Structural Transformations of Archaic Consciousness: From Folklore Text to Postmodernism

Abstract

The article examines the dynamics of deep models and archetypal foundations of archaic world perception at the crossroads of folkloric tradition and postmodern artistic systems. The study aims to define the epistemological role of primeval consciousness and its poetic manifestations within the transition from folklore tradition to postmodern prose. The innovative methodology of the research is grounded in the folkloristic analysis of contemporary literary material, synthesized with comparative-typological examination, intertextual analysis, and the theories of structural anthropology (C. Lévi-Strauss), genre evolution (V. P. Anikin), and the nature of archaic consciousness (Yu. Yu. Pershin). The research material focuses on the artistic transformation of the folkloric text (ATU 709 type) in the works of Neil Gaiman. The study demonstrates that elements of the archaic mindset are not historical relics, but rather a dynamic system within the modern individual's psychostructure, manifested in contemporary literature through the reshaping of traditional genres. The relevance of the research stems from the theoretical characterization of archaic consciousness as an element of the postmodern individual's psychostructure and a source of world cognition. This approach opens up new perspectives for studying the postmodern transformations of folkloric plots and the poetics of contemporary prose.