The image of the forest in the national artistic creation

Th e image of the forest or of the woods is deeply implanted in the spiritual life, becoming for centuries a maternal symbol of our people. We fi nd it in popular creation (doinas, ballads, tales). In most folk tales, the main characters, on their way to becoming, wander through a thick and dark forest, as the forest itself is the destination point, where the dramatic denouement, an unpredictable meeting or a love idyll will take place. We also fi nd this space of transformations in the creation of our poets and writers (Mihai Eminescu, Vasile Alecsandri, Grigore Vieru, Ion Druță, etc.), in some tales, cult fairy tales, including those of the classic Ion Creangă. We will elucidate this space, represented in various interpretations of the Crengian tales: „Capra cu trei iezi”(Goat with three kids) in the fi lm Mama (1976, directed by Elisabeta Bostan); „Povestea lui Harap Alb”(Th e Story of Harap Alb) in De-ași fi Harap Alb (If I were Harap Alb) (1965), „Povestea porcului” (Th e story of the pig) in “Povestea dragostei”(Love story) (1977), “Fata babei și fata moșneagului” (Th e grandmother’s girl and the old man’s girl) in Maria-Mirabela (1981) — all directed by the Romanian Ion Popescu- Gopo, Dănilă Prepeleac (1996, directed by Tudor Tătaru) etc., fi lms where the forest is the main space for the unfolding of actions/events in the evolution of the dramaturgy, but also the spiritual modifi cation of the character.