TODOS OSMACHKA – OLENA VITER: A BIOGRAPHICAL AND PSYCHOAUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STORY

Abstract

The personality of the writer is the main category of psychopoetics, which contributes to the understanding of the psychoworld of the author, that is, his existence and artistic creativity. The concept of psychoworld correlates with the concept of megatext as a source base for research: memoirs in the broadest sense and works of art. Despite the considerable number of works devoted to the analytical biography and psychobiography of Todos Osmachka, not much is known about the episode of the writer's meeting with the abbess of the Yaktorivsk Convent Olena Viter. Fundamental research of this situation makes it possible to trace the manifestations of the protective mechanisms of the writer's psyche and to reveal individual artistic meanings. In the process of analysis, it was found that during the unexpected meeting with the «saint person», the writer's behavior shows protective mechanisms of repression unpleasant feelings and emotions into the subconscious and regression – a return to infantile personal reactions in order to reduce anxiety. We also single out the protective mechanism of projection, because the writer not only transfers his own sense of superiority to the abbess, but also repressed intimate desires. We find confirmation of these considerations in the psychoautobiographical story «Senior boyar», which the author completed two years after meeting Olena Viter. According to S. Freud, the transformation of sexual energy into spiritual and creative energy is a manifestation of the protective mechanism of sublimation. On the basis of the study of Todos Osmachka's acquaintance with mother Yosifa, it was found that four of the ten protective mechanisms of the psyche identified in psychoanalysis (S. Freud, A. Freud) can be traced in the artist's psychoworld. This once again demonstrates the complexity of the writer's psyche and makes it possible to decipher the author's creative intentions.