Peculiarity of structurally significant elements on the level of plot and composition in V. Pidmohylnyi's novel «A little touch of drama»

associate professor, the candidate of philological sciences, head of the department of Ukrainian literature

Анотація

Постановка проблеми. Модерністично-темпоральна семантика культурної епохи першої третини ХХ століття багатопланово реалізувалася у творчості Валерьяна Підмогильного, яку дослідники справедливо вважають одним із найвищих досягнень української літератури цього періоду. Роман «Невеличка драма» відкриває перед літературознавцями чимало питань, які потребують вдумливо наукового осмислення. Серед таких, на наш погляд, є з «ясування просторових категорій топосу, локусів, хронотопу міста, реалій доби, деталізацій речового світу, що випрозорюють характери героїв.

Мета статті - дослідити специфіку таких структурно значущих елементів сюжетно-композиційного рівня роману В. Підмогильного «Невеличка драма», як просторові категорії топосу, локусів, хронотопу міста, реалій доби, деталізація речового світу, зокрема побутові деталі, семантика інтер «єру, одягу, прикрас, їжі, часові й звукові маркери тощо.

Методи дослідження: цілісно-системний, аналітичного прочитання художнього тексту.

Основні результати дослідження. У статті акцентується увага на образі Києва, місті, у якому живуть герої - головному топосі твору, різних соціальних локусах - реаліях доби. Приватні локуси (закритий простір будинку, кімнати) формують зовнішній і комунікативний простір героїв - Марти Висоцької, Юрія Славенка, Ірен Маркевич тощо, які вписані в конкретні інтер «єри кімнат, у яких панує циклічний час. Порушується питання про семантику інтер'єру (економно виписаний елементарний інтер'єр кімнати Марти й високий семіотичний статус помешкання Маркевичів, що зображений набагато докладніше). Мотив маркування Ірен речами в її кімнаті повторюється в різних сюжетних ситуаціях. Побутові деталі, зокрема предмети побуту Маркевичів становлять органічну частину їхнього розміреного облаштованого буття.

Побутові деталі «працюють» на психологічне нюансування героїв, що засвідчено зокрема авторським ставленням до деталізації одягу героїв та - набагато менше - їхньої їжі. У тексті роману лише окремими штрихами маркується одяг героїв, але їх достатньо для розкриття характерів. Деталізація жіночих прикрас і парфумів Марти Висоцької й Ірен Маркевич теж уречевлена, що визначає соціальні, вікові, матеріальні, психологічні особливості їхніх характерів. Пору-шується питання про харчовий код у «Невеличкій драмі», який, порівняно з кон-цептним полем предметів побуту, одягу героїв, оприявлюється, здавалося б, зовсім невиразно, інформативна увага зосереджена на інтелектуальних, філософських, психологічних, любовних колізіях; і все ж мотив їжі випрозорює авторське став-лення до героїв, їхнього внутрішнього стану, душевних порухів і нерідко переключено в підтекст.

Часові параметри тексту «Невеличкої драми» ущільнені: події відбуваються протягом двох з половиною місяців, що умотивовано психологічно. І початок, і завершення сюжетної дії чітко визначені; зафіксовані не лише дні місяців, час доби, а й конкретні роки, вказівка на які поєднує сюжетні лінії, зміщує часові площини, які створюють видимий причинно-наслідковий зв'язок між історіями героїв. Звукові маркери (стук у двері, слухове відчуття кроків) виконують конкретну емоційно - виражальну та семантичну функції.

Висновки і перспективи. Аналіз таких значущих елементів сюжетно-композиційного рівня роману В. Підмогильного «Невеличка драма», як хронотоп міста, хронотоп кімнати, свій і чужий простір, топоси і локуси, реалії доби, деталізація і психологічне нюансування інтер'єру, одягу героїв, їжі, часові, звукові маркери тощо, увиразнюють ідейно-естетичне спрямування та авторську позицію твору. Дослідження уможливлює з'ясування соціокультурного смислу твору, життєву стратегію героїв, особливості осмислення автором сутності світу через речовий код.

Ключові слова: сюжет, композиція, хронотоп, топос, локус, реалії доби, річ, одяг, інтер'єр, звук, харчовий код.

Abstract

Background. The modernist-temporal semantics of the cultural epoch of the first third of the XX century was reflected in many ways in the works of Valerian Pidmohylnyi, whose works the researchers rightfully considered one of the biggest achievements of Ukrainian literature of this period. The novel «A Little Touch of Drama» poses many questions that require thoughtful scientific consideration of literary critics. Among them, there is a question of defining the spatial categories of topos, loci, chronotope of the city, the realities of the day, the details of the real world, which outline the characters.

The purpose of the article to investigate the peculiarities of such structurally significant elements of the plot-compositional level of V. Pidmohylnyi's novel «A Little Touch of Drama» as spatial categories of topos, loci, chronotope of the city, realities of the day, detailing of the real world, including household details, interior semantics, clothes, decorations, food, time and sound markers, etc.

Methods: holistic-systemic, analytical reading of an artistic text.

