Demonological images in Y. Vinnychuk's novel «Apothecary»
Authors:   Oles Honchar Dnipro National  University, Klymukhina Polina , Kropyvko Iryna ,   Oles Honchar Dnipro National  University
Published: May 2023

The article analyzes the use of images of folk demonology, including witches, devils and others, by Yury Vynnychuk in the novel «Apothecary». The key factors of character formation of mythical characters have been revealed. The author's achievements are outlined in comparison with the folklore and fairy tale tradition. The writer moves away from the depiction of Ukrainian folklore characters. With the help of expanding the background, dialogues, building social connections, the fantastic characters in the novel are normalized, even domesticated. The peculiarity of the novel «Apothecary» consists in combining the real with the fantastic, giving color and identity to demonic images in the original author's reading of them. Among the images explored in the article are the following: a witch, a devil, a golem woman, a warlock, an alchemist, a werewolf, etc. It was found that the image of the witch is represented by two types. The first type is related to the modern stereotypical idea of the impossibility of the existence of such a being. Through the lens of the gaze of one of the main characters of the work, doctor Lukasz, who as a «scientist» is used to rationalizing everything he sees, the reader looks at women who go to prison due to accusations of witchcraft, and together with Lukasz understands the absurdity of these events. Tortured women confess to witchcraft, are forced to prove their own connection with diabolical forces, testify for themselves, sharing details of the witch's life. The second type of witches are «real» ones. The reader is offered an episode of witch orgies on Lysia Gora, which is replaced by a detailed description of the witch's life, presented without any comedy. Thanks to this technique, the image of the witch does not appear folk-comic, but original and very authentic. An old witch named Vyvdia is depicted as a recluse, she knows how to make magic potions, and often helps visitors solve personal problems for a fee. The author depicts the image of a witch-healer, a wise woman who knows about herbs and ancient wisdom, and personifies in it the second stereotypical image of a witch, which is related to the etymology of the name. Witch from the word «to know» («vidaty», that sounds similar to «vidma» (witch in Ukrainian)). The devil is personified by a character named Franz. Its peculiarity is the difference from the traditional depiction of this image in classical Ukrainian literature. Devil Franz appears as a descendant of the demonological images of the romantic tradition in Ukrainian literature, but was created in the vortex of the author's myth of Yury Vinnychuk. He is a unique character, different from his predecessors. It has been found that the devil and the witch are the most productive demonological images in the novel. Other fantastic creatures form a kind of artistic background for them, make their appearance organic. All demonological images are completely woven into the realistic course of events of the work. The article concludes that the demonological images depicted by Yury Vynnychuk in the novel «The Apothecary» are undoubtedly related to the literary tradition. This work reflects a long-standing culture of using mythical characters in works of various genres. As an expert in folkloristics and classical Ukrainian literature, Y. Vynnychuk skillfully weaves ancient folk beliefs into his work about the 17th century, playing with eras, weaving modern discourses into antiquity. The artistic world of the novel is saturated with images of Ukrainian and European demonology (the devil Franz, the witch Vivdia, the alchemist Kalkbrenner, his creation the golem Amalia, warlocks, werewolves, spirits, demons, etc.). These characters are surprisingly real, believable and incredible, belong to different eras, cultures and at the same time are very harmonious.