“The soul will survive”. Books by J.K. Rowling about Harry Potter and books by Yu. Voznesenskaya on the “Julianna”

Abstract

Yulia Voznesenskaya’s trilogy about the adventures of teenage twins Yulia and Anya is a narrative based on accurately depicted Russia of the late 1990s and early 2000s, featuring the spread of occult practices. Alongside the visible events it shows, the actions of angels and demons accompanying the heroes. That technique reveals the deeper meaning of the events. The differences in the perspectives of various characters repeatedly create a comic effect. The dialogue with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in the story ‘Juliana, or Dangerous Games’ (2005) addresses two issues: the craze for book series, which, becoming a constant of public opinion, deprives the reader of the freedom of judgement, and the influence of the magical community, in which, according to the metaphorical meaning of the word ‘witch’, hostility and malice are inevitable. The dialogue between the works of J. Rowling and Yu. Voznesenskaya is based on similar poetic features. The artistic world of ‘Harry Potter’ and the world of Yu. Voznesenskaya’s prose is profoundly structured. In the works of both authors, time, space and the character system are depicted as open, which encourages broad interest from readers of all ages in stories about children. As the characters grow up, they realise that the universe is not limited to its visible part. The theme of love as a force that decisively affects the characters and the course of events defines the humanistic tone of the works.