, the concept of a worldview has aroused increased interest in various fields of science. The research considers the national worldview, the identification of the characteristic features of the national mentality and the peculiarities of the individual author's perception of the world, reflected in the literary tale. Based on the story of the novice Ossetian writer Alexander Batyrov “The Adventures of the Solar Girl of the Narts”, based on Nart legends, the author examines the features of the artistic world of the work, which, in fact, is the birth of the fantasy genre in Ossetian children's literature. The analysis made it possible to define the boundaries of the individual-author's and national worldview, their correlation in the writer's artistic world, reveal the specific features of the Ossetian mentality. Through artistic images that have a high degree of generalization, the author speaks about laws of human life, which allow the reader to see in a single fact, event, or character the lawful, typical, universal. Based on hermeneutic and axiological research methods, special attention is paid to the predominance of the moral aspect, to actualization of the problem of the regulatory and educational function of national etiquette, the value-normative guidelines of the Ossetian mentality. The relevance and scientific novelty of this article are due to insufficient research of history and problems of both Ossetian children's literature and literary fairy tales. This research will contribute to the development of Ossetian children's literature history, to the study of its national specifics.

Keywords: Ossetian literary tale, artistic world, national worldview, author's worldview

Introduction

A worldview is a single, multifaceted body of knowledge and ideas about the surrounding reality: nature, society, man himself. It is a pivotal landmark in a life of an individual, as well as in ethnic groups, and humanity. A national worldview is formed as a result of the cultural and historical experience of particular people and predetermines the perception and assessment of individual phenomena, values, ideological and behavioral attitudes, being realized in the identity and national-cultural uniqueness of the people's attitude. Each individual acts as a conductor of knowledge, ideas, worldview, mentality of his people, passing through his personal perception the surrounding reality. Thus, the ethnic worldview, refracted through the subjective perception of an individual, becomes an individual author's one.

Problem Statement

The article examines a national and individual author's worldview in the artistic space of the Ossetian literary tale.

Research Questions

The subject of research is a set of formal and substantive parameters of a national and individual-author's worldview in A. Batyrov's fairy tale “The Adventures of the Solar Girl of Narts”.

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study is to analyze the features of the artistic worldview, the correlation, mutual influence of ethnic and individual-author's worldview in the artistic space of A. Batyrov's fairy tale "The Adventures of the Solar Girl of the Narts".

Research Methods

To achieve this goal, the basic principles of the hermeneutic research method were implemented.

Findings

Batyrov's (2007) fairy tale “The Adventures of the Solar Girl of Narts” is a work that reflects both an individual author's worldview and a national one, their interaction, and through them goes to the vastness of universal values ​​and guidelines. It attracts attention by the novelty of the plot, its multi-layered nature: in the process of its consideration, more and more new meanings are revealed. Earlier in our articles, we studied parallels with the Nart epic, with an imaginative system, with a space-time organization (Britaeva, 2009; Britaeva, 2019). This work is defined by us as “a new model, a conventional structure of the world order, created by the writer on the basis of a synthesis of traditional elements of the Ossetian Nart epic and an understanding of contemporary reality of various ideological and aesthetic positions; as a qualitatively new stage in the development of the Ossetian literary tale”, the artistic world of which deserves special attention (Britaeva, 2019). However, many questions remained unsolved, which we hope to highlight in this publication.

The individual author's worldview is, in fact, created by the author and is the main link in the structure of a work of art. Vinogradov (1963) called the author’s image “a cementing force that binds all stylistic means into an integral verbal and artistic system” (p. 50).

There is no doubt that facts of the biography, conditions for the formation of the author’s personality formation, place of residence and many other factors are reflected in the individual worldview. Alexander Batyrov was born, lived and worked in Siberia for some time. He grew up on the works of Russian folklore, it was Russian folk tales that shaped his worldview, a perception of the world. For the first time he got acquainted with Ossetian folklore, the Nart epic, having read the book presented to him by Y. Libedinsky “Soslan-bogatyr, his friends and enemies”. The book, based on the Nart legends, made an indelible impression on him. Later, when he was in Ossetia, Alexander got acquainted with the culture and history of the native people. Many plot twists, an introduction of unusual images are associated with the facts of the biography of Alexander himself and his family members. For example, he wrote a fairy tale for his own children: son and daughter. Apparently, this is why the characters are brother and sister. A. Batyrov's daughter's name is Horcheska, and Horcheska, according to the Nart epic, is one of the daughters of the Sun (Darchieva, 2012). In the history of the author's family there are facts related to the Far East, the fall of the Tunguska meteorite, and Alexander began to write this tale while in Siberia – the place of action, the way the Solar Girl appeared on Earth, and much more.

So, after the death of the sleds, only two of their descendants survived, children of the sled Soslan and daughters of the Ыun: the Solar girl, who was saved by her grandfather Sun and her brother Zardi, who was saved from inevitable death by the underground inhabitants of Bycentaa. Why is the girl chosen by the author as the main character? Why is she, and not her brother, saving her people, begging God to forgive him? Why is it she who expiates their sins with her courage, courage, and kindness?