Results. The article focuses on the image of Kyiv, the city where the characters live - the main topos of the novel, which includes various social loci, the everyday items. Private locations (closed space of the house, the room) form the external and communicative space of the characters - Marta Vysotska, Yurii Slavenko, Iren Markevych, etc., who are inscribed in the specific interiors of rooms where cyclic time prevails. The question of the semantics of the interior is raised (the basic interior of Marta's room is shown briefly while the high semiotic status of the Markevychs' apartment is depicted in much richer details). The motif of marking Irene with things in her room is repeated in different plot situations. Household details, in particular household items of the Markevychi's, are an essential part of their measured arranged existence.

Household items add to the psychological features of the characters, as evidenced in particular by the author's attitude to detailing the clothes of the characters and - much less - their food. In the text of the novel, only a few features mark the clothes of the characters, but they are enough to reveal the characters. Detailing of women's jewelry and perfumes by Marta Vysotska and Iren Markevych is also embodied, which determines the social, age, material, psychologicalfeatures of their characters. The question of the food code in «A Little Touch of Drama» is raised, however in comparison with the conceptual field of household items, outfits of the characters, it is rather limited; it would seem that the informative attention is focused on intellectual, philosophical, psychological, love collisions; and yet the motive of food shows the author's attitude to the characters, their inner state, mental disorders and is often switched to the subtext.

The temporal parameters of the text of «A Little Touch of Drama» are definite: the events take place within two and a half months, which is psychologically motivated. Both the beginning and the end of the plot action are clearly defined; not only the days of the months, the time of day but also the specific years are mentioned in the text, which brings together the plot lines, defines the time-space, which make a visible and causal link between the stories of the characters. Sound markers (knock on the door, the auditory sensation of footsteps perform specific emotional, expressive, and semantic functions.

Discussion. Analysis of such significant elements on the level of plot and composition of V. Pidmohylnyi's novel «A Little Touch of Drama» as the chronotope of the city, the chronotope of the room, familiar and alien space, topos and loci, realities of the day, detailing and psychological peculiarities of the interior, character's clothes, food, time, sound markers, etc., express the ideological and aesthetic dimension and the author's position in the text. The research makes it possible to clarify the socio-cultural meaning of the work, the life strategy of the characters, the peculiarities of the author's understanding of the essence of the world through the material code.

Keywords: plot, composition, chronotope, topos, locus, realia, everyday thing, household item, clothes, interior, sound, food code. Ukrainian sense - Український смисл. 2021. ISSN 2313-443

Main part

Introduction. The modernist-temporal semantics of the cultural epoch of the beginning of the twentieth century was reflected in many ways in the works of Valerian Pidmohylnyi, whose works are considered to be one of the highest achievements of Ukrainian literature of this period, as shown by his collections of short stories «At the Epidemic Barrack» (V Epidemichnomu Baratsi) (1922), «Rebels and Other Stories» (Povstantsi ta Inshi Opovidannia) (1923), «Son» (Syn) (1923), «Military Flyer» (Viiskovyi Litun) (1924), «The Problem of Bread» (Problema Khliba) (1927), novellas «Ostap Shaptala» (1922), «The Third Revolution» (Tretia Revoliutsiia) (1926), «Untitled Tale» (Povist bez Nazvy) (1935), novels «The City» (Misto) (1928) and «A Little Touch of Drama» (Nevelychka Drama) (1930).

«A Little Touch of Drama» holds a prominent place among the works of the artist, it «looks ahead» (Yu. Sherekh), it is a new type of intellectual novel in Ukrainian literature, which is also a psychological novel (S. Pavlychko), and «is one of the best examples of Ukrainian prose of the 20ies and 30ies» (Yu. Boiko).

The novel has been previously studied on the various poetics levels by a number of scientists such as N. Bernadska, Yu. Boiko, A. Haleta, S. Zhyhun, Ya. Kolomiiets, S. Lushchii, N. Maftyn, V. Melnyk, R. Movchan, N. Monakhova, A. Muzychka, S. Pavlychko, M. Tarnavskyi, Yu. Sherekh and many others. These researches have pointed out that the defining qualities of neorealist aesthetics intensify in «A Little Touch of Drama», as well as in Pidmohylnyi's prose in general. The other distinctive features immanent in Pidmohylnyi's texts include intellectualism, Europeanism, philosophical depth, existentialism, subtle psychologism, confrontation of the rational and logical mindset with the emotional and sensual one.

Nevertheless, «A Little Touch of Drama» raises many questions to literary critics that require thoughtful scientific consideration. As we may suggest, among them, there is a clarification of the spatial categories of topos, locus, the chronotope of the city, the culture - specific elements of the epoch, the details of the material world that pronounce the inner world of the characters.

«A Little Touch of Drama» opens up to literary critics many questions that require thoughtful scientific understanding. Among them, in our opinion, is the elucidation of the spatial categories of topos, loci, chronotope of the city, the components of reality, which deepen the characters.

Everyone who studied «A Little Touch of Drama» unquestionably emphasized its intimacy, spatial limitation, density, increased attention to everyday life, which «neutralizes the assessment of modernity, the emphasis is shifted to the psychology of the hero, his evolution» (Zhyhun, 2015: 92).

The purpose of the article is to determine the original features of the poetics of V. Pidmohylnyi's novel, which will make it possible to emphasize the modernist type of the artist's work. To achieve this purpose it is necessary to complete the following tasks: to study the aspects of the poetics in «A Little Touch of Drama», namely the features of plot and composition, the concentration of space and time, functions of household items, and sound markers; we also need to analyze the main components of the concept of things (interior, clothing, food, etc.), establish their role in the structuring of the text.

