THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTON NATALIYA KOBRYNSKA’S IDIOSTYLE

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive literary analysis of the creative legacy of N. Kobrynska – a significant figure in Ukrainian literature, a public and cultural activist, and one of the founders of early Ukrainian feminist discourse of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study traces the main vectors of the formation of her individual style in the context of the sociocultural transformations of the era of national revival, the актуалізація of the women’s issue, and the struggle for gender equality. In the process of analyzing works from different stages of her creative activity (from early texts, which represent the conflict of generations and social issues, to later works marked by anti-war themes), emphasis is placed on the artistic representation of resistance to patriarchal narratives, the deep psychological portrayal of characters, and the verbalization of the characters’ aspirations for freedom and emancipation. It is substantiated that an important dominant feature of N. Kobrynska’s individual style is the symbolism of natural imagery, which functions as a semiotic code for revealing the inner world of the characters and conceptualizing the philosophical meanings of the text. Special attention is paid to her contribution to the formation of Ukrainian feminist discourse, in particular through her literary and organizational activities, which found expression in her participation in the creation of the women’s almanac The First Wreath (1887), a programmatic text of the women’s movement in Ukraine. The sociocultural factors that shaped her individual style are identified, and the writer’s role in modeling national identity and representing the female subject in Ukrainian literature of that period is outlined. The use of contemporary gender studies makes it possible to actualize the reception of N. Kobrynska’s work in a broader – Ukrainian and European – cultural context, highlighting her status as a cultural marker of the era. It is concluded that the writer’s individual style is characterized by a syncretism of socio-analytical discourse, feminist rhetoric, elements of Symbolist poetics, and deep psychological insight, which provides grounds for considering her work as a representative phenomenon of the Ukrainian modern literary process.