The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series “Philology”

“...seems to be built not of stone”: Without Foundation by V. Petrov (Domontovych) as an Architectural and Pictorial Novel-Ekphrasis

Valentyna Borbuniuk — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Intermedial analysis remains one of the leading interpretive strategies of contemporary literary studies, which determines the relevance of the study. The aim is to read the novel Without Foundation (1948) by V. Petrov (Domontovych) through the prism of intermediality.

The research methods are determined by the objective. The method of intermedial analysis, contextual analysis, hermeneutic, comparative and semiotic methods are used.

It is indicated that the writer transports a number of codes of plastic arts into the word: composition, colour and linear ratios, volumes, light and shadows, texture, etc. Verbal descriptions of works of art as visual objects in a novel often become a self-contained main narrative with extensive reflections on artistic phenomena. Certain episodes of the novel are a kind of verbal extension of the characters depicted in the paintings. Masterpieces of world and national art, as well as precedent-setting names of artists, provide the writer with the opportunity to find motives, moods, and images that are in tune with his or her own, and enrich the arsenal of visual and expressive means.

The main basis of the artistic narrative is the architectural structure, which, determining the unity of the thematic and poetic design of reality, determines the subject, type of hero, system of characters, problematics, plot and compositional structure, chronotope, and type of narrative. Built not of stone, but in the writer's imagination, the Varangian Church becomes an architectural prototype that models a literary work, partially structuring it. Thus, the multifaceted verbal visualization of the Cathedral, in its artistic concept, tends to be similar to the artistic solution of C. Monet with regard to the Cathedral of Rouen. The author also devoted a "series of paintings" to the Varangian Church, which depict the urban space associated with the architectural object.

Conclusions. The complex system of visual codes and their multiplicity testify to the originality and novelty of the Ukrainian writer, whose novel, in its language directly related to plastic arts, became a "prologue" to contemporary novels-ekphrasises.

Literary activity of Hryhorii Kvitka and women’s education

Oleksandr Borzenko — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article uses and develops the ideas of the famous literary historian M. Zerov, which relate to Ukrainian sentimentalism. His experience in the scientific interpretation of G. Kvitka's work made it possible to determine ways of optimally engaging the possibilities of literary life to reveal the influence of such social factors as charity, women's education and upbringing, on the writer's creative practice. The relevance of the outlined approach is due to the need to overcome simplification in the understanding of our classical cultural heritage, the need to clarify knowledge about Ukrainian sentimentalism by expanding the scope of researched facts and their objective study. On the basis of the analysis of biographical and cultural-aesthetic material, the motives that guided the Ukrainian sentimentalist were identified and described, as well as his worldview and aesthetic priorities were clarified. Biographical facts were analyzed separately, testifying to G. Kvitka's special interest in the organization of the women's institute in Kharkiv and his awareness of the need for literary texts that would meet the aesthetic demands of the institute's female students. Some attention is paid to clarifying the dependence of the writer on the notions of sentimentalism concerning the criteria of "truthfulness" of an artistic work. It is pointed out the groundlessness of involving Kvitka's prose in realism, as some Soviet researchers and their followers once tried to do. The hypothesis is proposed, according to which H. Kvitka's sentimental prose appeared precisely as an organic continuation and development of his charitable and educational work, the kinship of these types of activities is separately substantiated, and their common ideological basis is emphasized. The role of H. Kvitka in the formation of the Ukrainian female readership was noted, features of his works that contributed to this are highlighted. As a perspective for further studies, it is proposed to find out exactly how the literary and spiritual heritage of sentimentalism is presented in the modern cultural life of Ukrainians.

Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”

Daniil Vlasov — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this article is to analyze the narrative structure of B. Zhytkov's novel «Viktor Vavіch» (1926-1931, published in 1999). The relevance of the study is due to the fact that narratological analysis is a promising area of modern philological science, but the narrative characteristics of B. Zhytkov's novel are almost never revealed in literary studies of the text. The author proposes to use the model of communicative instances and points of view of W. Schmid, to clarify the relationship between the narrative structure and the novel's problems, narrative factors of characterization, etc.

