Archetypical Background of Magical Helpers in English and Ukrainian Fairy Tales

Abstract

: Fairy tale is a form of literature where each element is meaningful and connected with other elements of the narrative forming together a solid unit to reflect the image of reality, structure the knowledge about human experience, the world and the place of a human in it. Therefore, tale is a cognitive construct to reveal the worldview, cultural symbols and codes which are systematic. Folklore is one of the genres that represents cultural unconscious. The paper uses the notion of an archetype suggested by K.G. Jung to apply for the study of cultural archetypes. The basic archetypes of the key elements of Water, Fire, Earth, and Air which can be found in both English and Ukrainian fairy tales, are revealed through different magical helpers which are objects, natural phenomenons and creatures belonging to different fairy tale worlds. These magical things and creatures are considered as helpers on the way of a character towards his transformation that is equal to reaching the different life stage, rebirth, improvement etc. English fairy tales are closely connected with Christian beliefs, while Ukrainian folk narrative reflects pagan images of the natural elements and magical objects respectively.