“The Oera Linda Book” and “The Snow Queen”: Two Destinies of One Myth

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 1 (2015 8) 149-174 ~ ~ ~ УДК 304.444 “The Oera Linda Book” and “The Snow Queen”: Two Destinies of One Myth Ksenia V. Reznikova* Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia Received 12.08.2014, received in revised form 04.11.2014, accepted 11.12.2014 This article features globalization in its two forms: natural globalization and artificial globalization. The need of natural globalization becomes more obvious taking into account the growth of challenge to the humankind. Artificial globalization nowadays is provided by westernization. Influence of globalization is more obvious at the mental than at the physical level, construction of the historical past and its mythologization played major roles in the course of globalization. Different relations between ideology and myth can be traced on the example of the destinies of two works, in which almost the same idea of the world order is represented. These are “The Oera Linda Book” and “The Snow Queen”. As a part of the study, seven invariants of the fairy tale by H.C. Andersen were analyzed. The carried-out analysis is based on a hypothesis that artificial globalization influences mythology of certain cultures, distorting it for own needs, resorting to different methods for different forms of the myth representation. So, myths in their pure form, demanded by the adult representatives of culture, are subjected to criticism, they are charged of falsification. The ultimate goal of such an influence is to bury the myth in oblivion as false. The myth that is represented in the reduced art form for children’s audience has the changed plot basis and in this new form it is subjected to maximum replication to substitute the original version in a period of time. Keywords: constructivism, globalization, myth, H.F. Wirth, “The Snow Queen”. Research area: culture studies. During the history of the humankind peoples had their own religions and cults. They presence of two different tendencies can be were subjected to reinforced latinization: i.e. traced: on the one hand – the tendency to cults, alien to the Roman were syncretically combination, unification and homogenization reinterpreted and were joined in with the Roman into the integrated system, on the other hand – state religion” (Wirth, 2007: 282). For centuries nursing of uniqueness and individuality. An other cultures seeking to prove their eligibility to example of the first tendency is formation of the Rome and thus demonstrating the existence of the Roman Empire by combining different tribes basis for empire formation were subjected to the and absorbing their cultures, “the Roman church similar rethinking. Nevertheless, there is another, policy consistently supported its uniformity: as democratic tendency that implied unification of becoming a part of the Empire, the conquered equal nations with the authentic past, present and © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] – 149 – Ksenia V. Reznikova. “The Oera Linda Book” and “The Snow Queen”: Two Destinies of One Myth future, as reflected, inter alia, in their legends and people identities, “the processes of globalization, mythology. There is one thing common to both based on falsification of history of the peoples’ tendencies – the desire for unification. Depending past, form the historical picture of the past in the on the basis of this desire (the unification as interest of the certain subjects of globalization, equals or subordinates), the unification (now the which provide the basis for pressure on the self- term which is used for it is globalization) can be sufficient cultures and the peoples, until the loss represented as natural or forced. of their national, religious and socio-cultural The need for natural globalization becomes identity” (Yatsenko , 2010: 9). Taking into obvious with the growth of challenges to the account what globalization influences the mental, humankind, including creation of weapons rather than the physical level (expansion of values of mass destruction, both biological and and ideals is held not by force aimed at a person chemical; political, economic and ideological as a part of the biosphere, but by the massive confrontations that evolve into acts of terrorism influence on a person’s consciousness as a part of and military conflicts. Individual nations, society), the construction of the historic past and individual states or even their unions cannot deal its mythologizing were given the major roles in individually with the threat to all the humankind. the process of globalization. M.P. Yatsenko rightly believes that “the processes The tendency to the increased constructivism of globalization with their successful theoretical and mythologization can also be traced on the and practical development can contribute to example of the relationships between the actors disclosure of the positive historic potential, of globalization. In particular, in the previous strengthen the stability of their