National Identity in Prosper Mérimée’s Exotic Novellas

The problem of identity has become the subject of attention of philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, and literary critics. In the modern conditions of globalization, views on this definition are mildly changing, but special attention has been focused on the concept of “national identity” as one of the priority factors for the preservation and development of nations. Today, in the context of russian aggression, this problem is becoming particularly relevant. It is common knowledge that literature is an important source of national identity formation. The novelist of the French writer Prosper Mérimée is analysed in the paper. The paper examines both his experience as a writer and a research historian. The result of P. Mérimée’s long-term study of historical sources is the creation of a number of special archaeological and historical investigations, including works on the history of Ukraine, in particular the essays “Bohdan Khmelnytskyi” and “Ukrainian Cossacks and Their Last Hetmans.” In his exotic novellas, P. Mérimée reveals national habits, takes an interest in the legends and folklore of different peoples. For instance, the novella “Mateo Falcone” is based on a dramatic plot where the main character, guided by the unwritten laws of his people, kills his own son. The subject of literary research in the literary work “Lokis” is the life of a small ethnic group of Samogitia. This is a classic Gothic literary work with elements of supernatural horror, where the author examines the mystical basis of the national. Mérimée’s novella “Tamango” tells about the life of a semi-wild African tribe, inspired by the European abolitionist movement, and the eternal battle between nature and civilization is the core of the literary work. Thus, P. Mérimée’s literary geography is quite wide; within the framework of the literature of “local colouring,” he explores an important aspect of national identity, more properly national character, and refers to mythology as a defining component of the ethno-cultural paradigm. The French classic is interested in folk and mythological sources that reveal the psychological depths of the folk mentality; the characters of his novelist are strong, purposeful individuals.