Criticism of Vladimir Propp’s Theory on Genesis of Magic Fairy Tales’ Structure
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classification, being included in other headings, particularly, in the group of „metaphors” "Meal".
The second reproach consists in the following. Declaring, that the subject of her analysis should be initial formations of before-logical and before-world outlook consciousnesses, O.Frejdenberg actually carries out a reconstruction of „metaphors of primitive consciousness” on the basis of the analysis of late, derivative forms of logically structured and Weltanschauung, ideologically oriented consciousness (specifically, myths).
At the same time, O. Frejdenbergs doubtless merit is that she tried to find a source of structural invariants of texts in archaic formations of consciousness, though she did not reject the idea of their borrowing and „migrations”. Initial ceremony „reality”, the structure of which is usually considered as a source of structurization of the text of culture „derived” from it, is only a field of demonstration, but by no means the source of this structure origin.
The invariant universal-cultural structure of the text of culture lies in the depths of human subjectivity, on what O.Frejdenberg, neglecting serious enough for those times possible accusations in idealism, sagaciously indicated in her works.
In my opinion, the given structurization-forming subjectivity does not belong only to the "primitive" consciousness as O.Frejdenberg considered. The invariant of cultural consciousness in the same measure, as in remote times, lives and acts at present and will act in the future. Therefore, it is incorrect to consider this primitive consciousness and its "metaphors" as that source from which the stereotyped "patterns" of the subsequent cultural forms have originated.
What O.Frejdenberg considers as metaphors of primitive consciousness is not something forgotten in the far passed times. Their senses are always relevant, in any epoch. Taking into account a continuous action of eternal the existential factors, defining the stereotype of key parameters of human attitude to the world, these coincidences are caused by the fact that people of all times and nations certainly reflect on eternal philosophical questions and reconstruct the immortal themes in the literature. Owing to this deep identity of texts at level of CUB and codes, it becomes possible to observe the typological coincidences, identities and parallels in different cultural texts, but already at a level of their external displays (motives, plots, themes, figures, characters).
If we meet identical texts in different cultures it is impossible to deny the fact of any borrowing, migration or reproduction. But there is a question what is the reason of borrowing of that by one culture from another? The reason of this, most likely, is that in each culture some "eternal" problems continue to remain relevant at all times. Therefore here it is necessary to speak not about simple mechanical borrowing, but about actualization of existential senses in texts of culture at a level of their inner structure. For each person who has come to this world, the questions of his own life and death will be always important and actual.
Caused by patrimonial unity of the person, the identity of notional and vital searches of people dictates the presence of the given identity also in these answers offered in different cultures, which as a result are reduced to a universal-cultural invariant of the persevering strengthening of a life, a passionate desire to overcome death and to reach if not eternal, but a long life. Ancient texts, which did not have any existential meanings (for example, inventory tablets from Mesopotamia), are interesting today only to experts of particular speciality, whereas the myth of Hilgamesh, of searches for immortality, excites imagination of our contemporaries.
C. Jung and S. Grof in a certain sense were inspired with a search of culture universalias as they, basing on the concept of subconscious, put before themselves the purpose to trace how these inborn elements of human subconsciousness determine the contents and structure of mythological legends, images, dreams and cultural texts in general. C. Jung considered these factors as archetypes, and S.Grof as the so-called basic perinatal matrixes (BPM). Both the archetypes, and BPM, examined from my point of view, have easily opened their universal-cultural contents. And it concerns not only such obviously expressed CUB-archetypes, as blood or the murderer of the father (an aggressive code), but also some archetypes of erotic code, shadows (the latent negative features of the person as a result having mortality in their basis), "egoism" (Selbst) (a heart of personal consciousness as expression of completeness of vital forces, vitality), etc.
Eventually, as the base of vitally-important directives C. Jung points out the poles of a life birth and death referred to the sphere collective subconscious. As the certain measure this circumstance was accepted also by C. Jung, speaking that archetype constituents of dreams of the little girl, which he has selected for a substantiation of his viewpoint, are reduced to ideas of destruction (aggression as destruction) and restoration (restoration as revival). The general limit of this phenomenon was pubertal age of the girl (erotic coding of life as continuation of a clan, as clan immortality) and the presentiments of her life premature ending (mortality).
Achievements of immortality through overcoming of threat of death as a formula invariant of all archetype motives is indirectly accepted by C. Jung as he draws a parallel between dreams of the girl and ceremonies of initiation (confirmation) which have such invariant structure (life death revival). From these important remarks of C. Jung it is possible to draw a conclusion, that he accepts, that in a basis of archetypes there are some wider world outlook structures which are the categories ultimate bases.
S. Grof, known as the initiator of transpersonal psychology, having investigated a huge file of texts of culture, has put forward an idea according to which the invariant constituents of the mentioned texts are determined by that they are structured according to certain schemes reflecting the stages of childbirth. Ones own birth does not pass for the person without leaving a trace, and in its key stages is fixed in „perinatal” to sphere of subconsciousness, determining to a great extent the following postnatal conscious experiences of many life circumstances within the limits of psychological structure of the person generated under influence of these matrixes. He declares that connection of biological experience of a person own birth with experience of dying and a new birth, which is shown in imaginations, dreams, works of art, etc. is rather deep and specific.
As after the analysis carried out by us it was found out, that BPM of S.Grof on the whole are the original expression of a basic triad "life death revival" experienced by the person during the process of her birth, then we can draw a conclusion, that if this memory of ones own birth sets the structure of personal consciousnesses, then its structure also should correspond with this triad. That is, an invariant of the derived from these BPM substantial layers of consciousness are the categories of ultimate bases.
H. Olkers leading ideas are close to my opinions. His analysis essentially differs from all previous attempts to throw light on the origin and essence of invariant constituents of texts of culture. The main point of his idea consists in the statement of generating of culture invariants in depths of our consciousness owing to that a text of culture appears not so much as reflection of "reality" by our consciousness, but as a product of active designing by our consciousness of universal senses which are introduced in this "reality". He has carried out the proof of this thought by demonstration of identity of fairy tale texts with historical and political ones. Besides it turned out, that the American test for the best memorizing of the text by children shows, that such text is the fairy tale, defined by V. Propp as the basic (Аф131) at the heart of which, as well as in historical works (Arnold J. Toynbee), there lays the basic world outlook formula.
So, each of these scientists following their own way, actually came to conclusion, that the structure of consciousness is determined by categories of ultimate bases, which during their autogeneration and filling with the concrete contents form an authentic CUB-structure of all texts of culture.
From the point of view of a substantiation of idea of autogenerating of universal-cultural structures and one of the variants of the basic world outlook formula there are interesting examples of spontaneous childrens creativity which are accompanied by introduction in the texts of the certain threat with the purpose of reproduction of the full basic formula „life - death immortality” in the variant „life a fatal threat removal of the threat”. Giving children a task of creation of their own fairy tale, J. Rodari has found out, that all of them do not fall outside the limits of a drama of life and death. That is, the productive childish consciousness spontaneously generates such structures that base on categories of ultimate bases and the basic vital purpose.
Something words was found out by another childrens writer, N.Nosov during introspection of his creative work when he found out, that in a basis of the plot of the story (touching contemporary themes) written by him there has