Female image of memory-centric happiness of first-wave Russian emigration

¹ Crimean University of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Department of Foreign Languages and Interlanguage Communications, Simferopol, Russia
² Crimean University of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Department of Theater Arts, Simferopol, Russia

^* Corresponding author: oreznik2005@yandex.ru

Abstract

In the article, the starting point of the study is the changes in the semantic aspects of the work by Russian emigrant writers of the first wave. These writers bring conceptually significant topics to the pages of their works, thus highlighting the scale of the global catastrophe. It is argued that, under these conditions, an objective pattern is a change in genre preferences, in particular, the emigrant writers’ turn to memoir genres as the most relevant in the context of emigration, which in turn entails a change in thematic priorities. Trace the features of the literary representation of the conceptually established understanding of happiness in the conditions of the first-wave emigration on the example of the works by the writers N. Teffi and Z. Shakhovskaya. Methods: comparative biographical analysis, the historical research method, and concept analysis. Unlike the male understanding of happiness by emigrant writers, female authors focus on the detailed (material) world rather than philosophical generalizations associated with history and politics. The very understanding of happiness for female writers, according to the authors, is akin to interpretations of the state of contentment, prosperity, well-being, joy from abundant life. The uniqueness of understanding the concept of “happiness” is primarily due to gender differences. The authors propose to connect the origins of the formation of this worldview with the folklore traditions of the Russian people, in which happiness is described as an emotionally elevated state of human satisfaction. A similar understanding is established in childhood, and its images become key in emigrant works. At the same time, the feminine view is characterized by patriarchal nature and belief in the victory of good over evil.