It is proved that the novel is based on a complex polyperceptual composition, in which the narrator's colorful figure is almost not revealed, who remains as if outside the text, allowing his characters to present their worldview almost independently. The author examines the figure of the titular character Viktor Vavich and how his image is constructed by narrative means. It is proved that the structure of consciousness represented by Viktor Vavich is dual and incorporates both the hero's own consciousness and the imaginary image of the external other constructed by him, which subjects him to critical evaluation. This duality of self-perception is characteristic of several characters in the text, but only in the case of Vavich does it become a psychological dominant that ultimately destroys his personality and leads him to decline and death.

It has been shown that despite the polyperceptual composition and the unidentified narrator, there is a monologic organizing principle in the text, which is manifested through the functioning of a rather uniform and stable motivic system that is realized through different perceptual instances. In this way, the text forms an imaginary dialogue between two instances: a monological intention that exists in the categories of its own ideology and a polyphony of consciousnesses that do not have a colored narrator figure to give them any ideological assessment.

Semantics and functions of the symbol in the prose of realism and modernism

Inna Gazheva — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article attempts to combine the structural and comparative historical methods of symbol research. This is its scientific novelty, since modern symbolology is dominated by studies of a structural and semiotic nature and there is a clear lack of works that address the issue of the symbol's dependence on specific cultural and historical epochs. The author clarifies the concepts of the denoting and denoted symbol in the context of the ideas of linguistic conceptology and narratology, and also explores the problem of the conditionality of the meaning of the symbol and the means of its embodiment in the text by the artistic method and the type of narrative corresponding to it. The article proves that in realist prose the symbolic image is multifunctional. Firstly, it appears as an element of a landscape or interior description. Secondly, it performs a conceptual function, correlating its deep meaning with the main idea of the work. Thirdly, it plays a role in the development of the plot, in particular, it anticipates a significant and often unexpected turn within it. Fourthly, if it functions in the character's speech, it becomes one of the means of characterization, since the ability to perceive, comprehend and experience the symbolic meaning of an image is always evidence of the beginning of the character's spiritual insight. As for the symbolist, in particular ornamental, prose with its characteristic weakening of the plot, the symbol here has a completely different meaning.

Firstly, it performs the function of a leitmotif - a figurative characteristic of the character, which is constantly repeated, because it expresses their essence. At the formal level, the function of symbols-leitmotifs is to organize the coherence and integrity of a literary text, which in realistic prose is ensured by the cause-and-effect relationships between the events that organize the plot. The author emphasises that these differences are due to the peculiarities of the worldview on which the respective artistic methods are based.

Metahistoricism in Vera Bogdanova’s novel “The Season of Poisoned Fruits”

Kseniia Zalozna — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the article is to trace the narrativization of historical events in Vera Bogdanova's novel The Season of Poisoned Fruit (2022), which focuses on the story of "forbidden" love between cousins. The relevance of the article stems from the fact that the novel has already become a significant phenomenon in contemporary Russian literature, but has not yet found its researchers. The novel's themes include the sickness of Russian society, militarization, extreme xenophobia, propaganda, domestic violence, and social rejection of otherness; through these problems, anti-military and liberal pathos emerges, so the novel should be considered part of a culture that is in opposition to the modern Russian regime. The range of problems in the novel revolves around different strategies for dealing with different personal and historical traumas; however, critics suggest that the generation of "thirtysomethings" does not share the historical trauma of childhood, as, for example, the older generation, which saw the collapse of the USSR as children.

