Fairytale and Mythical Elements in the Novel A Swallow of 1000 Years by Tonči Petrasov Marović

Abstract

This paper analyses the novel A Swallow of 1000 Years by Tonči Petrasov Marović. The topic of a neglected girl and her parents’ marriage problems is intertwined with the Mediterranean fairytale and mythical dimension, since the girl and her father are aided by personified helpers: a swallow, butterflies and a tree. The real social context after the Second World War is also outlined. The affiliation of helpers to the earthly and celestial dimension creates the totality of the world, which is understood by children’s logic. On the other hand, the linguistic layer introduces the adult logic. The narrative structure of the novel is complex: in the framework story, the narrator waits for a serious surgery and meets a girl whose life is narrated to him by a tree which he can see through the hospital window. As the main narrative line, the tree’s story introduces several focalisers: a girl, her deceased father, butterflies, and a swallow which the girl’s father saved in his childhood. The novel is closed by its framework story: the girl leaves her cold-hearted mother and stepfather and goes with the narrator to Dalmatia, which was also her father’s homeland. A happy outcome was already announced by her father’s dreams. In the analysis of the narrative structure and stylistic features of the novel, the paper considers the function of fairytale and mythical elements, which intertwine children’s logic with the wisdom of mature human age.