Research methods. Achieving the objectives in the article requires the use of various methodological approaches. The research is based on a holistic system approach to the analysis and interpretation of literary phenomena. The method of analytical reading of the literary text is used, which allows discovering the semantic perspectives of the novel, its genre, and style parameters. The method of interpretation is used to explain and interpret individual text units opening the way to the interpretation of the entire work as a whole.

Results and discussions. The novel «A Little Touch of Drama» was described by the researchers as a problem novella (Yu. Boiko), intimate, philosophical, intellectually ironic (Yu. Sherekh), intellectual (Val. Shevchuk, S. Pavlychko), love novel (N. Bernadska, Val. Shevchuk). Its plot is rather simple - the unhappy love of Marta Vysotska to Yurii Slavenko. The rest of the characters are more or less secondary, the situations in which they find themselves «are necessary for the development of the main plot lines and intellectual collisions» (Haleta, 2003: 13). As Yu. Sherekh rightfully stated, «it is a work about the two, and it takes place within four walls» (Sherekh, 1957: 1). As well as in one city, which image lays a semantic foundation for the novel and is retains conceptual significance. V. Dmytrenko, S. Zhyhun, S. Lushchii, N. Koloshchuk, T. Pastukh, L. Yaroshevska, and others examine the topos of the city in V. Pidmohylnyi's prose in detail in their researches. Regarding «A Little Touch of Drama», there are a few aspects that we would like to consider more closely.

Kyiv, the city where the characters live, is the main topos of the novel, which equips the characters with their social characteristics: Marta grew up in Kaniv, graduated from a vocational school in Kyiv, and got a job in Mahortrest; Liova Roter came to Kyiv from the village and got a job in a shop at the union of peasants and workers (sorobkop); Dmytro from Pereyaslav, finally settled in Dnipropetrovsk (Zhyhun, 2015: 30), graduated from the Department of Labour Studies in Kyiv, he had a circle of friend, also, his wife's relatives live in the city; the cooperator Davyd Semenovych…from the provincial Tulchyn regional consumer union made his way to the big city, to Kyiv… (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 143).

However, unlike in the novel «The City», «the writer is no longer interested» in Kyiv (Yu. Sherekh). Although the great Kyiv, which gave refuge to them all - Marta, Liova, Dmytro, and the cooperator; Kyiv, where the action takes place - is the reality of the time period, reflecting the specific aspects of life, the time influences people and things, it is an important component of the artistic space. It is not a moveable feast, but it is not sad, gray, or joyless; the emphasis on the fact that Kyiv opens up great opportunities for people from the countryside who came to the city to seek their destiny is barely perceptible. This is just a reality in which various social locations are inserted; the topographic outlined by V. Pidmohylnyi are rather limited: Zhylianska Street (Marta), Khreshchatyk (the Markevychi), Arsenalna (Liova Roter), Podil, (Slavenko's old mother), Piatakova (Slavenko). The streets Arsenalna, Sadova, Stritenska, Tarasivska, Volodymyrska, Khmelnytskoho, Proletarska, and «a steep congregation of Pechersk» are occasionally mentioned in the text (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 210). In addition to street names, the following social locations are traced here: institutions and establishments as a hallmark of the late 1920s Kyiv: Mahortrest, Kyiv Commercial Vocational School, Zhytlokoop, House of Scientists, VUKopspilka, cafeteria in Karavaivski baths, a laboratory at Kyiv Medical Institute, stenography, and typewriting course, the cooperative organization «Agronomist», Department of Labour Studies, university, educational commission, union library, canteen, narcharch (public catering), bupr (house of community service), sorobkop (the union of peasants and workers), sorobkop shops, registry office, St. Andrew's Church, Botanical Garden, former University, theater. These realities create a specific space, form a certain spatial localization, constitute its semantically important elements. And yet it is only the background on which the closed space of the house and the rooms within it is constructed - these are private loci that form both external and internal, as well as the communicative space for the characters. The latter are inscribed in the specific interiors of the room, where time moves in cycles.

The main action of the novel, as noted by the majority of the researches of «A Little Touch of Drama», takes place within the closed space of Marta Vysotska's room. Here she lives - she sleeps, goes to work, comes back, here she meets Liova Roter, who is hopelessly in love with her, and other competitors, who try to win her affection: the self-confident and straightforward, typical socialist man - a young engineer Dmytro Stainychyi; an elderly ladykiller, Marta's boss Bezpalko comes to visit her here as well; her neighbor, the cooperator Davyd Semenovych, a mean and dishonest man, frequents this place, and most importantly, here, for the first time in her life, she truly falls in love with professor-biochemist Yurii Slavenko. Here, the characters talk a lot about philosophy, literature, art, scientific studies on the biological characteristics of life, protein, and amino acids, they discuss many things, they pronounce moralistic monologues. In here, the love sparkled and lightened up the entire beings of both Marta and Slavenko, here it died out, here, the biggest mystery took place - the bodies of lovers merged in one.

V. Pidmohylnyi focuses on the most important locus - a small separated space of Marta's room, he talks much less about the rooms of Professor Markevych's house, in particular, Irene's room, and he only mentions the rooms of Yurii Slavenko and Liova Roter.

