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Abstract
There are several aspects that clearly distinguish Povestea lui Stan Pățitul from other
tales by Ion Creangă: the structural/ morphological one (the evolution of the subject is not
determined by the struggle between the forces of good and evil, but by the protagonist's way
of perceiving reality and relating to it), that of the characters’ (psychological / spiritual /
moral) pattern, that of the fabulous world construction (based on a different principle than
the Manichaean one). In Povestea lui Stan Pățitul, Ion Creangă relativizes the good-evil
duality, subtextualizing a new existential philosophy that marks the vision of human nature
and the way of representing the artistic world. Through paradox, irony, allusion, illustrative
dialogues and scenes, the author proves the (in)validity of some common perceptions of
forms, dimensions, moral judgments (good-bad, right-wrong etc.), of several collective
stereotypes and beliefs. By diluting the distinction between good and evil, the author
reveals the relative character of any truth