THE METAPHORICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE CONCEPT OF «LABYRINTH» IN B. ANTONENKO-DAVYDOVYCH’S CREATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the research of the peculiarities of the artistic content of the concept of «labyrinth» in B. Antonenko-Davydovych’s creative heritage. The structure of the labyrinth is defined not only by its direct meaning as a building from which it is difficult or impossible to find a way out, but also by the entanglement of relationships, situations, thoughts, actions etc. B. Antonenko-Davydovych’s works do not have the word «labyrinth» in their titles, but the life collisions of the characters in these works appeal to this very concept, which is a symbol of being, the idea of eternal return, the circle of life, relentless search, constant choice etc. The writer represents the existence of the characters as a labyrinth with a large number of decisions and a choice of actions, both true and false, in order to achieve spiritual balance. His characters often find themselves in a kind of labyrinth of events, feelings, emotions and, most importantly, their own interpretations of these events. The artist appeals to the metaphorical representation of the concept of «labyrinth» in order to focus attention on the complexity and entanglement of life in the chaos of the era. In the author’s works, the concept of «labyrinth» embodies the idea of searches, random movement, deviation from a rational path. In B. Antonenko-Davydovych’s creation the functioning of the concept of «labyrinth» as wanderings caused by the revolution and as the entanglement of life’s path and fate is highlighted in the novel «Za shyrmoiu» («Behind the curtain»), the stories «Smert» («Death»), «Tuk-tuk», «Zavyshcheni otsinky», «Shchastia». The peculiarity of the labyrinth is that its construction involves finding an exit or is marked by the impasse. One of the consequences of getting out of the life labyrinth can be death – one’s own («Tuk-tuk»), a loved one’s («Za shyrmoiu» («Behind the curtain»)), someone else’s («Smert» («Death»)). In the story «Shchastia» the exit from the labyrinth is marked as the understanding of the life, the acceptance of the past, that is a kind of rebirth. The story «Zavyshcheni otsinky» contains an indication of the impasse of the main character from the labyrinth.