GENDER COORDINATES OF DOMESTIC SPACE IN THE PROSE OF THE LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of representing spatial paradigms in the prose of early Ukrainian modernism. The main focus is on the artistic model of the home as a structure that functions not only as a setting and background for the narrative but also influences the actions of the characters and shapes their personalities. In the analyzed works, the image of the dwelling occupies a central position around which the plot unfolds. In Ivan Franko's novella “For the Home Hearth” the spatial factor highlights the life values of the characters: for the woman, it is the family, symbolized by the home, while for the man, it is the social realm represented by the coffeehouse. However, the heroine is compelled to venture beyond the boundaries of the private territory and assume the roles of the man, the head of the household, and the father, in addition to the traditional gender roles of housewife and mother. This ultimately leads to the destruction of the family. The main character in the novella “The Dream” by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky experiences an existential crisis, which is artistically projected as a confrontation between the real and mystical spaces. The home embodies the well-established material world and is unambiguously associated with the woman who encompasses several statuses: lady of the house, mother, and wife. The dream territory is modeled in contrast to reality, and under its influence, the home, as a haven of peace and comfort, transforms into a place of misunderstanding, hostility, and alienation. The vision of a happy domestic world meticulously constructed by the woman becomes distorted under the pressure of the ambitions of an infantile man. The consistent development of the semantics of the home characterizes the novella “The Story of Yakym’s House” by Volodymyr Vynnychenko. The extensive description of the dwelling emphasizes the social and psychological transformation of the hosts from experimenters to conservatives. The spatial aspect emphasizes the motive of family disintegration due to the protagonist's failure to conform to the role model of a husband and a master of the house, as the factor of provocation brought from outside deprives the home of fundamental criteria of safety and morality.