The Prose by Lesya Ukrainka: in the “Intermissions” between Poetry and Drama

Abstract

In the article is analysed the prose works by Lesya Ukrainka. At the first sight they occupy the secondary role in her art heritage. The prose plays role the peculiar “intermissions”, it is as if creative pause between writing poetical and dramatic works. The aim of the article is to disprove so second ratedness but it is accented on the choice of author between external and internal (between creative craftsman and creative “extravagant folly”), between creation for society and creation for myself etc. The choice of genre of drama it was choice internal to counterbalance external, it was search of other possibilities the greatest self-realization. The address of Lesya Ukrainka to prose gave a chance to rest, to accumulate own creative reserves. It is proved that fact, that she wrote prose in the course of her whole creative life. (The stories “So her fate” (“Taka ii dolia)” was published in the magazine “Star” (“Soria”) and unfinished story “Ekball-hanem” was published in 1913). About writing of the prose Lesya Ukrainka oft remembered in the context “the writing for people”. In her prose the author minimizes the external event and she accepted on the internal dynamics. We have clearly lined characters in the stories “So her fate” (“Taka ii dolia”) and “Christmas Eve” (“Sviatyj vechir”) but as if they step back on the second design. We can speak here about the presence of the internal characters. In the works of the late XIX century (“Regret” (“Zhal”), “Late” (“Pizno”) and other) Lesya Ukrainka addresses to female characters. We have here the hiding effect of internal world of character. But in the story “The loud strings” (“Holosni struny”) the main character already analysis the own remembrances. In the works “Near the sea” (“Nad morem”), “The blind man” (“Slipez”), “Friendliness” (“Pryiazn”), “Conversation” (“Rozmova), “Mistake” (“Pomylka”) there is interlocutor. These works were written in the beginning of XX century. There is monologue in the unfinished work “Mistake” (“Pomylka”) that has title “The thoughts of prisoner” (“Dymky areshtovanoho”). Thus the prose of Lesya Ukrainka was as it the battlefield of experimenter author, planning role of testing moment in the frameworks of the whole creation of Lesya Ukrainka.