MYTHICAL ELEMENTS IN THE NOVEL BALTAGUL, BY MIHAIL SADOVEANU
MYTHICAL ELEMENTS IN THE NOVEL BALTAGUL, BY MIHAIL SADOVEANU

Summary/Abstract: In the novel „Baltagul”, Mihail Sadoveanu reconstructs an entire pastoral civilization, unfolding since immemorial times, in parallel with the different forms of life of the Romanian people. The subject of this research starts from the idea that this novel represents a magnificent illustration of the force of ethical norms in a traditional society, and the mythical echo of the event recreates its correspondence with the „Mioriţa” ballad. It could be said that there is even a line brought to the ballad, the emphasis falling not on resignation, on reconciliation with fate, but on the human effort made to make justice triumph. From „Mioriţa”, Sadoveanu takes the symbol, the epic structure, the conflict between the three shepherds and the face of the main character, which he fills with that of the brave shepherdess from „Şalga”, who punishes the captain of thieves, doing justice, realizing a fundamental ethical principle for Romanian people. However, the relationship between „Baltagul” and „Mioriţa” is quite controversial in contemporary criticism, especially in the context in which Alexandru Paleologu surprisingly pleads for the total short-circuiting of the relationship with the popular ballad. Placing itself in that general-anthropological antithesis plane of the collective human imaginary, Paleologu demonstrates that „Baltagul” deals, in its subtext, with a symbolic theme related to one of the great myths of humanity, being a book dedicated to the Osiris theme. Found in the subtext of „Baltagul”, the myth of the search for Osiris by his wife, Isis, would therefore be concealed by the introduction of the interpretation on the false track of „Mioriţa”, Paleologu admitting that references to the Osiris myth can also be made in relation to the ballad.

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