The main character’s image, the Solar girl, is very interesting. She is about nine years old; hair, golden as rays of the sun, hidden under a helmet; robe – chain mail, ichigi, dagger – a sunbeam that cuts through darkness, rocks, stones. She represents a young amazon. Solar girl is a warrior, and later, when she was taught the art of healing, she is also a healer. She goes through a kind of initiation rite in order to master new knowledge, which is easy: knowing the world, she also gets to know herself. She had to learn to listen to herself, hear her inner voice, overcome fear, despite the danger of saving her friends. Following it, the reader comprehends the laws of existence that the author implied.

The national “vision of the world” is based on stereotypes that arise among all members of a given language community. “The worldview constants of the ethnic culture of the Ossetians are reflected and functioning both in ritual practices and in the texts of the heroic Nartov epic” (Kusaeva, 2011, p. 254). Since Batyrov relies on the history and culture of his people, on epic texts, it would seem that the national worldview, the national mentality dictate that a man, a warrior, who became Zardi, should become the savior of his people. But the author has his own vision of reality, his own worldview. Realistically assessing the problems of contemporary reality, A. Batyrov cannot fail to notice the disturbed harmony of life. From time immemorial, a man by nature is a warrior, a conqueror; he is characterized by a cold, sober calculation, uncompromising decision-making, a desire to solve everything by means of physical strength. This is how the heroine's brother is shown – a hot-tempered, thirsty for revenge (like many of his ancestors). The woman, however, is the soul of humanity, its heart, divine sensuality, spirituality. Intuition is more strongly developed in her, and she is closer to the spiritual world, which controls the material, manifested world (Rab, 2015).

In our contemporary reality, harmony of existence is violated, as well as harmony of relationships in one’s family and in society. As a result, mankind was on the verge of catastrophe, and it is to the woman (in this case, the girl), as a spiritual, creative principle, that the author gives the right of salvation of humanity. The rebirth of people is primarily a spiritual rebirth, and it comes from the family, while the keeper of the family hearth is a woman. It is in her that the qualities characteristic of the feminine principle are naturally embedded – love, compassion, mercy, tolerance, self-sacrifice. The age-old experience and wisdom of the people are embedded in folklore, and in a concentrated form – in proverbs and sayings. They reflect the national worldview. The era of patriarchy, when the role of a woman was reduced exclusively to the role of a housewife, could not but be reflected in the aphoristic genres of the people. Mamieva (2017) writes about this: As you know, among many peoples of the world, including Ossetians, the male mind, as opposed to the female, was considered more developed, calculating, healthy. The stereotypical opinion about the low intellectual abilities of a woman is illustrated by numerous proverbs and sayings, but nevertheless, there we find confirmation that our ancestors paid tribute to the role of a woman as a spiritual principle: “The more a woman is weaker in body, so much she is stronger spiritually, morally”, “A woman is adorned with virtue, tempered with honor”.

The heroine of A. Batyrov's literary tale is judicious, patient, and tolerant. Since ancient times, a woman has acted among the Ossetians, as among all Caucasian peoples, as a peacemaker. Let us recall the custom that existed among all mountaineers, when a woman, throwing a handkerchief between the warring ones, stopped the bloodshed. National customs, national mentality, as components of the ethnic worldview, could not but be reflected in literature, especially in a fairy tale written based on folklore motives. The brother listens to his sister's opinion, yielding to her, paying tribute to her prudence, as once the sleds listened to the advice of the wise Shatana. For that she is praised by Afsati: “You are smart, Solar girl. The wise Shatana would not have said better”.

The girl is also related to the heroine of the Nart epic by the fact that the power of her prayer is great and is immediately heard by God, Wastyrǵi and other celestials. When the girl asked for help: “O patron of my lost people and messenger of the Almighty! – begged the girl. “If you can hear me, help us!” As soon as she uttered these words, the starry sky parted, and Wastyrǵi appeared on his three-legged horse. Solar girl, as befits a female representative, does not address him by name, but calls him “the glorious patron saint of men”. The journey of the Solar Girl to the afterlife, to the kingdom of Barastyr, which shows people’s beliefs and values, is the best way to reflect the national picture of the Ossetian world. All these points are extremely important for outlining the ethnographic worldview. Of course, the language picture is important. The tale is written in Russian, and if we also take into account the fact that the author did not grow up in his native linguistic and cultural environment, then the fact that the tale is perceived as absolutely Ossetian is even more valuable.

To help the heroine fulfill the mission entrusted to her, she gets magical objects, each of which has its own function – it is a dagger-ray of the Sun, cutting through stones and rocks, and a wonderful stone – a gift from God, which Kwyrdalagon and Tsykuraiyfærdyg presented to her in gratitude – a wonderful bead that can revive the dead, heal wounds, found by the heroine in the Kingdom of the Dead. The last of the listed magical attributes is of particular interest to researchers. There are a number of scientific studies devoted to her. One of them notes that within the framework of the mythological worldview system of the Ossetians, a wonderful bead is at the basis of the universe as a realistically motivated analogue of the Sun (Kusaeva, 2016).

