Images of female shamans of the element of fire in the cycles of novels “The Land of the Udagans” by Ariadna Borisova and “The Poppy War” by Rebecca F. Kuang

The relevance of this article is due to the growing interest in shamanic figures in contemporary fantasy literature, particularly female trickster characters who embody archetypes of mediators and bearers of sacred power. The aim of the study is to identify and analyze the features of fire-element female shamans in the novels "The Land of the Udagans" by Ariadna Borisova and "The Poppy War" by Rebecca F. Kuang, considering their symbolic, cultural, and narrative significance. The material for analysis includes Borisova’s four-part novel cycle and the Kuang’s trilogy. The methodological foundation is an interdisciplinary approach incorporating hermeneutics, myth criticism, semiotics, and comparative literary studies. The study employs the Jung’s concepts of archetypes, Eliade’s ideas on shamanic transformation, and Lotman’s classification of female literary images. The archetypal features of the protagonists and their connection to the fire element are viewed as symbols of transformation, sacrifice, and power. The analysis reveals two contrasting shamanic images: Ilene in the Borisova’s work – a harmonious mediator between worlds, embodying ancestral memory and spiritual balance; and Fang Runin in the Kuang’s novels – a destructive figure who loses her subjectivity under the influence of the fire archetype. Both heroines illustrate different cultural interpretations of shamanism: Yakut as regenerative, and Sino-American as apocalyptic. The novelty of the research lies in the comparison of shamanic images from distinct cultural frameworks, allowing for the identification of both universal and localized traits of the shamanic archetype. The practical significance of the study lies in its applicability to educational and scholarly activities in literary and cultural studies. This work opens new perspectives for the study of archetypal figures in intercultural fantasy prose and contributes to the academic dialogue on the transformation of traditional mythological structures in contemporary literature.

1. Samoylova V.E. The Trickster and Shamanism. Kazan Science. 2012;6:119–123 (in Russian).

2. Burtseva Zh.V. Genre specificity of the novel-olonkho "The Land of the Udagans" by A. Borisova. In: World Epics: Problems and Prospects of Comparative Study. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference; 2015 Jun 18–19; Yakutsk. Yakutsk: SVFU Publishing; 2015: 63–64 (in Russian).

3. Zhelobtsova S.F. Myth functioning in poetics of novel-olonkho "The Land of Udagans" by A. Borisova. Philological Sciences. Questions of Theory and Practice. 2013;12-1(30):84–87 (in Russian).

4. Danilova S.N., Maksimova V.V., Archakhova N.V. Sociocultural Commentary in The Land of the Udagans Novel by Ariadna Borisova. Issues of national literature. 2024;4(16):100–107 (in Russian). doi org:10.25587/2782-6635-2024-4-100-107 Available at: https://www.litteraesvfu.ru/jour/article/view/162 (accessed: 25 April 2025) (in Russian).

5. Zagrebelnaya M.S. Elements of Chinese mythology in Rebecca Kuang's work "The Poppy War". Modern Science. 2022;1–2:303–307(in Russian).

6. Zagrebelnaya M.S. The historical foundation of Rebecca Kuang's "The Poppy War". Modern Science. 2022;1–2:310–312 (in Russian).

7. Kulikov E.A. The theme of historical memory in novel "The Poppy War" by Rebecca Kuang. In: Languages of History and Languages of Literature. Nizhny Novgorod: Lobachevsky University; 2022: 210–222 (in Russian).

8. Kulikov E.A. Specificity of reality Representation in fictional worlds (based on fantasy novels by R.F. Kuang and Fonda Lee). Philology and Culture. 2022;3(6):99–105 (in Russian). doi.org:10.26907/2074-0239-2022-69-3-99-105

9. Kulikov E.A. The real and fictional East in the novel "The Poppy War" by R. Kuang. The world of science, culture and education. 2022; 6(97):413–7 (in Russian). doi. org:10.24412/1991-5497-2022-6-97-413-417

10. Jung C.G. Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Moscow: AST Publishers; 2020: 496 (in Russian).

11. Eliade M. Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Moscow: Akademicheskiy Proekt; 2021:399 (in Russian).

12. Kovtun N.V. The trickster as a hero of our time (based on Russian prose of the second half of the 20th – 21st centuries). Moscow: Flinta; Krasnoyarsk: Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University; 2022:408 (in Russian).

13. Lotman Y.M. Conversations about Russian culture: Life and traditions of the Russian nobility (18th – early 19th centuries). St. Petersburg: Azbuka; 2017:544 (in Russian).

14. Borisova A.V. People with Solar Reins. Moscow: Eksmo; 2016:416 (in Russian).

15. Borisova A.V. The Stars Have Cold Fingers. Moscow: Eksmo; 2016:610. Available at: https://www.litres.ru/static/or4/view/or.html?baseurl=/downloadbook/23790624/27643705/&art=23790624&user=167608286&uilang=ru&catalit2&track_reading&fb3_master (accessed: 05 May 2025) (in Russian).

16. Fedorova A.R., Fedorov S.I. Animal Images in Shamanic Cult and Attributes in Traditional Yakut Culture. Humanitarian Vector. 2024;19(2):188–97 (in Russian).

17. Kuang R. The Poppy War. London: Harper Collins UK; 2018:544.

18. Kuang R. The Poppy War. Moscow: Eksmo; 2021:544 (in Russian).