Narrative strategy of Oksana Dragomanova as a marker of the "feminine" picture of the world (in the example of the story "Sentimental story")

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Narrative strategy of Oksana Dragomanova as a marker of the «feminine» picture of the world (in the example of the story «Sentimental story»)

Maksymets V.О., Lecturer of Chinese Language at the Department of Chinese Language and Translation, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University

Summary

Diaspora women's prose enables readers to discover the spiritual values of the Ukrainian people and their national identity. This prose is characterized by the originality of ornamental and lyrical writing, which reveals the character of the expression of historical truth, revealing their creative flair. This vector can be observed in the creative work of Oksana Dragomanova. The genre classification of women's diaspora prose is multifaceted because it depends on the subject: historical, biographical, autobiographical, fantastic, adventure, detective, fairy tale, etc. The article analyzes the biography and specifics of Oksana Dragomanova's artistic works. Oksana Dragomanova is known not only as a translator of works of Western European literature, the founder and activist of the Ukrainian women's movement but also as a writer. Creative initiation, as noted by T.O. Skrypka Oksana Dragomanova's Violin took place in the 1920s: «Volya» magazine (editor Viktor Pisnyachevskyi), which was published in Vienna from 1919-1921, printed two of her stories. In 1924, she published several reports in the newspaper «Narodna Volya», which was published in the USA. After a thirty-year break, in 1951, her novel «On the Other Side of the World» was published, conceived as the first part of a trilogy. In 1921, Oksana Dragomanova's story «Sentimental Story» appeared in «Volya» magazine, in which the author demonstrates the problems of emigrants and raises the issue of gender inequality. The article highlights the meaning of the concepts «narrative strategy» and «narratological approach», which determines the attention of the analysis of the work «Sentimental Story» not to the subject of the description (“what is described?”), but to the forms of the story (“in what way is it described?”), that is narrative (narrative) strategies.

Therefore, as a result of the analysis, it was found that Oksana Dragomanova in «Sentimental Story» reveals to the reader the difficult fate of a woman in a foreign environment, Galya, a high school student, is the main character, initially portrayed as a young girl studying at a high school, in the second part of the story, the author “turns on reverse”, recalls the heroine's youth and education, but nothing has changed since then, she is, as before, an emigrant who not only misses the Motherland but also cannot understand why there is gender inequality. The description of the life of Galya, a high school student, leaves the reader alone with himself but keeps the narrative intriguing until the end.

Key words: Oksana Dragomanova, «Sentimental story», narrative strategy, the narrative approach, national identity.

Анотація

Максимець В.О. Наративна стратегія Оксани Драгоманової як маркер «жіночої» картини світу (на прикладі оповідання «Сентиментальне оповідання»)

Діаспорна жіноча проза дає змогу читачам відкрити духовні цінності українського народу, його національну ідентичність. Саме ця проза увиразнюється оригінальністю орнаментального та ліричного письма, що розкриває характер експресії історичної правди, розпрозорює їхній індивідуально-творчий хист. Саме такий вектор можна спостерігати у творчому доробку Оксани Драгоманової. Жанрова класифікація жіночої діаспорної прози багатоманітна тому, що залежить від тематики: історична, біографічна, автобіографічна, фантастична, пригодницька, детективна, казкова тощо. У статті проаналізовано біографію та специфіку художніх творів Оксани Драгоманової. Оксана Драгоманова відома не тільки як перекладачка творів західноєвропейської літератури, засновниця й активістка українського жіночого руху, а й письменниця. Творче ініціювання, як зазначає Т.О. Скрипка, Оксани Драгоманової відбулося ще в 1920-х роках: журнал «Воля» (редактор Віктор Піснячевський), який виходив у Відні в 1919-1921 рр., надрукував два її оповідання. 1924 року вона опублікувала кілька репортажів у газеті «Народна воля», яка виходила у США. Після тридцятилітньої перерви в 1951 році вийшла друком її повість «По той бік світу», задумана як перша частина трилогії. У 1921 році у журналі «Воля» з'являється оповідання Оксани Драгоманової «Сентиментальне оповідання», у якому авторка демонструє проблеми емігрантів та піднімає питання гендерної нерівності. У статті висвітлено значення понять «наративна стратегія» та «наратологічний підхід», що зумовлює увагу аналізу твору «Сентиментальне оповідання» не до предмету опису («що описується?»), а до форм оповіді («у який спосіб описується?»), тобто оповідних (наративних) стратегій. Отже, в результаті аналізу з'ясовано, що Оксана Драгоманова у «Сентиментальному оповіданні» розкриває читачу нелегку долю жінки в чужому середовищі, Галя-гімназистка - головний персонаж, спочатку зображена молодою дівчиною, яка навчається у гімназії, у другій частині оповідання авторка «вмикає реверс», згадує про молодість та навчання героїні, проте нічого не змінилося з того моменту, вона, як і колись емігрантка, яка не лише сумує за Батьківщиною, а й не може зрозуміти, чому існує гендерна нерівність. Опис життя Галі-гімназистки залишає читача один на один з собою, та до кінця тримає наративну інтригу.

