THE WATER SPRITE IN SLOVENE FOLKLORE PROSE

V magistrskem delu je na podlagi izbranih folklornih proznih del predstavljeno podvodno mitološko bitje, ki ga Slovenci na splošno nazivamo povodni mož. V teoretičnem delu je najprej opisana slovenska folklorna proza. Predstavljene in poudarjene so glavne značilnosti dveh literarnih vrst, folklorne pravljice in povedke, v katerih se povodni mož najpogosteje pojavlja. V teoretičnem delu je prav tako opisan povodni mož, in sicer njegova zunanja podoba, značajske posebnosti in podvodno bivališče, izpostavljeni pa so tudi različni tipi povodnih mož, ki so poznani na Slovenskem. V osrednjem delu magistrske naloge so v obliki obnov predstavljena in analizirana izbrana folklorna dela o povodnem možu. Razvrščena so glede na prevladujoči motiv v zgodbi in po abecednem redu naslovov uvrščena v ustrezni literarni vrsti. Pomembne ugotovitve o podvodnem bitju so izpostavljene in podkrepljene s citati iz obravnavanih pripovedi. Ugotovili smo, da se v izbranih folklornih proznih delih povodni mož pojavlja tako v pozitivni kot v negativni vlogi. Človeku je lahko naklonjen in prijazen, lahko pa tudi nasproten in sovražen. Nevaren je predvsem otrokom in mladim dekletom, ki jih rad ugrabi in nato odpelje v svoje podvodno kraljestvo. Nevarnost predstavlja tudi čolnarjem in splavarjem, ki lahko njegovo jezo pomirijo tako, da mu v zameno za varno plovbo skozi vrtince darujejo dragoceni predmet. Povodni mož in človek ne moreta živeti v sožitju, saj se njuna svetova preveč razlikujeta, vloga povodnega moža pa je ne nazadnje odvisna tudi od tega, v kateri književni vrsti nastopa.Based on selected folk prose works, the Master’s thesis presents the underwater mythical creature that Slovenians in general call the water sprite. The theoretical part initially describes the Slovenian folk prose. Presented and stressed out are the main characteristics of two literary types, the folk fairy tale and narrative story, where the water sprite occurs most frequently. The theoretical part also describes the water sprite, namely its external appearance, special characteristics and its underwater residencebut we also point out different types of the water sprite, known in Slovenia. The main part of the Master’s thesis presents and analyses selected folk works about the water sprite in the form of summaries. They are sorted by the predominant motive of the story and by alphabetical order of the titles assigned a suitable literary type. Important findings about the water sprite are stressed out and supported with quotes from the discussed stories. We found that in selected folk prose works the water sprite occurs in a positive as well as negative way. It can be devoted and friendly towards humans. It is particularly dangerous for children and young girls, which he kidnaps and then brings to his underwater kingdom. He also poses danger to boatmen and rafters, which can calm his anger by giving it valuable items in return for safe navigation through the whirlpools. The water sprite and human cannot live in harmony, since their worlds are too different and the role of the water sprite ultimately depends on the literary type, in which it occurs