Gender vectors of Lesia Ukrainka's lyrical floristry

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of gender vectors of floral images in the Lesya Ukrainka’s lyrics. It is about the means by which Lesya Ukrainka embodies her
female subjectivity. There is considered both the significance of floral imagery in the context of rethinking traditional ideas about femininity and the place and importance of women in life and art. The emphasis is made on the floral components of the figurative system of the works that represent the interaction with female images, and the vector of attention is shifted to their role in reflecting gender issues, social challenges and internal conflicts of the heroines. The purpose of the study is to find out the peculiarity of the interaction between floral images and female images, their impact on the ideological spectrum of the lyrical works. Research methodology: figurative and stylistic analysis, gender approach and elements of the biographical method. Results. It has been found that the poetess uses plant imagery to symbolically express women's fate, the struggle for self-expression, freedom and creativity. Lesya Ukrainka's intimate lyrics represent a departure from the traditional canon of depicting lyrical heroes, including female characters. Floral imagery is used
to transform and deepen traditional gender roles. The associative field of floral
imagery demonstrates a departure from the vocabulary of symbols whose discourse
dates back to medieval love poetry. The subjectification of floral imagery reveals the
originality of the author's worldview and emphasises its feminine aspects. The article
concludes that the study of floristics from a gender perspective in Lesya Ukrainka's poetry reveals an understanding of the deep layers of her figurative world, the impartiality of her artistic views and life guidelines, innovation and the establishment of new aesthetic and moral ideals.