development, historical periods the relationships between reduce the dangers of war, terrorism and other the ideologists of globalization and books – the dangerous threats and challenges to humankind, material carriers of the mainstream ideas or, on adjustment of social experience of the traditional the contrary, alien to the dominant ideology – can historical consciousness to the new conditions of be described as subject-object: the undesirable social life, development of productive forces and works could have been criticized, burnt, banned; production relations, etc.” (Yatsenko, 2010: 9). the authors were branded and publicly condemned. Nowadays forced globalization is represented Over time, the situation has changed, the role and by Westernization, although in the past century the impact of books on society was no longer it had different names depending on the ideals underestimated, books became its integral part, and values which were postulated as true and in this regard insufficiency of material objects combined, depending on what state pursued a destruction became apparent (in fiction, for policy of expansion, unifying and homogenizing example, it is confirmed in Ray Bradbury’s novel cultures that surrender over the influence. “Fahrenheit 451”), and it was more effective to Without a doubt, in the 20th century, these change their content, to distort their meaning were the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. But to the opposite. Different relationships between under the patronage of whatever country forced ideology and myth can be traced on the example globalization takes place, it is carried out by the of destinies of the two works that have almost the similar means, one of which is falsification of same idea of the world order – “The Oera Linda history, i.e. construction of the past in accordance Book” and “The Snow Queen”. with the axiological needs of the dominant country “The Oera Linda Book. The Ancient with a concomitant suppression of the minority History of Europe” was published by Herman – 150 – Ksenia V. Reznikova. “The Oera Linda Book” and “The Snow Queen”: Two Destinies of One Myth Felix Wirth in 1933 as an ancient Frisian family because of catastrophic disasters their ancestral chronicle, which is the authentic mythology of lands started to submerge and the Frisians had the Atlantic-Nordic race and the ancient history to move south, mingling with the local people, of Europe. According to A. Kondratiev, “Wirth losing purity and divinity of their race. The basis introduces “The Oera Linda Book” as “The of the Nordic culture was matriarchy, which Ancient Legacy of the North”, which is different was gradually, from the north, south and east, from the legacies of the Middle East, which, in replaced by patriarchy, that became “the cause his opinion, are essentially alien to the traditions of the fundamental space disaster” (Wirth, 2007: of the Germans and Atlantic-Nordic ancestry 38). Folk mothers were killed, but the last one, heritage” (Wirth, 2007: 85). According to the Frana, before her death prophesied: “In ... two beliefs of the ancient Frisians represented in “The thousand years, the sons will rise in rebellion Oera Linda Book”, the Supreme Spirit Vralda and overthrow the power of princes and priests. embodied into the three Goddesses – Lyda, For... a thousand years Yule radiation sector will Fynda and Freya, who became the ancestresses go down, more and more plunging into darkness of the three major races, “Lyda was black and and the blood that is shed because of princes’ curly, like a sheep. … Fynda was yellow, and her and priests’ intrigues. And then a New Dawn hair was like a horse’s mane. ... Freya was white, will come” (Wirth, 2007: 155). Even earlier, in like the morning snow, and the blue of her eyes the early 20th century H.F. Wirth created a work was superior to the blue of the rainbow. Her hair, dedicated to one of the female characters – the which was as thin as spider’s web shined like the Mother of Light, Holda, a white woman who is rays of the midday sun” (Wirth, 2007: 99-100). coming into our world, to fill it with the morning Descendants of Lyda did not know the laws, their light of Divine Freedom and “sacred loyalty to lives were driven exclusively by passions; Fynda’s the old days” (Wirth, 2007: 14 ). children only made laws, but did not follow them; In general, A.G. Dugin says that among while the children of Freya lived in harmony, Germanic peoples the question of gender was harmonizing their life with internal divinity and spiritualized and associated with hierogamy legitimacy. (the divine marriage): “in the Nordic tradition The harmonious existence of Freya’s children gender was a reflection of the intellectual and implied understanding of the importance of spiritual sacred structure of the divine world women in general, as well as the separate female that is why it have never been self-sufficient or characters: goddess Freya, folk mothers, Frana naturalistic content of cults and rituals.

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