From realism to modernism: the theme of conscription in the works of Marko Vovchok, Lesya Ukrainka, and Vasyl Stefanyk

Abstract

Conscription is a phenomenon that painfully resonated in the minds of Ukrainians and was reflected in the works of writers of different artistic generations, in particular in the story "Two Sons" by Marko Vovchok (1861-1862), the story "The Loner" by Lesya Ukrainka (1894), and the short story "Taken from the Village" by Vasyl Stefanyk (1897). The study aims to analyze the stylistic features of the works united by a common topic- the theme of a conscript, but written by different authors in different periods of literary development. Methodology. In realizing the goal, the primary method used was the stylistic analysis of a literary text. Because of the comparative orientation of the work, comparative methods of literary analysis (typological and comparative, genetic and contact, and thematological and recipe) were used. In addition, cultural-historical, narratological, semiotic, intertextual, and intermedial methods of analyzing literary texts were used. Theoretical basis of the study: the theory of French realism; scientific works of literary critics devoted to comprehending literary style as a theoretical and literary problem; realism and expressionism as artistic phenomena.

Research results. The article shows how, in the process of artistic interpretation by writers of the second half of the nineteenth century, the theme of the conscription was transformed, in particular, psychologized with emphasis on social aspects (Marko Vovchok, Lesya Ukrainka) and ontologized (V. Stefanyk). The author analyzes the stylistic features of literary texts with attention to the following poetic and stylistic elements: plot and storyline, narration (type of narrator / storyteller), composition, timeframe, hero-character, psychologism, techniques and methods of visualization, drama, emotionality index, etc. The research focuses on the specifics of the manifestation of the philosophy of the moment ("being here and now" - M. Heidegger) in different styles of fiction. The study focuses on the parallels between Ukrainian and French realism, particularly the development of realist aesthetics and poetics (the emergence and establishment of realism and neorealism).

Conclusions. The story "Two Sons" by Marko Vovchok is realistic; it is the realism of the stage of formation of his aesthetics and poetics (the text is "in the process" of developing the technique of realistic writing; poetic elements of romanticism and sentimentalism are interspersed in realistic poetics). Lesya Ukrainka's short story "The Loner" is also realistic. However, it is the realism of the late nineteenth century, organic in the system of modernism (neorealism): a perfect realistic writing technique is combined with expressionistic means and techniques of artistic depiction. The short story "Taken from the Village" by V. Stefanyk is a modernist expressionist text.

The study highlights the evolution and establishment of nineteenth-century artistic styles: realism, which transitioned into neorealism, and expressionism, a modernist movement originating in the late nineteenth century and gaining prominence in the twentieth century. It demonstrates that the concept of "being here and now" (philosophy of the moment) is a key stylistic element in realist and modernist (expressionist) aesthetics.