To reveal the character of a people means to identify its most significant socio-psychological traits that were historically developed in a nation under the influence of living conditions, lifestyle, socio-economic system and much more (Kravchenko, 2010). The national worldview is visible literally in everything, in every detail, in every plot twist – these are the norms of highland etiquette, especially with regard to the relationship between the elder and the younger; the father's restraint in showing feelings for children, especially in public. Let's give an example from the text. The king of the taiga, the Tiger, asks the old Owl for forgiveness for disturbing him by calling him, and did not go to him himself, as befits a younger one, regardless of status. Understanding the triad “language – culture – reality” in terms of understanding traditional spiritual culture acquires the value of preserving and transmitting the experience of generations (Besolova & Abaeva, 2020).

Solar girl protects her family. She carries out a peacekeeping mission. The author endowed her with the best qualities of her people: courage, courage, willingness to sacrifice herself for the sake of loved ones; she is also very wise and sensible for her years. However, due to her age, lack of life experience, she does not understand everything in the structure of the world order. Here her companions, friends come to her aid, the celestials and other ancient patrons of her people. The girl meets everyone on her way, shares her life lessons and truths of life. The author's life concept is revealed through the images of Wastyrǵi (patron saint of men, warriors and travelers), Donbettyr (lord of water, sea elements), Kwyrdalagon (heavenly blacksmith), Barastyr (lord of the underworld), Afsati (patron saint of wild animals and hunters) and other on the way of the characters. Through their lips the dialectic of the world is clearly revealed in the fairy tale: without evil there can be no good, and vice versa. This teaches a very important thing – to perceive the world as it is, without disturbing its harmony. In life, everything has its own meaning, its purpose, even if they are still incomprehensible to you, incomprehensible. Despite the fact that the heroine of the fairy tale went against the will of God, she was forgiven by Him. Forgiven for those qualities that are valued by everyone: courage and kindness. It is in unity, in combination, that these qualities are able to change the world for the best. Kindness without courage, decisiveness, readiness to act is not creative, just like courage, which is not based on kindness, desire to change the world for the best can be a “minus”.

For thousands of years, there has been a division of everything into light and darkness, into good and evil, into higher and lower. It is an eternal struggle of opposites. And this is especially clearly and vividly illustrated by fairy tales, both folk and literary ones. The author does not deny the existing paradigm of polarity. On the contrary, through the mouth of the sea lord Donbettyr, he says that “like on Earth, there are good and evil forces in the ocean. That is life”. However, Batyrov's fairy tale claims to have a new vision of this paradigm. When the main character and her faithful companion the taiga tiger in the underwater kingdom of Donbettyr meet with a sea monster, they wonder why the sea lord will not deal with him. But the answer of the sea king made her think: “Why, because this is also a living creature”, Donbettyr answered in surprise. Here I am the owner, the god of the ocean, and I can kill him, but this will disturb the balance between good and evil, and then a new monster will appear, even more terrible than this. I already know him; I have studied all his vile habits and do not allow to do any nasty things. Remember, my girl, you never need to rush, especially when you can take someone's life. The life of a living creature is the most valuable thing on Earth”. The author perceives the world as wave vibrations. And everything in this world creates its own vibration, just as everything living has its own worldview.

Batyrov (2007), not rejecting the existing theory of the duality of consciousness, the struggle of opposites, takes a step towards modern trends in philosophy – towards the paradigm of connection, when “plus” and “minus” harmoniously coexist, complementing each other. The author proves step by step the necessity of a balance between good and evil. At the end of the fairy tale, God appeals to the girl that now, when she has completed her mission and returned her people to Earth, a new goal has been set for her and the heroes, which is to help restore harmony in the world, that was violated by the forces of evil and darkness. The work also features the theme of reasonable kindness. The end of the tale is a call to live in peace, not to claim lands that once belonged to the Narts, to settle among the peoples who now live on these lands and to coexist peacefully with them.

Conclusion

Thus, Batyrov (2007) makes complex axiological principles available to readers of all age categories through a visual-figurative and visual-effective comprehension of the world of human relations. Through the disclosure of the individual, personal worldviews of his heroes, the author reveals his worldview, his life principles, value orientations. That is through them that the national worldview is revealed. In the image of the Solar Girl of the Narts for the writer, the qualities of a modern woman, who independently makes decisions, controls her own destiny, and an ancient warrior woman, an Amazon, who takes responsibility for her family and even for her people, at the right time, have merged together. She sets herself a difficult goal and goes to it, overcoming all obstacles on the way. Hungarian writer Rab Zoltan writes that for the salvation of Mankind, a woman is entrusted with an important mission: “having freed herself from spiritual enslavement by social foundations, to revive the Creative potential in her Heart, to become a source of Beauty, Love, Goodness for her family, for the people around her, and thus spiritually to raise the second “strong” half of humanity” (Rab, 2015, par. 6). In our opinion, this position is close to A. Batyrov. In any case, we came to such conclusions, studying “The Adventures of the Solar Girl of the Narts”.

A specific feature, “special artistry” of the worldview, shown in the fairy tale by A. Batyrov, lies in its synthetic nature. Through the prism of dialogue between the individual author's principle and the traditional, national, the article reveals the artistic world of the author.

References

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