The article demonstrates how the novel's text perceives the traumatic events of Russian and world history (the events in Moscow in 1993, the terrorist attacks in Moscow and London, the forest fires of 2010, etc.) through the prism of the perception of several representatives of the millennial generation ("the generation of thirty-somethings"). The article shows how state propaganda and hierarchized narrative of the story replace the protagonists' personal memories of events, which, in turn, become taboo. The intervention of a discourse that narrates the story in the spirit of Russian propaganda is made possible by the constant presence and unrelenting intensity of television intrusions into the protagonists' personal lives. It is assumed that the novel has several strategies for organizing the interaction between general and personal history, including (1) aggression and the search for those responsible for historical tragedies; (2) ignoring, (3) mystical metahistorical linking of historical and personal events.

Peculiarities of the semantic representation of religious images in modern Ukrainian poetry (the period of the full- scale Russian invasion)

Inna Litvinova — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to the study of modern poetic texts regarding the interpretations and semantic content of religious images. Studying the implementation of one of the key language concepts based on the poetic speech material allows, on the one hand, to talk about the expressive capabilities of language as the main means of communication, and on the other hand, to investigate the specifics and changes in worldview orientations of representatives the modern generation of Ukrainians.

The material for analysis was poetry posted on the pages of social networks during a difficult period for Ukrainians – the full-scale Russian invasion. The choice of language material is explained by the fact that poetry as a form of verbal art is capable of broadcasting the first quick reaction to events. The texts of different authors collectively provide a kind of the society’s emotional state projection, reflect a collective emotion. The ability to publicize poetic texts with the help of social networks and respond to them quickly endows modern poetry with a psychotherapeutic function.

According to our observations, in the analyzed poetic texts, the most frequent religious image is God/Creator/Lord/Almighty. We note a number of traditional semantic interpretations of the image – faith, comfort, help, higher justice. The motif of disappointment, hopelessness, despair, which is realized in the image of an indifferent, blithe God, is typical for the poetry of a certain period. We also observe original interpretations, for example, God who sets out to fight for freedom and truth with weapons in his hands, or God who manifests himself in every Ukrainian – soldiers, volunteers, medics, power engeneer, etc.

Interpretations of biblical stories are also interesting for analysis, for example, the story of the execution and resurrection of Christ is broadcast to modern Ukraine, which is currently suffering for the sins of humanity, but will surely be resurrected.

Innovative, traditional, and classic-innovative forms of popularization of the literary heritage of Bruno Schulz

Natalia Matorina — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

One of the tasks that modern literary critics, art critics, cultural experts, etc., are still solving is the need to disseminate actively information of various types on Ukrainian territory and throughout the world about this or that Ukrainian artist, that is, scientists are engaged in popularizing the life and creative heritage of more or less well-known artists to a wide audience of creative personalities of Ukraine. The article deals with the expansion of Schulz’s literary discourse in Ukraine and the attraction of new and new admirers of the creative work of the world-famous Galician writer from Drohobych Bruno Schulz to the Schulz Ukrainian community thanks to the use of innovative and classical forms of artistic popularization. The author of the scientific research focuses on the relevance, necessity, and correctness of accelerating the processes of entry of the bright Galician writer of the first half of the 20^th century, Bruno Schulz, to the Ukrainian reading, literary, literary studies, and artistic discourses precisely through the prism of representation of various forms of popularization of Bruno Schulz’s biography and creativity. In the investigation the place and role of Bruno Schulz in the world literary and artistic discourse have been characterized; the level of awareness of both specialists and ordinary citizens with the creative heritage of the artist on Ukrainian territory has been clarified; innovative, innovative-traditional, classic forms, methods and techniques of popularizing the figure of Bruno Schulz among the broad strata of modern Ukrainians are systematized, and recommendations on the outlined issues have been formulated. Given the fact that Bruno Schulz is world-famous not only as an author of prose works but also as a philosopher, literary critic, literary theorist, epistolographer, artist, painter, drawer, draftsman, graphic artist, translator, educator, these facets of the multifaceted talent of the artist will become the subject of further scientific investigations by the author of the publication because they also need a certain popularization.

