Article

Name: Preface as a metatextual element of memoir narrative (a case study of the Russian memoirs of the 18th – early 19th century)

Authors: Oksana A. Farafonova

Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of literature

Abstract:

The paper analyzes the repertoire of the prefaces in Russian memoirs of the second half of the 18th to the early 19th century as a metatextual component of the narrative. Consideration is given to the authors’ orientation towards potential readers and the specificity of prefaces in memoir texts during that period. The preface composition may comprise several phrases or represent a more voluminous fragment. It may not be an independent structural element and represents a kind of “beginning,” functionally coinciding with the preface. The memoirs can be divided into three groups based on the presence and design of the preface: texts without a preface, texts with a pronounced preface, and texts in which the fragments at the beginning of the narrative perform the function of pre-notification. The corpus of memoir texts is analyzed within the context of the cultural and literary epoch of the 18th century, making it possible to identify the main trends in the motivations cited by memoirists as an explanation for their literary work. A comparative analysis of memoir prefaces of the 18th century has revealed the significant shifts in understanding the goals of writing memoirs by memoirists, reflecting the change in the authors’ attitudes to the history of the past they record and the image of themselves they describe.

Keywords: memoirs, preface, metatextual element, “idle time in favor of the used”, melancholic topic

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