PECULIARITIES OF ARTISTIC PSYCHOLOGISM IN VOLODYMYR VYNNYCHENKO’S EARLY SHORT PROSE (BASED ON THE COLLECTION “BEAUTY AND STRENGTH”)

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of artistic psychologism and the means of its implementation in the early short prose of Volodymyr Vynnychenko, based on the collection «Beauty and Strength» («Krasa i Sylа»). The study examines the historical and cultural prerequisites for the formation of modernist artistic thinking in Ukrainian literature at the turn of the 20th century and defines the role of modernism in transforming the traditional populist-realist model of writing. Particular attention is paid to the shift in the artistic paradigm, characterized by a transition from the external reproduction of reality to the inner world of the individual, their psycho-emotional experiences, internal conflicts, and subjective perception of reality. It is established that the spread of modernist tendencies and psychoanalytic ideas contributed to the deepening of psychologism in early 20th-century Ukrainian prose and the formation of new ways of artistically interpreting the personality. The paper explores the development of V. Vynnychenko’s creative style as a writer of a transitional cultural and aesthetic era, who significantly expanded the possibilities of modern Ukrainian prose through the intensification of artistic psychologism. The main tools of character psychologization in the author's early stories are researched, including psychological portraits, facial expressions, gestures, gaze, behavioral reactions, speech characteristics, and the contrast between a character's internal state and externally demonstrated behavior. The study analyzes the methods of reproducing psychological dynamics, emotional instability, hidden motives for actions, and internal contradictions. Special emphasis is placed on the psychological function of the artistic detail, which serves as a vital means of revealing the character's inner world in the writer's prose. Based on the analysis of the short stories «The Slave of Beauty» («Rab Krasy»), «Beauty and Strength» («Krasa i Syla»), and «The Judgment» («Sud»), it is determined that V. Vynnychenko actively employs new modernist forms of psychologization aimed at a profound disclosure of the character's inner world. It is proven that the writer’s early prose was a crucial stage in the formation of modern psychological prose in Ukrainian literature of the early 20th century and marked the transition of Ukrainian writing to new artistic models of representing the human experience.