The Pygmalion myth in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” and William Schwenk Gilbert’s “Pygmalion and Galatea”

Pavlo Shopin — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the ambivalent nature of the Pygmalion myth in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and William Schwenk Gilbert’s Pygmalion and Galatea (1870). The versions of the myth in Ovid and Gilbert are regarded as attempts at demythologization, which paradoxically introduce their own mythology. The author argues that the myth serves as both a reality and an illusion for the protagonists, blurring the lines sbetween critical knowledge and mythological worldview. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory, the author suggests that the Pygmalion myth can be regarded as an allegory within the cognitive paradigm of embodied realism, and the unconscious metaphor behind the myth presents the metamorphosis as rationally explainable yet resistant to critical thinking. The article delves into Pygmalion’s mythical consciousness, highlighting his self-deception and the dialectic between animation and petrification. In Ovid, Pygmalion’s mastery achieves a perfect delusion. He believes in the possibility of animating his statue because it is so life-like. The original story – as we know it from Ovid’s Metamorphoses – treads the line between a miracle and self-delusion. After Ovid, its nature has remained ambivalent over the centuries. Gilbert demythologizes the myth by allowing it to become authentic reality. Pygmalion’s dream is realized to reveal its paradoxical consequences, which change the phantasmagoria of animation into a waking nightmare. The dialectic of the myth is realized through legitimating the magical act of creation and challenging its ramifications. Animation is possible in its initial stage, but the education and socialization of Galatea seemingly fail. The only way out of this predicament appears to be the reverse act of petrification. Pygmalion’s illusion has to come full circle in order to restore the balance. The article concludes that the understanding of the Pygmalion myth requires balancing between mythologizing and demythologizing, knowing and not-knowing.

Phraseological units with a numerical component hundred in Ukrainian and Chinese

Iuliia Danylenko — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Intermedial The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of Ukrainian and Chinese phraseological units with the numerical component hundred as a component of the concept “all”. A holistic and exhaustive linguoculturological study of the concept “all”on the basis of phraseological units of the Chinese and Ukrainian languages has not been carried out, that determines the relevance of the article. The purpose of the article is to clarify and detail some aspects of the language representation of the concept “all” on the material of two languages. The paper describes the role of numbers in traditional Chinese culture; certain structural and cultural features of phraseological units in the Chinese language are determined; identified, classified, analyzed and compared phraseological units with the component “hundred” in the Ukrainian and Chinese languages.

The results of the study provide grounds for clarifying the content of the concept “all”. The numerative hundred is a productive component of Chinese phraseological units, in which it can be a temporal indicator, the embodiment of the idea of diversity. Structural features of Chinese phraseological units: PU with different semantics and connotative colouring have the same negative structure; within one unit, the numeratives 1–100 are contrasted, the numeral hundred is doubled, the numeratives hundred and thousand are used. The equivalents of Ukrainian phraseological units with the numerical component one hundred were found in Chinese. In Ukrainian and Chinese cultures some emotional and evaluative components are similar: negative (submission, sadness, indifference to life), positive (invincibility, value of a specialist). In Chinese most phraseological units with a numerical component hundred are used to characterize a certain state of a person, particular phenomena. The study of phraseological units in Ukrainian and Chinese will deepen the content of the concept “all” in the language picture of the world. The research results can be used in the process of compiling phraseological Ukrainian-Chinese dictionaries and in the practice of studying both languages.

The associative field of the concept “enemy” in modern Russian linguistic consciousness

Liudmyla Pedchenko — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study is to reveal the structure of the associative field of the ENEMY concept in the Russian linguistic consciousness and to find out the factors causing its transformation. The object of the study is the results of associative experiments presented in the "Slavic Associative Dictionary" and in the "Russian Regional Associative Database. 2008-2015". The subject of the study is the basic cognitive features that form the associative-verbal model of the concept "enemy" in the modern linguistic consciousness of Russians.