The character's perception of physical space - the house on Zhylianska Street, where Marta rented a room, differs depending on the character: for the narrator, who observes the characters, situations, and things, it is одноповерховий крихітний будинок (a one-story tiny house), убогий домок і вбогі пожильці його (poor house and its poor tenants) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 29), for Liova Roter it is будиночок (a little house) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 237), for Yurii Slavenko it is халупа (a hut) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 68), Мартина халупа (Marta's hut) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 194), for Maria Mykolayivna, Professor Markevych's wife, it is маленький будинок (a small house) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 154). In this small house, Marta's room seems to her завеликою на одну особу (too big for one person) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 26), it is not a native space for her. Her, native, open, natural space remained in the past, which is mentioned at the very beginning of the novel,… виросла вона коло Дніпра, в Каневі, де річка широка й повноводна¹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 25). The author emphasizes the traditional chronotope of the parents' home and the new home, the alien space, where Marta goes through difficult times.

Household details make up the interior of Marta's затишної й бідненької кімнати (cozy and poor room) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 163): table, stove, чотири поліна дров, щоденна порція палива four logs of firewood, a daily portion (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 24), three chairs, a plahta (a tradition piece of clothing, a skirt), що висіла над ліжком за килим (hanging over the bed instead of the carpet) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 74), a rug near the bed, a lamp під скляним абажуром у формі тюльпана (with a glass lampshade in the shape of a tulip) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 75). The psychological saturation of the compressed time-space is created due to such an important detail as the unlocked door to Marta's room. Both Yurii Slavenko and Liova Roter come here when the girl is not at home yet. Unlocked, open doors as a cue to understand the sincere feeling of the inner space of the character.

Professor Markevych's apartment on Khreshchatyk asserts the social and financial status of the owner and his family members - his wife Maria Mykolaivna and daughter Irene, for whom home and things are deeply existential matters. If the basic interior of Marta's room is written sparingly, and its components are really «tested for meaning» as a «formative unit of space» (M. Epnstein), the high semiotic status of the Markevychs' apartment is depicted in much more detail, where each thing has additional semantic layers. The author points out the size of the Markevychs' apartment, who are afraid that the part of apartment might be taken from them or «compacted», so they name only some of its parts: a hall, a living room, a dining room, Irene's room, professor's office. The simple furniture in Marta's room, of course, contrasts with the interior of the spacious Markevychi's dining room, with the parquet floor, дубові стільці понад стіною здавалися темними, кам'яними² (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: ...she grew up near the Dnieper, in Kaniv, where the river is wide and full-flowing. .. .the oak chairs against the wall seemed so dark as if made of stone. 50); картини, копії з Айвазовського, ледве ясніли у золочених рамах, повішених за принципом симетрії, а довгий годинник червоного дерева з величезним вагадлом м'яко цокав до пари застиглому світлу (highlighted by me - N. 0.) над столом³ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 150). The description of the interior carries a clear psychological message: the expansion of physical space (large dining room) loses its meaning as here you feel the pressure, it is dark in here, things «ледве ясніє» (barely flicker), and the light is «застигло» (still). There are only two things mentioned in the Markevychs' living room: the piano, on which Irene plays, and the «м'який фотель» (soft armchair) in which the guest, Yurii Slavenko, plunged. Irene's room fits in the context of the semantics of the whole text and the status of the professor's daughter: a sofa, a three-way mirror, a mirrored closet, a bed covered with a «параваном у східні розводи» (blanket with oriental patterns) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 52), a hanging lamp в формі блідо-рожевого ліхтаря (in the shape of a pale pink lantern) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 52), an ashtray shell, a shelf with handicraft, де стояла дрібна старовина, навіть маленькі хінські бовванці та чудернацькі гіндуські божества⁴ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 52). Поруч, на спеціальному столику, вишикувано тринадцятеро білих слонів, від чималого, з дециметр заввишки, кінчаючи крихітним, як півмізинця Paintings, copies of Aivazovsky, barely flickered in gilded frames, hung on the principle of symmetry, and above the table, a long mahogany clock with a huge pendulum gently tickled, lit by the still light. where small antiquities stood, even small Chinese figurines and bizarre Hindu deities. Nearby, on a special table, thirteen white elephants were lined up, starting from the bigger one, about ten centimeters tall, and finishing with the one as tiny as a little finger. (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 52). These things are an integral part of a holistic portrait of Irene, whose living and communicative space is closed in her room and in other rooms of the apartment, where Irene spends time talking to relatives about Slavenko and with Slavenko himself, prepares чайну церемонію (a tea ceremony), plays the piano, ponders over Ukrainization, modern Ukrainian youth, etc. We do not know much about her education or employment, but we know that she is an «extraordinary figure» (N. Monakhov), because she managed to convince Slavenko, as cold-blooded as herself, that their life strategy has much in common. And all of it completely agrees with the material content of the room, these mirrors, sofas, elephants, etc.

