У статті розглянуто, як у сучасній літературі фентезі (на прикладі циклів "Відьмацька сага"
Анджея Сапковського, "Пісня Льоду й Полум’я" Джорджа Мартіна та "Зворотний бік" Дари
Корній) висвітлюється проблема релігії. Увага автора статті головно зосереджується на таких
питаннях: як на висвітлення проблеми релігії у згаданих творах вплинула секуляризація суспільства,
які саме релігійні образи та мотиви, образи релігійних інституцій наявні в творах, яке значення
автори творів надають релігії у житті людини.
The article discusses how the topic of religion is represented in contemporary fantasy fiction, specifically in a series such as Andrzej Sapkowski’s “The Witcher Saga”, George R. R. Martin’s “A Song
of Ice and Fire”, and Dara Kornii’s “The Opposite Side”. These literary works have been chosen for
analysis for two reasons. First, the three series of choice are not only best known fantasy fiction
among readers, but also the most influential literary works within the fantasy genre in their countries
of origin and, in the case of Sapkowski and Martin’s works, even abroad. Second, the three authors of
the fantasy series of choice represent different religious views in their personal lives; therefore, it is
interesting to explore whether or not and in what way their personal beliefs have been imprinted on
their works, and whether authors who come from different religious backgrounds express similar
thoughts on religious matters in their literary works.
The author of the article is interested in exploring the topic of religion in contemporary fantasy
from four angles. The first angle is to establish how the secularization processes within Polish, American, and Ukrainian societies as well as the authors’ personal religious beliefs have affected the
representation of religion in their works. The second angle is to analyze which religious images and
motifs (if any) are depicted in the chosen fantasy works of fiction. The third angle is to discover how
religious institutions are depicted in the chosen works of fiction. Finally, the fourth angle is to find out
what role, according to the authors, religion (and more specifically, faith) should play in one’s life,
and how religion may influence one’s morality. Discussing these issues in detail may provide an
important outlook on how religion and religious matters are perceived by popular fiction and by
modern societies.