The results of the comparative analysis of the researched associative fields in general testify to the stability of the associative-verbal model of the concept of ENEMY in the Russian linguistic consciousness of the first decades of the 21st century. The list of high-frequency reactions to the stimulus of враг is mostly unchanged (друг, недруг, враг народа, злой, мой, ненависть, etc.). The enemy's qualitative, action and acting characteristics, as well as his emotional and general negative assessment, remain stable. The connection between the concepts ENEMY and WAR is relevant.

However, the circle of reactions that point to the subject of enmity changes: next to the topic of Germany (немец, Гитлер, Германия, фашизм), the reactions of Америка, США, Запад are noted. Reactions нации, страны, государства appear among the names of the objects targeted by enmity. Reactions indicating the location of the enemy express the idea of his proximity, which is associated with a sense of danger and threat.

The appearance of such reactions indicates the gradual actualization in the Russian linguistic consciousness of the image of an external enemy, which can be associated not only with people of other nationalities, but also with individual states or their associations. Such changes are obviously caused by extralinguistic factors, in particular, the strengthening of political tensions on the part of Russia in the early 2000s against neighboring states and Western countries, which was accompanied by the active formation of the image of an external enemy in the Russian media space. The transformation of the associative field of the ENEMY concept in Russian linguistic culture demonstrates socio-cultural conditioning, discursiveness and dynamism of language consciousness.

About concept substitution in the philosophical and linguistic beliefs of Wilhelm von Humboldt and its influence on modern linguistics

Sergiy Popov — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to exposing the logical fallacy of concept substitution in the philosophical and linguistic beliefs of Wilhelm von Humboldt and its influence on modern linguistics. After paying tribute to the famous scientist, it notes the well-known fact that in his famous 1820 lecture, Humboldt presented the ideas of the stage concept of language in such a way as to affirm the notion of root languages transitioning into incorporative ones, incorporative into agglutinative, and agglutinative into inflectional as the most perfect. It points out that Humboldt's assertion of such transitions was unanimously recognized by the linguistic community as erroneous. The article then gradually examines Humboldt's logically flawed statements, which can be seen as harbingers of the error this article focuses on: the contradiction between the scientist's claims that a people's spirit and language are identical, yet language depends on spirit, and that thinking not only depends on language but is determined by it. Next, the author discusses Humboldt's logical error, exposing which is the purpose of this article: the understanding of language as an independently existing entity, substituting the concept of a human-created communicative system with the concept of a human-created independently acting entity. It is suggested that Humboldt's logical mistake was to some extent caused by the prevailing ideology of idealistic Romanticism, which led him to make language a vivid, independent individuality. Furthermore, Humboldt made this error because of the superficial perception of the mobility of language as caused by its independence, while in fact such mobility is caused by the subconscious thinking of its speakers, which the scientist failed to grasp. Therefore, the article discusses the numerous instances where modern linguists continue to cite and comment positively on these flawed statements by Humboldt, and expresses the hope that this article will somewhat contribute to understanding the fallacy of the studied philosophical and linguistic beliefs of Wilhelm von Humboldt, which in turn will prevent their influence on modern linguistics.

Morphological binomials of various types in the Kharkiv Philological School founders’ works, the current state and prospects of the problem study

Olena Skorobogatova — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to the study of morphological binomials in the scientific heritage of representatives of the Kharkiv Philological School (KhPhSch), in particular I. Sreznevskyi and O. Potebnia. The state of the development of the issue has been considered. Traditional and modern approaches to the characterization of morphological binomials, ways and methods of their study have been described.