The motif of marking Irene with things in her room is repeated in another situation, when Slavenko, betraying Marta, breaking her pure love, returns to Irene, thus returning «to his original philosophy» (Yu. Sherekh). Now we see Irene's room through the perception of a young professor. За ввесь час знайомства біохімік уперше зайшов до Ірен у кімнату For the first time since they met, the biochemist came into Irene's room. ...elegant, warm, and tidy decor of the room impressed him. He excitedly felt the loose carpet under his feet. (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 26). «Materialistic idealist» Slavenko (Yu. Boyko), who firmly decided to marry Irene and thus solve his career (through her father's connections) and physiological issues, immediately registers his emotions and sensations (…витончений, теплий порядок у ній вразив його⁷ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 216)), especially the tactile sensations (Він схвильовано почував пухкий килим під ногами⁸ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 216)). The reality of material representation (glass bears, porcelain, majolica, bronze, Chinese figurines, etc.) «handicraft» on the shelf reiterates twice in the text, becoming more detailed when it comes to the perception of Irene's material world by Slavenko.

Irene's comfortable, expensive life is a strange and inaccessible space for Marta (perceived by the biochemist as almost a whole world), which makes a stark contrast to the girl's бідненькою (poor) room, and even more so to Liova Roter's unfurnished хатиною (hut). It is майже порожня (almost empty), де бракувало не тільки вигод, але й речей першої потреби (lacking not only luxuries but basic necessities), there is no electricity, instead, there is a kerosene lamp, одоробло-стіл (a dilapidated table), a hut is мало напалена і геть непривітна (barely heated and totally unfriendly) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 16). Liova's room is an alien space, which is emphasized by a comparison, «Сидів безумний серед тиші своїх стін, як мрець у просторій домовині»⁹ (highlighted by me. - N.O.) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 162); Marta, who had to look for another apartment, found the new room, which «видалась їй тепер труною (highlighted by me. - N.O.), де вона мусить лягти живою» ¹⁰ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 225), «якась нора, довга, темна, обдерта»¹¹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 228). The closed space of these rooms reflects the psychological state of the characters, their alienation in an uncomfortable world.

The interior of Yurii Slavenko's room, «the product of the Iron Age» (V. Shevchuk), fully corresponds to his way of thinking and in general to the «Cartesian worldview model» (N. Monakhov): cabinets, books, table, desk drawers, red cloth on the table, wide sofa, armchair, стіни в брунатних шпалерах (walls in brown wallpaper) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 65). But it turns out that this scientist obsessed with studying protein, who did not care at all about the comfort of his bachelor domicile, was very interested in the prospect of the wealthy life that promised him his marriage to Irene, Як гарно буде тут спочивати по праці! He sat madly in the silence of his walls, like a dead man in a spacious grave. seemed like a coffin to her, where she must lie alive. a kind of hole, long, dark, ragged. It would be nice to rest here after work! wipe her body with cold water, and then rub with a rough towel until the skin turns red. wiped tea dishes with a thin white towel. There was a nice basket with a dozen coals, which were put into the samovar with forceps so the water keeps on boiling. (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 216).

In addition to the everyday things denoting the pieces of furniture in the closed space of rooms, such seemingly insignificant household items as a towel which is mentioned in the text in connection with the images of Marta Vysotska and Irene Markevych convey the particular meaning. Marta's habit was to «обтиратися холодною водою, а потім шорстким рушником (highlighted by me. - N.O.) до червоного тіла»¹³ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003:25); Irene, after completing the traditional tea ceremony before the visit of the biochemist, who was missing for a month, «перетирала чайний посуд тонким білим рушником»¹⁴ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003:215) (highlighted by me. - N.O.). The everyday things in the Markevychi's house that make up the essential part of their sustainable, well-adjusted existence, are also samovar, чайне накриття (tea tableware), на таці стояв чепурний кошик з десятком вуглин, які й підкидалося щипцями в самовар, щоб підтримати його в стані кипіння¹⁵ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003:54). Such detail is completely absent when it comes to the life of Marta. Other household details mentioned in the text, such as the primus stove in the kitchen in a house on Zhylianska street, counters, phones, Lina's typewriter and papers at the statistics department, машинка до шиття (sewing machine), bought by Tetiana Nechyporivna on installment, pillows and a phonograph that the divorced couple was fighting over, the comb, which Slavenko found in Marta's room when he was looking for his leather cigarette case, Marta's стара, вже досить зужита (old, rather battered) bag, etc., perform various functions, the main of them, perhaps, would be to actualize life - the characters of the novel do not live in the abstract rooms, do not sit in the hypothetical chairs…

All these household details, including the ones we already mentioned and the others that are found in the novel, «work» by adding a psychological shade to the characters, as evidenced in particular by the author's attitude to detailing the clothes of the characters and - much less - their food. If in V. Pidmohylnyi's novel «The City» the semiotics of clothes, food, color is actualized, which N. Horodniuk convincingly showed in the monograph «Pes incognita: the semiotics of things in the East Slavic modernist novel of the first half of the XX century» (Horodniuk, 2017), «A Little Touch of Drama» has it on the significantly less scale. The author paints the clothes of the heroes with only a few strokes, but it is enough to reveal the characters. Marta Vysotska: shoes, a house fable dress, що правила їй за халата which she worn as a dressing gown demi-season with a removable fur collar (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 25), hat, coat - демісезон з пристібнутим хутровим коміром¹⁷ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 30); у простенькій синій сукні, у сірих панчохах, на шиї скляне намисто й чорний лакований пасок круг стану, чорні дешевенькі черевички ¹⁸ In a simple blue dress, in gray stockings, a glass necklace around her neck, and a black lacquered belt around her waist, cheap black shoes.

