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

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 characteristic...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Daniil Vlasov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University 2023-12-01
Series:Вісник Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна. Серія Філологія. Vìsnik Harkìvsʹkogo nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu ìmenì V.N. Karazìna. Serìâ Fìlologìâ.
Subjects:
Online Access:https://periodicals.karazin.ua/philology/article/view/22833
_version_ 1797218092101664768
author Daniil Vlasov
author_facet Daniil Vlasov
author_sort Daniil Vlasov
collection DOAJ
description 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.
first_indexed 2024-04-24T12:12:15Z
format Article
id doaj.art-325605c2f3904b01b570d7bc6359d06d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2227-1864
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T12:12:15Z
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
record_format Article
series Вісник Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна. Серія Філологія. Vìsnik Harkìvsʹkogo nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu ìmenì V.N. Karazìna. Serìâ Fìlologìâ.
spelling doaj.art-325605c2f3904b01b570d7bc6359d06d2024-04-08T10:42:37ZengV. N. Karazin Kharkiv National UniversityВісник Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна. Серія Філологія. Vìsnik Harkìvsʹkogo nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu ìmenì V.N. Karazìna. Serìâ Fìlologìâ.2227-18642023-12-0193222810.26565/2227-1864-2023-93-0322833Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”Daniil Vlasov0V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National UniversityThe 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.https://periodicals.karazin.ua/philology/article/view/22833b. zhytkov«viktor vavych»narrativeperceptionnarrative point of viewmotif systempolyphony
spellingShingle Daniil Vlasov
Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”
Вісник Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна. Серія Філологія. Vìsnik Harkìvsʹkogo nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu ìmenì V.N. Karazìna. Serìâ Fìlologìâ.
b. zhytkov
«viktor vavych»
narrative
perception
narrative point of view
motif system
polyphony
title Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”
title_full Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”
title_fullStr Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”
title_full_unstemmed Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”
title_short Narrative structure of Boris Zhytkov’s novel “Viktor Vavich”
title_sort narrative structure of boris zhytkov s novel viktor vavich
topic b. zhytkov
«viktor vavych»
narrative
perception
narrative point of view
motif system
polyphony
url https://periodicals.karazin.ua/philology/article/view/22833
work_keys_str_mv AT daniilvlasov narrativestructureofboriszhytkovsnovelviktorvavich