“THE STORY OF MY LIFE” GEORGE SAND: GENRE SPECIFICITY AND POETICS
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2018-6-143-152
The genre specificity and poetics of George Sand’s monumental autobiography has never been in the focus of Russian scholarly attention. This paper focuses on the history of creation and publication of the work (1847–1855). The author describes the poetics of the French writer’s narrative, employing oratory techniques and amplification, which greatly contributes to its perception. A particular attention is paid to the specificity of female memoirs, which consistently describes the development of the main character in childhood, adolescence, youth and maturity. The paper analyses the original composition of the narrative, in which almost a quarter is devoted to ancestors and parents, with whom George Sand’s character is genetically connected. On the one hand, the heroine of the memoirs is a representative of her generation, with whom she is connected by ties of solidarity. On the other hand, she is a child of the revolutionary era, when a marriage between an aristocrat and a commoner could take place. The author studies the history of the inner life, the “life of the soul” of the main character, which consists in the process of looking for the truth in all spheres of life: true friendship, love, religious and political ideas, moral and aesthetic values, and the meaning of life in general. Finally, the heroine finds her “self” in her literary work.
Keywords: autobiography, female memoirs, autobiography of generation, idea of solidarity, public speaking techniques, artist
References:
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Issue: 6, 2018
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: FOREIGN LITERATURE
Pages: 143 — 152
Downloads: 925