Article

Name: The material world in the story “Detstvo” by L. N. Tolstoy

Authors: Ksenia V. Abramova

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Novosibirsk, Russian Federation,

In the section Study of literature

Abstract:

The paper is devoted to the consideration of the material world of the story “Detstvo” (“Childhood”) by L. N. Tolstoy. The narration on behalf of the child involves a huge number of objects, filling and organizing the artistic space and time of the work and creating a unique world of the child. The things appear in an unusual form, seen by a child from an unusual angle. The analysis focuses on the things in the story, including clothes, shoes, and objects created by the characters. The “making” of things is found to be their most important feature. Attention is paid to the ambiguity of the evaluation and meaning of things. They are described in such a way as to generate different ways of reading and understanding them. It is in this way that a profound understanding of the child’s world in the story of growing up becomes possible. The multiple meanings of objects, the possibility of using one thing named in the text to introduce the characteristics of different characters, and the connection and opposition of things in the text lead to these objects becoming the starting point for memories and reflections on childhood. They serve as the driving force of the story of growing up, helping to create the leading images and introduce the most important themes and motifs, such as the opposition between the lowly and the sublime, “adult” and “child,” as well as one of the main themes of the story “Detstvo,” i.e., the theme of the death of the mother.

Keywords: story of growing up, childhood, L. N. Tolstoy, image of a child, thing, space, “Childhood”

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