THE DEAD IN POLISH FOLK PROSE

Abstract

The paper dwells upon the image of the dead in tales of the two plot types, namely, T 366 “Trup upomina się o swoją własność” (АТU 366 “The Man from the Gallows”) and T 470* “Zmarły urażony” (АТU 470А “The Offended Skull”), formally classified by the author of the Polish folk prose index as fairy tales, but they are in fact in full compliance with basic genre conventions of mythological tales (fabulates). Therefore, the dead in those plot types act not as the fairy-tale but mythological character. Nominations, as well as certain other features, of the “otherworld” characters in those narratives reflect the duality of folk perceptions regarding a person’s lot after their demise. The dead are perceived as scary creatures that pose danger – but the reason for that lies in the humans’ own trespassing against the dead: disturbing their rest. The degree to which the dead are portrayed as demonic, that is, ungracious and vengeful towards the humans, varies and is expressed both in the plot types being compared in general and in specific textual realizations of the same plot.