¹⁹ a brown woolen dress decorated with black silk, ... black lacquered shoes, ... the only pair of foreign cotton stockings

²⁰ which she tied around her neck when leaving

²¹ Irene's blue cheviot skirt and white English blouse

²² the clothes of her prime times

²³ to leave the slums of Podolsk for the long-awaited wedding of her only son.

²⁴ a ring with a large diamond that shone on her finger, an old French wedding ring shaped like a snake, and a cameo with a carved Roman profile ... on her chest

²⁵ The way you wear a perfume should be elegant but rather aggressive, for the aroma accentuates the body, paving an invincibly attractive path to it. It creates a spiritual, but sensuous connection between the body that emanates it and the body that inhales it...

²⁶ usually paid his visits to Professor Markevych. A fresh collar, a dark silk tie

²⁷ his legs were shaking because he was coming here like to an execution, his heart sinking in his chest... (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 95); коричнева вовняна сукня, оздоблена чорним шовком,… чорні лакерки,… єдина пара фільдеперсових закордонних панчіх¹⁹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 98), a green lightweight scarf, яким обв'язувала, виходячи, шию²⁰ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 98). Everything is modest, frugal; the author either completely leaves the colors out or uses simple, calm shades - blue, gray, brown, green, which speak of stability, reliability, moderation, loyalty, youth. Marta as the main character is constantly in the center of the author's attention, so her clothes are the most detailed in the text. As for other female characters, the remarks about their clothes are too scares, синя шевйотова спідниця й біла англійська кофточка²¹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 51), which indicate her social and material status; чорна сукня з високим коміром (black high-collared dress) of her mother Maria Mykolaivna emphasizes her role as the guardian of the home in the family; вбрання часів свого розквіту ²² (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 241), which Slavenko's mother took out of the chest, preparing до виходу з подольських нетрів на довге сподіване весілля свого єдиного сина ²³ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 241).

Emphasizing the details of women's jewelry and perfumes also has its own language, it is materialized. In Marta's case it is only the glass necklace which was already mentioned; in Irene's case, каблучка з великим діамантом, що блищала в неї на руці, плетена гадючкою обручка старої французької роботи й камея з виточеним римським профілем… на грудях ²⁴ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 217). Marta's perfume - a cheap cologne «Lily of the Valley» - is mentioned twice, which emphasizes the natural desire of a girl in love to be liked by the man she fancies. As for Irene, an experienced and experienced in love affairs woman, the author does not focus on her perfume, he does not even name it, but he shows Irene's understanding of its significance in the seduction, Треба тільки напахтитись тонко і різко, бо пахощі підкреслюють тіло, стелють до нього непереможно принадний шлях. Вони створюють безпосередній, сливе духовний, але любосний зв'язок між тілом, що вилучає їх, і тілом, що вдихує…²⁵ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 51-52). These exact items, outfits, jewelry, and perfume of the heroines determine their social status, age, financial position, and psychological portraits.

The outfits of the male characters are usually painted in a few strokes. Yurii Slavenko has a grey daily suit, and in black one he робив звичайно свої візити до професора Маркевича. Свіжий комірець, темна шовкова краватка²⁶ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 97). The professor fell in love with Marta but he tried not to admit it to himself, not realizing that it really was love, he wore this suit on that snowy winter evening when he went to Marta, and ноги йому тремтіли, бо він ішов сюди, як на страту, завмираючи серцем…²¹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 105). Liova, in his character, due to his past, his modest position, his financial capabilities, and his indifferent attitude to things dressed in a fur coat часів військового комунізму (from the times of military communism) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 37), which he then changed to весняний лейбик (spring vest) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 228). Bezpalko, Marta's boss and her suitor, came to her у широкій плисковатій шапці та мисливського гатунку бекеші² (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 166). The secondary character, Lina's groom, and then her husband, Boris, who has a higher education and a decent salary, was ув оленячій куртці (in a deer jacket) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 33). As for Professor Markevych's clothes, the author only mentions a dressing gown. As we can see, the semantics of men's clothing also reveals the importance of each person as a carrier of a certain meaning.

The food code in «A Little Touch of Drama» is even more scarce compared to the labeling of household items, outfits of the characters, it seems to be just a passing remark, in contrast to the novel «The City», which clearly outlines the motive of joy, enjoyment of food, which carefully considered in N. Horodniuk's monograph. At the beginning of the work, when the author introduces the reader to Marta in her room, describing her morning, he notices the girl's daily breakfast, півпляшки молока з хлібом²⁹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 28), as well as the fact that during a break in the institution everyone will have a cup of tea; he states without details that дівчина пішла обідати в брудненьку домашню їдальню, де готували дешево й несмачно³⁰ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 34). When Marta got fired and evicted from her room, «заощаджуючи пильно свою готівку, дівчина брала тепер на обід день першу, день другу страву в своїй їдальні»³¹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 221). The old lady-killer Bezpalko came to Marta's house and brought двофунтову коробку шоколаду (a two-pound box of chocolate) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 167). He also treated himself with said chocolates, as in the subtext he implied that в моменти високого міркування не вадить зажити чогось смачного, щоб підсолодити цю марну працю³² (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 167), one cannot help but feel the author's irony. The girl did not eat the chocolate, as she did not accept his courtship, as she did with another увивач (suitor), a young business owner, що довгенько ущедряв її видовиськами і цукерками³³ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 29). Only those who are inscribed in the comfortable life of Professor Markevych's family get some pleasure from food, or a rather showy ritual of the tea ceremony (although for Slavenko, who agreed to Liova Roter's proposal to meet Marta, this tea time with Markevychi was «so boring», as he admitted). Another professor's ritual is mentioned in the book: before bed, Pelaheia - the professor's maid, always gave him кухоль кислого молока (a mug of sour milk). The essential function performs a seemingly insignificant detail - хлібна кулька (a bread ball): during the tea ceremony at the Markevychi, which Slavenko attended, Славетний терапевт, що до нього лікуватися їздили з усього Союзу, в нападі безпосередньої радості влучив дружині хлібною кулькою просто в ніс. - Ха-ха-ха! - засміявся він. - Ірусько, серденько, цукру мені ³⁴ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 58). Such innocent jokes in a well-fed professor's house…

