E. Yu. Shestakova
shestackova.lena2013@yandex.ru
Humanitarian Institute of the branch Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M. V. Lomonosov in Severodvinsk, Severodvinsk, Russian Federation
The image of a child in autobiographical works about childhood by the writers of the Russian emigration of the first wave
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to consider the features of the artistic embodiment of the image of a child in autobiographical works about childhood by the writers of the Russian emigration of the first wave. The research material was the novel “The Summer of the Lord” by I. S. Shmelev and the story “Nikita’s Childhood” by A.N. Tolstoy. The methodological basis of the research was the comparative-historical, historical-literary, biographical, comparative- typological methods, the principle of a holistic analysis of the ideological and artistic structure of the work. The results showed that in both works childhood appears as happy and serene time. The authors convey the peculiarities of children’s world perception and world comprehension, the diversity and richness of the sensory and mental spheres of the child heroes. The leading theme of the works was the image of the formation and formation of a child’s soul. Children appear
as discoverers of the surrounding world, comprehend the fundamental principles of material existence. The differences in the comprehension of the world of childhood and the inner nature of a child, realized in the works, consist in the image of the cultural environment within which the upbringing of children takes place. I.S. Shmelev recreates the image of the world, which has a sacred meaning. The model of the Christian world, dominant in Shmelev’s novel, dictates the specifics of depicting the theme of childhood, inextricably linked with the Orthodox worldview. The text space of the story by A.N. Tolstoy is outside the philosophical and religious context. At the same time, the deep connection of the child heroes with folk life and culture becomes a common feature of the works.
Keywords: the image of a child, the theme of childhood, autobiographical works, I.S. Shmelev, A.N. Tolstoy, literature of Russian emigration, Orthodox-religious motives.
Paper submitted: January 24, 2023.
For citation: Shestakova E. Yu. (2023) The image of a child in autobiographical works about childhood by the writers of the Russian emigration of the first wave. Russian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 16–27. DOI: 10.57015/issn1998-5320.2023.17.3.2.
