Halyccian Rural Community of the Early Twentieth Century as the Basis of Civil Society. By the Works of V. Stefanyk (To the 150th Anniversary of the Writer's Birth)

Abstract

The article considers the life of the Galician rural community of the early twentieth century, reflected in the works of Vasyl Stefanyk, the embodiment of the writer’s socio-political views. The spiritual foundations of the public rural system, which exist in the people’s consciousness at the genetic level and which act as a regulator and a reliable guardian of public order, have been analyzed. The authors trace how the new socio-political conditions cause changes in public life and what role the educated intelligentsia plays in these processes. In order to lead the people, it is necessary to understand them, to inspire their trust. Fiction is first and foremost an art. In the article, the writer’s ideas are presented through the interpretation of full-length, relief images, artistic details that express his ideas about the rural community. V. Stefanyk is an expressionist, so he portrays a person in extreme situations, in moments of the highest emotional tension, with a naked soul. This style of writing allows the author to achieve the maximum level of truthfulness. As a result, it was noted that at the beginning of the twentieth century there were traditions of collective solution of social problems in Ukraine, peasants sought to develop through education to improve their lives, to learn to defend their rights. Communities also took care of national life: they honored national heroes who became national symbols, because it was clear that without a common cultural memory, the images of which acquire symbolic significance, it was difficult to unite the people. Thus, Ukrainians have long traditions of public life that were interrupted during Soviet totalitarianism, but now the people are gradually returning to them, especially at critical moments in history when it is necessary to unite to confront the threats to democracy. As you can see, socio-political life continues in a cultural context, which is often determined for it. In view of this, it is promising to study the reflection of society in Ukrainian artistic literature, which depicts being in its entirety and diversity.