Prose Texts by Olena Pchilka about Tentation of Strength of Faith: Description of Narrative

Abstract

The author deals with some markers of literal
parameters of theme about religion sectarians in seven texts of the Ukrainian writers
in the second half of XIX century. It’s exposed writers who uses the sectarian theme
as marginal (Po Zakonu [In Line of Law]), Zlochyntsi [Criminals] by Modest
Levytskyi, Sekta [Sectarians] by Panas Myrnyi), and who interprets it as a story
about religion free-thinking (Prorok-mnogover [Prophet-Eclectic] by Orest
Levytskyi, Ne toj stav [He’s Another Person] by I. Nechui-Levytskyi), and Olena
Pchilka is the only author to put figure of sectarians into the core of text structure (Za
pravdoyu [In a Way to Justice] and Ryatujte! [Save Her]). Narrative in Olena
Pchilka’s texts is based on anthropological materials. There is a constant visual image
in those texts: description of people to be singing psalms and to go in ecstasies.
Ideological textual strategy correlates with political tendencies of that time
(missionary opposition, charging of cultural leadership).