The image of food receives even more ironic shade when the author talks about «the urban brood» (Yu. Sherekh) - a dirty slanderer of the cooperator Davyd Semenovych and his «provider» - his wife Tetiana Nychyporivna, who were selling булочки, яблука та чай аматорам лазень ³⁵ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 188).; the author mentions the borsch and three stale pies, which she brought from the buffet and спокійно та смачно споживала один… і вела далі свою тиху розмову ³⁶ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 141). The парадний обід (festive dinner) is also brought up, Tetyana Nychyporivna cooked it on the occasion of Ivanchuk's invitation to «дрібну посаду агента для купівлі набілу»³⁷ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 199).

From the text of «A Little Touch of Drama», we also learn that in the kitchen at the poor house варилася незмінна кава для фрау Гольц ³⁸ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 165). Yurii Slavenko's food consumption is mentioned in the text twice: it is tea at the Markevychi (…я не відмовлюся від склянки гарячого чаю ³⁹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 55)) and his healthy lunch. The fact of the biochemist's marriage to Irene is mentioned as something special, out of ordinary, which is emphasized with the motive of food, «О дванадцятій годині Юрій Олександрович побував з нареченою в загсі, потім навідався ще до лабораторії і, підживившись дієтичним обідом, (highlighted by me. - N.O.) узявся впорядковувати свої особисті справи» ⁴⁰ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 241)). The author notes that величезний список пива та наїдків ⁴¹ is being prepared for Slavenko and Irene's wedding (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 241).

As we can see, the gastronomic discourse in «A Little Touch of Drama» is quite informative, it rather states the facts which seemingly pose no interest to the author, whose attention is focused more on intellectual, philosophical, psychological, love conflicts; however, the motive of food reveals the author's attitude to the characters, their inner state, mental disorders and often switched to the subtext.

In addition to topos, loci, interior semiotics, things, clothes, food, an important role in the plot and compositional structure of V. Pidmohylnyi's novel have the markers that indicate the age of the characters, the seasons, and the chronotope of the road.

As the specific element of the chronotope in «A Little Touch of Drama», we consider the constant author's attention to various everyday objects, details of life with a deep psychological revelation of the significant and important matters - Marta's love, her dream that повинна бути казка (there must be a fairy tale) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 41), which are emphasized in the time parameters of the text. The events in the novel take place for over two and a half months, which is psychologically motivated. The work begins with an image of Marta, who is asleep and then awakens блідість лютневого ранку спокійно глянула на дівчину з-за прозорої завіски вікна ⁴² (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 24); to her work Марта йшла засніженими вулицями, щулячись від морозу,… і швидко лічила в голові: половина лютого, березень, половина квітня - разом два місяці, а там весна, весна! ⁴³ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 30). Yurii Slavenko visited Marta for the second time under the pretext that he had forgotten a cigarette case at her place, and this day was marked with the same marker, Це ж тільки друге березня, - подумала Марта ⁴⁴ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 81). The professor of biochemistry had not visited the Markevychs for a month, and Maria Mykolayivna told her husband about it with concern. Slavenko, who was going to visit the girl for the last time, відчув страшенну втому (felt the terrible fatigue) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003:

174) he thought, я вже перетравив її (I have already digested her) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003:

175) he called everything that happened between him and Marta a delusion, and it lasted приблизно півтора місяці… Сорок п'ять днів, немов зірваних одним нападом з календаря, сорок п'ять днів викреслених, запропащених ⁴⁵ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 175).

This statement of a specific period of the time - for a month and a half, forty-five days, was repeated by Slavenko three times; it reveals the essence of his перетравлювання (digestion), перегорання (burnout) of love for Marta, which very briefly changed him, but he remained himself, with his worldview and his interests.

