In the Shadow of Trickster. Research Fields and Controversies in the Discourse on the Trickster Complex in the Studies of Myth

Abstract

Since its appearance in the scientific discourse, the figure of trickster has become a subject of many controversies and a source of speculation in many research fields. Despite multiple endeavours to synthesise this topic, researchers seem to be still far from solving the “trickster problem.” The article attempts to recall the classical arguments in the field, in order to identify the sources of puzzling issues and to find common motifs linking diverse deliberations. Researchers of different schools seem to agree on the archaic nature of trickster myths. This is indicated by the paradoxicality, ambivalence, unpredictability and multidimensionality of the trickster figure and its specific wisdom in the form of cunningness gravitating towards a shamanic complex, as well as the dispersion and chaotic character of mythical episodes.