Різновиди і характер творчої репрезентації мотиву обману в казках С. Осташевського (на тлі фольклорно-літературної традиції)

The article is devoted to the research of the motif of deception in the fairy‑tales of the Polish and Ukrainian writer S. Ostashevskyi. The work offers arguments for the topicality of the research as well as for the choice of the analysis methodology. It also emphasizes the significance of studying the author’s creative works with a view to revealing those connections between Ukrainian and Polish culture which indisputably prove their kinship. Four types of the deception motif have been distinguished based on the collections of fairy‑tales Half‑a‑Kopa Fairy‑Tales for the Little World and Half‑a‑Hundred Fairy‑Tales for Jolly People. These types are as follows: “a creature with superpowers deceives people by appearing in front of them in an anthropomorphous, intentionally inferior, everyday image”, “an infernal character takes people in without changing its image but promising material benefits and solutions to people’s life problems in exchange for their own souls or their children’s souls”, “a person (usually, a woman) deceives/tries to deceive an infernal character or some supreme forces in general”, and “a person deludes another person”. The comparison of this material with the corresponding folklore and literary heritage has defined the specificity of using and transforming the deception motif by S. Ostashevskyi: dependence on the expression of the religious idea, comical play such as appears in the 19th‑century burlesque and travesty art, and reflection on the harmonious combination of Ukrainian and Polish folklore traditions.