The purpose of the research is to describe the history of the study of morphological binomials in the development of representatives of the KhPhSch, to highlight the current state and promising ways of studying the problem. Morphological binomials are presented in "Materials for the Dictionary of the Old Russian language" by Izmail Sreznevskyi. The history of the formation of the models is covered in the grammatical works by Oleksandr Potebnia. O. Potebnia believes that the morphological pairs "noun - noun" are paratactic attributive compounds, traces of the ancient system of speech. The scientist analyzes not only substantive, but also verbal and adverbial binomials and notes their ability to convey synonymous and antonymous relationships. In modern expressive use, morphological binomials acquire a new meaning and load: they perform the functions of metaphor, metonymy, and under certain conditions can actualize their internal form. Morphological binomials with antonymic relations between elements are able, in a number of cases, to describe binary oppositions, which are universal symbolic complexes.

An integrated approach to the characteristic of morphological binomials is suggested. It involves the combination of semantic and morphosyntactic vectors of classification of the studied units and the use of cognitive and cognitive-discursive methods for their study.

A hypothesis about the modern status of morphological binomials as the units that realize their diachronic potential in fascinating discourses, actualizing the grammatical internal form of the word is put forward. These units acquire expressive and evaluative capabilities due to markedness in comparison with non-hyphenated sequences of morphologically and syntactically homogeneous units. This makes it possible to increase the productivity of binomials.

The concept of “wisdom” in a Russian fairy tale

Xiaoyan Huo — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The description of the concepts of the Russian language is impossible without referring to folklore, since it is in this linguocultural layer that it is possible to identify the sources and ways of the formation of the mental characteristics of the Russian people. The concept "Wisdom" is one of the central concepts of the Russian folklore picture of the world. It is extremely widely represented in the genre of folk fairy tales. Usually women in fairy tales are wiser than men.

The purpose of this article is to reveal the semantic structure of the concept "Wisdom" in Russian fairy tales. The material of the study was Russian folk tales from the collection of A. N. Afanasyev.

As a result of the study, it was found that the concept of "wisdom" in the Russian fairy tale is characterized by various cognitive features. Central is the understanding of wisdom as a supernatural power, the ability to perform magical actions, transformations, witchcraft. Such wisdom is possessed, as a rule, by female characters (wise princesses, wives), less often by male characters, but always positive characters. Fairy-tale female wisdom includes such components as supernatural power, power over the natural world, mental abilities and good intentions.

Along with the understanding of wisdom as a magical power, there is another interpretation of this concept in fairy tales. Thus, the wise in a fairy tale is that which is characterized by difficulty, complexity, impracticability. In fairy tales, the word wise often characterizes the quality of an object, as well as the skill of a hero who is able to make such objects. The intellectual component of the concept is also presented in Russian fairy tales. At the same time, wisdom is understood not only as intelligence and education, but also as practical insight and ingenuity.

Psycholinguistic and psychological foundations of the decoding of the Maya writing (to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yuri Knorozov)

Iryna Kononenkо — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to the psycholinguistic and psychological grounds for the interest in the language and culture of the Maya people by Yuri Knorozov, a genius native of Kharkiv. It was Knorozov who deciphered the Mayan script, which made it possible to read Mayan books, inscriptions on monuments, and continue to replenish the treasury of knowledge about this people.

The figure of the scientist and his research methods have been largely distorted in a number of scientific works and in the media. This article refutes these insinuations and explains the prerequisites for Yurii Knorozov's interest in Maya writing. Such a study is being conducted for the first time.

The origins of Knorozov's interest in Mayan culture lie in his childhood. Yurii's parents used a deeply thought-out system of child-rearing, developing a love of literature and art in their children. Yurii Knorozov's children's drawings have been preserved, some of which are illustrations to Konstantin Balmont's works about Mexico, primarily about the history, mythology, and archaeological sites of the Maya. The family used to write coded notes to each other. In the future, this helped Yurii Knorozov to find a system for deciphering Mayan hieroglyphics.

During his student years, Knorozov began researching Mayan books. He developed a method of positional statistics and cross-reading, identifying 355 hieroglyphs; he also discovered the sign-phonetic syllable relationship in Mayan writing.

Yurii Knorozov's scientific heritage, research methods, and biographical facts require further analysis. The figure of the scientist and his works should be popularized in Ukraine.