Vygotsky and the notion of perezhivanie: what does it contribute to the reading of literary texts?

ABSTRACT Literature is an object of art and of culture for which Vygotsky held a most particular love. But how does it participate in the cultural development of the child? We will first draw some thoughts from the very earliest works of Vygotsky. These works demonstrate that the question of art for Vygotsky was a central concern which probably determined the subsequent course of his scientific work. We will show through data from a literature class that feeling, thinking and imagining operate in a system, but differ in make-up and intensity according to the age. In this way we hope to provide some empirical support for the basic argument Vygotsky made in his pedological works.