Танатичні мотиви у сучасній українській прозі для дітей та юнацтва

Abstract

The author of this article argues that the theme of death in Ukrainian literature for children and young adults has been silenced or is being highlighted in a specific way. Thanatos discourse in this type of writing is not apparent but is portrayed through an array of motifs, microforms, loci, details, and markers. Ukrainian authors represent the psychological experience of their characters’ suffering caused by the death of their beloved ones, a metaphorical understanding of the transition of an individual from one world to another. Moreover, realistic prose for children and young adults includes thoughts about death and suicide attempts, while speculative prose depicts death as the destruction of evil, as the border between the worlds with the possibility of reincarnation of souls.