PECULIARITIES OF THE TEXTUALIZATION OF FEAR IN OLENA ZVYCHAYNA’S NOVEL

Abstract

This article examines the specifics of the artistic representation of fear at various levels of literary text organization, focusing on the two-part novel "Fear" by the Ukrainian writer Olena Zvichayna – a work that remains understudied in contemporary literary criticism. Fear is represented at the paratextual position of the novel, where it performs a plot-forming function by stimulating the characters' actions, driving the plot, and shaping the internal dynamics and structure of the work. It establishes the overall mood and ideological content of the novel through appropriate auditory and color markers, physiological indicators, and bodily manifestations. In addition, it acts as a structural element of the author’s artistic thinking, actively shaping the stylistic specificity of the work. It also performs an existential and character-building function by depicting the characters in boundary situations, difficult periods of life, moments of self-discovery, and during the resolution of internal and external conflicts. Fear is shown as the psychological state of both the main characters (Marusia Romashko, Pavlo Meshchersky) and secondary ones (Orysia, Ivanykha, and others), as well as the workforce and society as a whole. Fear acts as a tool of the totalitarian system used to subjugate people, erase their national and professional identity, and silence the tragic pages of Ukrainian history. The novel portrays the state as a complex system of constant, multi-layered control (trapping both controllers and the controlled) across all spheres of Ukrainian life. The image of Brukh, whom the writer compares to a dragon, embodies the infernal Bolshevik machine that ruthlessly destroys human lives. For Marusia Romashko and Pavlo Meshchersky, constant fear prompts them to understand their inner potential and search for ways to fight to protect their dignity. The author offers a "recipe" for resisting the totalitarian system, emphasizing the characters' complex inner work on themselves and the external manifestations of protest. Olena Zvichayna’s novel "Fear" not only truthfully depicts the horrors of the totalitarian system but also declares the very idea of resistance.