Ключові слова: Оксана Драгоманова, «Сентиментальне оповідання», наративна стратегія, наративний підхід, національна ідентичність.

Statement of the problem in a general form

At the end of the 80s of the 20th century, the considerable activity of scientists in the study of artistic practices of diasporic writers began in Ukrainian literary studies. The intense social processes of the tragic 20th century caused the birth of new themes, ideas, and plots in the artistic practice of diaspora writers, as well as the emergence of new genres in which the diffusion between one's own and another's space, was pronounced. Nostalgic elements are openly or covertly present in any work of emigre writers and were an impetus and inspiration for the creation of highly ideological works in a multi-ethnic space, dampening the pain of the loss of Ukraine. However, researchers mainly analyze the artistic world of writers without taking into account genre-style and compositional elements. Diaspora women's prose is distinguished by multi-faceted themes, stylistic innovations, and comprehensive coverage of problems.

According to S. Luschii, “finding themselves in emigration, Ukrainian novelists tried to creatively assimilate the world's artistic experience, while preserving the traditions of national literature. The integration of diaspora artists into the European and American cultural space was not easy and quite slow.” [1, p. 339]. Oksana Dragomanova's work is of great importance for Ukrainian literature, according to Ihor Kachurovsky, the author of the short preface to the book «On the other side of the world», “...a novel is needed, because with our prose poverty we have almost no novels, novels, or short stories, or even stories from the life of the Ukrainian emigration, and we have nothing at all from the life of our emigration in Argentina in Ukrainian literature. And this is a whole boundless world.” [2, p. 87]. Kuz Valentyna, in her dissertation research, analyzing Oksana Dragomanava's story «On the other side of the world», notes that “The story is a kind of implication that reduces nostalgia for the native land. Therefore, emigrant women's prose, including that of O. Dragomanova, draws the attention of scientists to the problems of stylistic innovation, and the search for new themes, ideas, and ways of their implementation.” [3, p. 139]. Tamara Skrypka, describing the life of O. Dragomanova, notes: “But as a writer, translator, active participant of the international and Ukrainian women's movement of the beginning of the 20th century. Oksana Dragomanova remains unknown. Her name is found only in Olga Kosach-Kryvyniuk. «Chronology of the life and work of Lesya Ukrainka» and in her excerpts from the «Manuscript» of Hleb Lazarevsky.” [4]. Despite certain achievements regarding Oksana Dragomanova and her work, many works of the author of «Window», and «From the distant past» remain unexplored, one of which is «Sentimental novel», which determines the relevance of the study.

The purpose of the article is to highlight Oksana Dragomanova's narrative strategies by analyzing one of the author's works («Sentimental Story»). To realize the goal, the following tasks were solved: the meaning of the concepts “narrative strategy” and “narratological approach” were investigated; the work «Sentimental Story» was analyzed, which made it possible to consider the narrative strategies of Oksana Dragomanova.

