MYKOLA KHVYLOVYI IN DIASPORA CRITICISM: FEATURES OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT

Abstract

The article explores the figure of Mykola Khvylovy through the lens of the psychobiographical approach. Due to ideological censorship, the writer's name was under prohibition for a long time, leading to the loss or concealment of a significant portion of biographical and archival materials. Special attention is given to the literary criticism of the Ukrainian diaspora, which, despite limited access to sources, made the first attempts to study the psychological portrait of the writer. At the center of the analysis are the works of researchers such as O. Han, D. Dontsov, H. Kostiuk, and Y. Malaniuk, who focused on Khvylovy's temperament, internal conflicts, aesthetic foundations, and worldview dilemmas. A wealth of material for constructing the psychological portrait of the writer was provided, in particular, by O. Han, who in his work was the first to describe the writer's family and trace the origins of his temperament, which he characterized as emotional turbulence and passion. These behavioral traits were inherent to his maternal grandfather and his father.H. Kostiuk offered insights into Mykola Khvylovy’s combativeness, which is primarily associated with his journalistic work (pamphlets) and participation in the literary debate. The critic notes that this was not combativeness per se, but rather heroism, nourished by tragic romanticism as a dominant worldview. Researchers have identified and described the key personality traits of the writer: choleric temperament, romanticism, love for the people, vitalism, spiritual aristocratism, national instinct, and visionary thinking. Particular attention is paid to the conflict between the national and revolutionary (socialist, ideological) aspects of his worldview. This internal conflict influenced Mykola Khvylovy’s artistic paradigm, particularly shaping the specific narrative discourse of his works – tragic romanticism. The analysis of diaspora studies is carried out based on the methodology of psychological portraiture proposed by S. Mykhyda, which allows for establishing the connection between the writer’s personal traits and the stylistic features of his prose. The article aims to systematize the achievements of diaspora criticism in understanding Khvylovy’s personality and to form the foundation for further studies of his work through the prism of psychoanalytical and cultural-historical approaches.