Peculiarities of oneiric motifs in modern Ukrainian short prose

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of representing dreams and visions in the mystical space of the short prose genre. It analyses the plot-related connection of oneiric motifs with key events in short stories, as well as with the characters’ psycho-emotional state. It is established that the dream motif is most often considered in the context of psychoanalysis and is associated with the expression of the subconscious or even the unconscious of a person. Thus, visions in literature can reflect the writer’s inner state and may be based on his or her actual dreams. Since the Romantic era, the dream in literature has embodied the interplay of the conscious and the unconscious and has also played an important role in Gothic and mystical fiction, deepening both the plot and the themes it addresses. The study focuses on the peculiarities of representing oneiric motifs in contemporary Ukrainian mystical short stories, using as material the collective anthologies “Потайсвіт. Інакші” [The Underworld. The Others] and “Українська містика” [Ukrainian Mysticism], as well as N. Vivcharyk’s collection “Те, що серед нас” [That which is Among Us]. It has been found that the dream in mystical short stories serves as a means of evoking in the reader a particular mood for perceiving events that go beyond the bounds of reality. In mystical short stories, dreams are predominantly imbued with symbolism and allusion in order to deepen and expand the supernatural dimension. In addition, they act as markers of the protagonists’ madness and unstable psycho-emotional state. In the mystical short story, the dream becomes a distinctive space where the real and the unreal, the earthly and the otherworldly, merge. Oneiric motifs are often linked to mythopoetic images that belong simultaneously to the earthly realm and to the world beyond. Dreams also serve as omens and warnings of forthcoming events for the characters, overlapping with reality and underscoring the gradual build-up of tension in the narrative. In some stories, the analysed oneiric motifs serve to reflect artistic reality and to highlight its multidimensionality. The study reveals that the dream motif in mystical short stories is closely connected with the representation of spiritual practices and with themes of the afterlife, otherworldly revenge, and reincarnation.