«Judas History» in the national dramatic narrative: Lesya Ukrainka («In the Field of Blood») and Lydia Chupis («Lamentation over Judas»)

Abstract

Lesia Ukrainka’s original interpretation of «Judas History» was a challenge for the next writers’ generation to try to creatively rethink the plot of Judas' betrayal. L. Chupis's «Poetic Interpretation of the Theme» appeared almost 100 years later: it is a kind of continuation of the story of a traitor who found himself in a symbolic field of shadows and punished by endless memories of the past.

The aim of the article was to study the peculiarities of the embodiment of «Jewish History» in L. Chupis’s drama «Lamentation over Judas» and in Lesya Ukrainka’s dramatic poem «In the Field of Blood». A comparative analysis of the peculiarities of the genre of works, themes and issues is carried out, the plotcompositional and figurative specifics of the embodiment of the author’s concept of Judas’ betrayal in the works of L. Chupis and Lesia Ukrainka are outlined. Lesia Ukrainka interpreted Judas not as a noble traitor for the sake of a great idea, but as a complex person with a painful inner dialogue in his soul, although the betrayal took place due to selfish motives and disappointment in the Teacher. The concept of «noble betrayal» is close to L. Chupis, but it is interpreted as a problem of personality, which was too pragmatic and petty to understand the greatness of the idea, but able to realize the abyss of his fall and the unattainable greatness of Jesus. Researchers use the term «dramatic poem» to describe the genre of Lesya Ukrainka’s «In the Field of Blood», and use the term «dramatic dialogue» and «masked» mystery to describe the specifics of the play. L. Chupis defined the genre of the play as «a poetic interpretation of the theme». The title of the play by L. Chupis contains the word «lamentation», which can be considered as the author's reference to the genre variety of trenos. However, the work of L. Chupis contains signs of a surrealistic miracle, consisting of inversion-dreams.

The external conflict of Judas with the Pilgrim and the multi-vector internal conflict in the dramatic poem «In the Field of Blood» are expressed by the motive of duality: Judas / Pilgrim, Judas as the Other Pilgrim, Disciple / Teacher, etc.

L. Chupis realizes the inner conflict in the work through the images of characters who embody the voices of the Other Self: Judas / Fool, Judas / Boy, Judas / Drunkard, Judas / Elderly man, 1st young man, 2nd young man, Judas / Anna, Caiaphas, Judas / Mother, Wife, Magdalene, Woman in white. Both plays show a cyclical plot with an inverted chronology, embodying the image of the «phantom Jesus».