Methods

The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the works of Ukrainian scientists and critics: Ihor Kachurovsky, Valentyna Kuz, and Tamara Skrypka. Research methods: biographical, analysis and synthesis, technological analysis. The research methodology includes several stages based on the theoretical background, and the work («Sentimental Story» was analyzed using a narrative approach.

Presenting main material

According to T. Skrypka, O. Dragomanova “was a highly cultured person, with such a range of knowledge and such a level of perception of art, which is inherent only to individuals.” [4]. Describing the biography of Oksana Dragomanova, T. Skrypka notes that the author was in time everywhere in the turbulent political and cultural life, and was interested in everything. She was especially distinguished as the founder and activist of the Ukrainian women's movement, which was born after the First World War. In the early 1920s, she was a member of the board of the Ukrainian section of the International Women's League for Peace and Freedom and participated in international congresses of this organization in The Hague, Vienna, and Washington [4]. In 1928, Oksana Dragomanova moved to Argentina, where, as the author notes in a letter to Lidia Burachynska, she was able to “enjoy all the rights of citizenship, and not be an unwanted foreigner, as was the case in Vienna, Berlin, and Paris. Argentina is a young country that has a lot of space and allows all people of goodwill to build their lives here, without interfering and without interfering with living as you want, so as not to violate state laws and live according to the dictates of morality ” [4]. In 1931, Oksana Dragomanova became the head of the first Ukrainian women's society in Argentina and worked on compiling a Ukrainian language textbook for the children of emigrants. Thanks to the efforts of Oksana Dragomanova, the Ukrainian-Spanish dictionary «First Steps of a Ukrainian in Argentina» was published. After a thirty-year break, in 1951, her novel «On the Other Side of the World» was published, conceived as the first part of a trilogy. In a letter to Lidia Burachynska's question about why she did not become a writer, Dragomanova admitted that her, busy life hindered her, and, in her opinion, a calm atmosphere and a balanced daily rhythm contribute to her writing activity. “The second obstacle to systemic literary creativity is the difficulties Ukrainian authors have with publishing their works. Because writing and not knowing when the work will be published discourage the desire to write, at least for me,” she concluded in the letter [4].

Paul Ricker wrote: “To find out the reasons for the emergence of a particular literary plot, you need to know the inner identity of the author of the text, trace what events happened in his life and what was his reaction to them.” [5, p. 179]. Introducing O. Dragomanova's story to the readers, I. Kachurovsky noted: “What the author is talking about is ordinary, every day, he is familiar with it... This is a story about the life of Ukrainians in Argentina - after all, South America is close to our homeland on the other end world. A completely realistic story about real, real people.” [2, p. 5-6]. Analyzing the work «Sentimental Story», we agree with the words of I. Kachurovsky, because the work depicts not only the author's view of the contemporary picture of life, but also the inner essence of the narrator himself, and through him - the author of the artistic text.

Alla Jundubaeva's dissertation formulated the following definition of the concept of narrative strategy: “...this is the communicative unity of the work aimed at programming the reader's reception, which includes the author, the narrator and the reader, the interaction between which is regulated according to the modality established by the author.” [6, p.5]. Oksana Dragomanova's narrative strategy can be called an event, since the basis of the story is the story, and as J. Genette emphasizes: “the story and the narrative discourse exist as long as they tell some story, in the absence of this story, the discourse will not be narrative.” [7]. Investigating the narrative strategies of Oksana Dragomanova, the main characteristics of the narrative are laid as a basis: eventfulness, addressability, and presence of the sender of the message.

