THE FAMILY SAGA BY E. KOLINA (FROM THE NOVEL SAGA OF THE POOR GOLDMANS)

Abstract

Rationale. The study of genre specificity of fiction works of modern literature is important in connection with the actualization of domestic genres of mass literature. The name of saga genre is actively used by creators of women’s novels, in particular by E. Kolina. It seems necessary to examine the transformation of the attributes of the saga genre in the context of such novels. Purpose. The article reveals the specificity of the family saga genre in E. Kolina’s novel The Saga of the Poor Goldmans. Materials and methods. The material is a novel by E. Kolina The Saga of the Poor Goldmans (2007). In the framework of the family saga genre the analysis of the novel by E. Kolina was based on the method of narrative and theoretical analysis which was completed with the methods of psychoanalytic approach to the understanding of the main character’s specificity. Results. The analysis of E. Kolina’s work showed the specifics of the saga genre in the novel The Saga of the Poor Goldmans. It was pointed out that E. Kolina’s saga does not always realize the traditional features of the genre, namely, historicism and equality of moral values in choosing characters’ life guidelines. It is shown that the image of home and family in the novel does not correspond to the principles of the genre, as home and family in the novel of E. Kolina’s novel no longer symbolizes the ancestral nest and strong family ties. The representation of the actual and retrospective image of the family in the novel is described. The motif of growing up in the novel is presented as the main one in highlighting the theme of childhood, realized in the motif of getting rid of teenage complexes based on envy of one sister to another. Practical implications. The results of the analysis can be used to describe the genres of mass literature, as well as in pedagogical activities, in particular in the teaching of literary theory.