Kristijono Donelaičio pasakėčių santykis su prancūzų ir vokiečių pasakėčiomis

LTStraipsnyje pateikiamas Donelaičio santykio su prancūzų ir vokiečių folklorinėmis ir literatūrinėmis pasakėčiomis bei kitais kūrinėliais tyrimas. Tai Donelaičio pasakėčių tyrėjų beveik nenagrinėtas, bet svarbus klausimas, į kurį reikia ieškoti atsakymo, norint tinkamai suvokti Donelaičio pasakėčių vietą Europos literatūros istorijoje, jų originalumo laipsnį. Bandoma išsiaiškinti, ar Donelaičiui turėjo kokios nors jtakos įvairiais laikais prancūzų ir vokiečių kalba sukurtos pasakėčios. Lyginamos tų pačių motyvų pasakėčios, nagrinėjami jų kompozicijos, personažų vaizdavimo principų, kalbėjimo būdo, leksikos skirtumai ir bendri bruožai. Be to, į Donelaičio pasakėčias bandoma pažvelgti jo amžininko Gottholdo Ephraimo Lessingo sukurtos pasakėčios teorijos aspektais.

EN[…] This article attempts to find out whether French and German fables, created at various times in history, could have influenced fables by Donelaitis. We compare fables having similar themes and examine common traits and differences in their structure, in the principles of character portrayal, in the characters' manner of speech and in lexics. In addition, we analyse Donelaitis's fables in the context of the theory of fable created by his contemporary Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. This is an almost unresearched (albeit important) issue, which should be addressed in order to comprehend both the place of Donelaitis's fables in the European literature and the degree of their originality. This study enables us to make two conclusions. The first one is that Donelaitis is undoubtedly an original author. Having compared his fables to those of his predeccessors and comtemporaries, we are able to discern four common plots, which were all carried over from antique authors. The fables "Lapės ir gandro česnis"("The Fox's and the Stork's Feast"), "Vilks provininks"("The Wolf-Judge"), "Šuo Didgalvis"("The Clever Dog") ir "Aužuols gyrpelnys"("The Braggart Oak") have the same themes as the corresponding fables by Hans Sachs, Martin Luther and Jean de La Fontaine. It must be emphasized that despite this similarity and despite some indirect indications that Donelaitis must have read both Luther and de La Fontaine, the originality of his fables is undeniable. His presentation of the material, narrative stylistics and imagery are highly distinctive. […] The other conclusion is that Donelaitis stands equal among his peers in the literature of the 18th century.Like many other fable writers, he wrote the four above mentioned fables employing traditional Aesopian themes. However, the source of the fables "Rudikis jomarkininks"("The Dog at the Fair") and "Pasaka apie šūdvabalį"("Fable of the Dung Beetle") remains unknown. Until proven otherwise, it should be assumed that the plots of these two fables were invented by Donelaitis. Thus, Donelaitis's writings are comparable to those of his contemporaries in regard to plot originality. In addition, applying Lessing's theory to the fables by Donelaitis would infer that our poet created both simple and complex fables. "Šuo Didgalvis"("The Clever Dog") and "Vilks provininks"("The Wolf-Judge") can be considered as examples of the simple fable. They both have the same degree of generalization: the strong wrongfully mistreat the weak. "Lapės ir gandro česnis"("The Fox's and the Stork's Feast") and "Aužuols gyrpelnys"("The Braggart Oak") transcend the limits of a mere fable, even though they are written in the Aesopian vein. They would fall into the category of complex fable. In "Lapės ir gandro česnis"("The Fox's and the Stork's Feast"), a single generalization – what goes round comes round – does not suffice. Another degree of generalization is achieved by stating that not only wicked behaviour, but also revenge for suffered injustice is wrong. The first obvious statement of "Aužuols gyrpelnys"("The Braggart Oak"), passed down from Antiquity, is that storms can uproot even the strongest of trees. In Donelaitis's fable it morphs into a statement about God's punishment for one's abuse of the position of strength. […] Thus, Donelaitis's fables are more complex and, as Lessing would say, more philosophical than they seem on the surface.