The artistic space of the work «Sentimental Story» is created with the help of a secondary non-diegetic narrator, who represents the story, where he is absent in any form, but grammatically appears as a third-person narration: “'And indeed, dancing with him was very pleasant. Did not step on his feet, and did not confuse pa. And the conversation went easily. It turns out that they both know how to slide and both think that the best chocolate is milk, Kaye. They talked about teachers: “who and how they eat”. More important topics were also touched upon. Who reads what; who learned what. ” [8]. A feature of certain fragments of the text (the direct speech of the girl Gali, the boy of the 4th grade) is the presence in the first part of the story of a child narrator: “- What grade are you in? - In the fourth, answered the boy... And you? - In the second, - said Galya and, looking at the boy, was confused.”. The narrator acts in character focalization and conveys the inner world of the child hero from the position of an adult: “In vague astonishment, the tear- stained eyes opened wide and a big and bitter-bitter tear rolled down the pink cheek.”. The narrator in «Sentimental Story» tells the story from the exposition with a certain time modification, thus forming the technique of framing the story. We consider the absence of a completed finale in Oksana Dragomanova's work to be a specific narrative strategy, and both the first and second parts of the «Sentimental Story» ends with an artistic understatement: 1. “How? Did such a small circumstance mean so much to him? Is she worse because she is only in second grade? Isn't it important that she knows how to dance the waltz with figures, knows how to slide with a Dutch step? Doesn't it even matter that she read Cooper?” (the narrator resorts to reflection, asking rhetorical questions and leaving them unanswered); 2. “Two days later, Galya received a short postcard: “I have to leave unexpectedly, I will let you know immediately upon arrival.” But he did not notify'”.

At the beginning of the second part of «Sentimental Story», the narrator describes the heroine's longing for the Motherland: “It was a long time ago. I can't even believe what happened once. Home, gymnasium... Do they still exist in the world? Where is that hometown, where you can't just go - you can't write a letter? Far, far away... Like the Pampas, I read about in my childhood. Galya has been abroad for only two months, but the terrible journey through outposts, fronts, and borders seems like a sad dream. Here, in the cultural European center, it is strange to even think about the destroyed, dirty, dark cities that remained somewhere there..”. Despite Oksana Dragomanova's narrative appeal to the past, the present is still important, that is, what is happening in real-time. This is confirmed by the words of the heroine of «Sentimental Story»: “And it's so nice to wake up in a clean, bright room. Seeing the multi-colored spots that the sun casts on the walls, on the blanket... Remember that in the evening there is a wonderful concert, where Mr. Rudolph promised to take you.”. Galya, although she is experiencing the trials of separation from her native land, she begins to live in the present day. The life of Gali, a high school student, changes, she meets Mr. Rudolph, in whom she found hope: “Dear Mr. Rudolph! How much joy he brings to her life. That she would do without him alone, in a foreign city, without finding the relatives she hoped to find here. They met on the train. Then they accidentally ran into each other on the street and both were happy. Now they see each other almost every day. They go to museums and theaters together. He is a pleasant fellow. And he has a good temperament: calm and cheerful. Galya is happy to meet him every day”. It seemed that what could be an obstacle between two people who communicate every day, understand each other, and feel sympathy? Love passes because the complexity of relationships between people with different financial situations is revealed: “He met her on the courier train; he knew she was from a good family. From the first day, she made the separation of accounts a necessary condition. And it turns out that she is on the verge of poverty! Two days later, Galya received a short postcard: “I have to leave unexpectedly, I will immediately inform you of my arrival." But he did not notify”. Mr. Rudolph's support disappeared when he found out about Gali's financial problems, hope disappeared with the letter. The art of words of O. Dragomanova demonstrates a clear line of psychological space that exists in the inner experiences of the heroine. The writer understands the psychological state of a loner, a female character, truthfully reproduces the state of her soul: “Galya stood, blushing slightly, with a complex feeling ofjoy and dissatisfaction. It pleased her at this moment, when she felt lonely and unhappy, to see his friendly face.”.

dragomanova artistic writer

Conclusions

The events depicted by Oksana Dragomanova on the pages of «Sentimental Story» reveal the essence of the narrative and try to understand the immediacy of its subject. Being an unwanted foreigner, Oksana Dragomanova reveals the whole range of experiences and difficult situations that awaited the main character of the work in a foreign land - Galya, from an early age and until now, a woman is in a state of anxiety and does not understand how to live on. Summarizing the image of a person in someone else's space, the author sought at the same time to find a way to her own identity, to understand the past, the reality of being in someone else's space.

Thus, the writer's story is a real work of art that vividly describes a person in a foreign society, but despite fate, the central character maintains his position: he defeats himself internally, but does not know what will happen next.

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