Both the beginning and the end of the action in «A Little Touch of Drama» are clearly defined: the morning of mid-February - the appearance of Marta and the evening of April 30, when the girl leams that tomorrow (May 1) is Slavenko's wedding, which the narrator comments, Свято одностайно призначено на Перше травня ⁴⁶ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 241). Apart from the days of the months and the time of day, the text also recounts the specific years, which fits the plot lines together, changes the time-space, which creates a visible and causal link between the stories of the characters. The action in the text takes place from February 1929, and we know about it from Dmytro's letter to Marta, which probably took a long time to be delivered from Dnipropetrovsk - it is dated: 19.11.28. The past is presented in two dimensions - external and internal - in the stories of the characters. The story of Liova Roter depicts 1917, 1919, when he was at the frontline with the Red Army, 1920, when he went through over якийсь десяток міст та професій (a dozen cities and professions), прибув до Києва на працю (came to Kyiv to work). Irene's story is also tied to a specific time and clarified by the author's brief comments: 1919, two years of traveling with a lieutenant, three years of adventures in Siberia, a passing remark that in the room of the Markevychi house, which was later intended for Yurii Slavenko, жив років зо два тому якийсь медик-студент (a medical student lived two years ago) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 53). This seemingly unimportant time marking is, in fact, a segment of Irene's world; it is the missing touch that reveals the stormy youth of the professor's daughter, whereas only one date is associated with Marta - 1927 when she finished commercial vocational school.

In addition to real-time markers, sound markers that perform a specific emotionally expressive and semantic function are also important in the plot-image paradigm of V. Pidmohylnyi's «A Little Touch of Drama». In Marta's room, where the main events take place, where the characters meet, a knock on the door is a signal of the guest's arrival. За хвилину в двері постукано. Марта весело крикнула своє «заходьте», і ввійшов молодий інженер Дмитро Стайничий. ⁴⁷ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 98). Marta's mood shows her anticipation of love, which she is afraid to admit to herself, it is emphasized by her decision to dress up nicely and the modulations of her voice (весело крикнула - she shouted cheerfully). Dmytro entered умовляти її на шлюб (to persuade her to marry him) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 98), she had already known about it, but it was not what she was looking for. And for the second time, в двері постукало - ледве чутно, якось обережно й невпевнено. «Хтось незвичний», - подумала Марта. На мить виразне й сміливе бажання прорнуло в ній крізь почуття - щоб це був він… ⁴⁸ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 105). The sound image, as we see, reproduces the inner state of a girl in love, and it is an important device of psychologism. The cooperator, who was disturbed by Marta's guests, постукавши… увійшов (knocked… entered) (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 106) to find out what is going on. Thus, it was three times in one evening when someone was knocking on Marta's door, but only Yurii Slavenko's knock was important to her, it is the expressive sound detail that performs a psychological function.

When a neighbor secretly decides to find out what is happening between lovers, the author emphasizes тупоті його кроків (the sound of his footsteps) in the kitchen and his auditory perception of events in Marta's room, зачув… якийсь невиразний і складний комплекс звуків, було ніби бурмотіння, шелест, скрип ⁴⁹ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 144). After the two souls and bodies in love merge in a sacred union, the author again uses the accent of a sound detail that reveals Marta's physical and emotional state: двері Мартиної кімнати рипнули, кроки зашелестіли в кухні ⁵⁰ (Pidmohylnyi, 2003: 146). The closed artistic space is saturated with sounds, which is designed to model the inner space of the female character.

Conclusions. Considering such important elements of the plot-compositional level of V. Pidmohylnyi's novel «A Little Touch of Drama» as the chronotope of the city, the chronotope of the room, familiar and alien space, topos and loci, realities of the day, detailing and psychological peculiarity of the real world, including room interior, clothes of the characters, food, sound images, time markers, etc., we conclude that they appear as a dynamic structure, clearly dominating over the traditional plot of the novel. Kyiv with its street names is depicted in the novel as a reality in which various social loci are inscribed - institutions and establishments as a distinctive feature of Kyiv in the late 1920s, making a spatial localization of the plot where the closed space of the house and room within it is modeled. These private loci make up the external, internal, and communicative space of the characters, which are inscribed in the specific interiors of the rooms. Space and time are filled with the individual household details and the social and financial status of Marta Vysotska, Iren Markevych, and her family, Yurii Slavenko, Liova Roter is defined through these details. A number of plot situations in «A Little Touch of Drama» are based on the motive of marking the hero with his things in the room, clothes, jewelry, perfume, food, and more. The study of the above elements of the plot-compositional level of V. Pidmohylnyi's novel allows us to find out its significant socio-cultural meaning, life strategy of the heroes, their inner life, and actions caused by it, peculiarities of the author's comprehension of the world through its material content.

References

plot compositional topos roman

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2. Horodniuk, N. (2017). Res incognita: semiotyka rechi u skhidnoslovianskomu modernistskomu romani pershoi polovyny 20 stolittia. [Res incognita: the semiotics of things in the East Slavic modernist novel of the first half of the 20th century]. Dnipro: Svidler A.L.

3. Zhyhun, S. (2015). Labirynty i horyzonty ukrainskoho neorealizmu [Labyrinths and horizons of Ukrainian neorealism]. Kyiv: Business Polygraph.

4. Pidmohylnyi, V. (2003). Nevelychka drama. [A Little Touch of Drama]. Haleta O. (Ed.), Dosvid kokhannia i krytyka chystoho rozumu: Valerian Pidmohylnyi: teksty ta konflikt interpretatsi [The experience of love and critique of pure reason: Valerian Pidmohylnyi: texts and conflict of interpretations] (pp. 21-244). Kyiv: Fact.

5. Sherekh, Yu. (1957). Bilok i yoho zaburennia [Protein and its disturbance]. Ukrainska literaturna hazeta - Ukrainian Literary Newspaper], 9. 1 - 2.

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