EVOLUTION OF THE FABLE GENRE IN UKRAINIAN AND FOREIGN LITERATURES OF THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

The article attempts to clarify the specifics of the fable genre’s evolution during the 19th and early 20th centuries. A comparativetypological analysis of the genre’s transformation is conducted within Ukrainian, Polish, and Western European (French and German) literary contexts. The study emphasizes a shift in the genre paradigm: from the Classicist canon focused on sharp social satire to a plastic artistic miniature. Within the scope of the research, it is proven that this period marked a stage of humanization for the genre in Ukrainian literature. It was found that one of the factors of this evolution was the minimization of the instructional element and the organic integration of the conclusion into the narrative fabric of the work. Replacing extensive instructional morals with laconic summaries-sometimes in the form of folk aphorisms and proverbs—allowed for a shift in emphasis from direct didacticism to the reader’s internal ethical self-determination. Furthermore, the modernization of the genre occurred through an organic combination of denunciatory pathos with a nationally distinct type of psychologism, where the exposure of social injustice serves only as the first step toward a value-based dialogue with the recipient. This very synthesis of sharp satire and subtle empathy ensured the genre’s vitality amidst the complex socio-cultural conditions of the period. The article analyzes the development of the Polish fable as a tool for national self-identification and ethical analysis. The functioning of parallel satirical-everyday and humanistic-educational directions in the fable’s development is substantiated. Such a coexistence of vectors allowed the genre to maintain its relevance both within social issues and in the field of pedagogical literature. Based on French and German literary traditions, the study traces the blurring of genre boundaries and the integration of fable elements into related literary forms. It is established that in the Western European space, the 19th-century fable underwent qualitative modifications, acquiring updated artistic features (such as philosophical, satirical, or politico-allegorical miniatures). It is concluded that the dominant trend for all analyzed literatures was the psychologization of characters and a focus on universal human ethics