Political and spatial markers of the city in folkloric narratives

Abstract

The analysis of the city as a space of power within folkloric texts provides insights into collective perceptions of authority and societal attitudes toward it. By applying an interdisciplinary approach that integrates Heda Jason’s mythological ethnopoetry with spatial semiotics, the study identifies a typology of cities in folklore. In this framework, the concentration of power—whether metaphorically placed in the center or on the periphery—serves to sacralize and expand the mythological understanding of authority. The study examines the plots of fairy-tale narratives in which the spatial positioning of power through architectural forms (palaces, towers, gates) legitimizes the hierarchical structure of the system. The fairy-tale hero appears as a subject within this hierarchy, capable of morally renewing it, though not intending to dismantle it. The methodological basis of the research lies in a content analysis of eight Ukrainian and European folk tales, where spatial representations of power are contrasted with the moral evaluation of authority’s actions. The article proposes incorporating fairy-tale spatial markers into city branding strategies and the development of cultural policy. It is emphasized that contemporary cities function not only as physical environments imbued with mythological meanings and imaginative perceptions but also as arenas of political interaction. The relationship between institutional power and urban dwellers reflects a specific model of political culture. While folkloric texts project a paternalistic vision of power subject to cyclical renewal, the real urban spaces of post-traumatic societies tend to foster a dialogical culture of collective subjectivity. Urban environments, though not devoid of mythological content, are capable of adapting to new challenges. Thus, the traditional mythologized image of the city as a distant and sacralized center of power is gradually giving way to a new model—one of the city as a locus of solidarity. Folkloric conceptualizations of urban power space offer the potential to reimagine the perceived distance from authority and implement new forms of interaction.