Imagological Problems in Lesya Ukrainka's Dramatic Poem "Boyarynia"

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of the coverage of
imagological issues in Lesya Ukrainka's dramatic poem "Boyarynia". The analysis involved intelligence from both domestic and foreign scientists, who focused on the
fundamental aspects of imagology. The theoretical and methodological basis of the
study were the works of V. Budny, O. Veretyuk, N. Kior, J. Leerssen, D. Nalyvayko,
D. H. Pageaux, V. Yakymovych, who touch on various aspects of imagology and
imagological discourse. Based on them, the specifics of such concepts as literary
imagology, ethnic image, national stereotype, as well as factors that affect the image
of other people and countries. Particular attention is paid to the conflict of one's own /
another's, which can be realized through the prism of historical, socio-political and
personal confrontations. Elements of biographical, comparative-historical,
typological and hermeneutic literary methods were used to study the imagological
problems in Lesya Ukrainka's "Boyarynia", which made it possible to analyze in
detail the socio-political, ethnopsychological, cultural differences inherent in the
"own" / "foreign" and "I" / "different" oppositions. It is illustrated that the
imagological issues in Lesya Ukrainka's "Boyarynia" go beyond specific
chronological dimensions and emphasize the irreparable loss of national identity. It
was found that portraying the main characters outside the homeland, Lesya Ukrainka
created the image of migrants, and the main character is depicted as a stranger to both
the kozaks and the tsar's servants. It is stated that the play has both oppositional and
national opposition pairs "here" / "there", "we have" / "you have", Ukraine /
Muscovy. It is proved that the attitude to women also signals the differences between
the two cultures. It is illustrated that the main character perceives Russian customs
and traditions as "different", "foreign". It is stated that the forcible change of national
dress to Russian one emphasizes the loss of identity. Imagological issues are
embedded in such tokens as "zaida", "hohlushka". It is revealed that the main images
of the work raise the problems of assimilation and loss of national identity. It is
proved that stereotypical images of "others" depend on existing or probable threats,
so it is projected on modern historical events.