Talent development of Selma Lagerlöf, an outstanding Swedish writer

Abstract

The article carries out a biographical study of the childhood and youth of Selma Lagerlöf, with the purpose of determining the conditions that influenced the development of her genius abilities to create fairy tales. Research methods: study, analysis and generalization of special scientific literature in order to identify the state of the researched problem. The biographical study of S. Lagerlöf’s childhood and youth combines environmental and personal approaches. Thus, S. Lagerlöf’s grandmother narratives about hereditary estate were the main factors that influenced the development of imagination and excellent literary abilities of S. Lagerlöf. The girl was very pleased to listen to grandmother’s stories, which were full of legends and secrets. When at the age of three, S. Lagerlöf suffered from paralysis, those stories were exactly the only consolation for her because in these narratives the girl drew strength and inspiration. It is likely that thanks to these legends and stories about the family nest and Sweden as a whole, S. Lagerlöf began to fantasize and create her own stories, which were permeated with love to her native land. It is possible that the grandmother and her stories instilled in the girl faith in miracles, goodness, and fairy tales. After all, regardless of the serious illness, S. Lagerlöf did not lose hope for the best, wisdom, optimism and continued to write her brilliant works, imbued with devotion to her native home. The writer depicted the beauty of the home more than once in her works. S. Lagerlöf created in her works a world full of romance, fabulous adventures, and idleness. The article highlights the features inherent in S. Lagerlöf’s fairy tales. First, the events in the writer’s works happen in places dear to her heart – the city, the country. Secondly, S. Lagerlöf resorted to romantic literary techniques. Thirdly, the writer used a well-known literary device in her fairy tales – personification, that is, animals, birds, insects acquire human features, they behave like people. It was concluded that S. Lagerlöf was a romantic, dreamy person who loved her homeland immensely. The problem outlined in the article is relevant and needs further processing in order for it to be thoroughly completed.