Escapism technique in the conceptosphere of the category of blindness

author: Uliana Zhornokui

Urgency of the research lies in the fact that in the measurement of variable interpretive strategies for works of art, it is important to turn to methods that would allow to characterize them comprehensively, even taking into account unpopular topics, such as blindness. In the literary paradigm, the specified topic is lacunar, as it belongs to multidisciplinary ones, which opens up wide prospects for further research in many areas – in addition to directly comparativist, also psychological, philosophical, medical, etc.

Target setting. The category of blindness in Ukrainian literature remains, with the exception of some investigations, poorly researched, which creates an urgent need to study this category in order to form a broader scientific picture of this problem, which will make it possible to move away from the compensatory principle of interpreting blindness, which itself leads to wrong judgments about ontological dimensions the existence of blind characters.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. This article analyzes the works of key researchers who studied the category of blindness in different contexts (Oliver Sacks, John Milton, Timothy D. Wilson), as well as the works of those scholars who considered the relationship between the reception of escapism and the mentioned category in particular (Edward Ziegler, Lennard J. Davis, Stephen Cushman, Rosemary Garland-Thomson). In domestic literature, unfortunately, the analyzed topic is presented to an insignificant extent.

The research objective. The author of the article aimed to investigate the peculiarities of the depiction of the category of blindness through the prism of escapism as a form of escape from one's condition, which makes impossible / inhibits / postpones the processes of self-identification of the characters.

The statement of basic materials. Various interpretive models of blindness are analyzed – from the metaphorical (the novel “Blindness” by Jose Saramago and the tragedy “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles) to the cognitive-existential (on the example of the work of Olga Tokarchuk). The escapism of blind characters is often manifested through the depiction of their large inner world, incredible imagination and very vivid memories, the depiction of which allows writers to show a way to escape the cruel reality and find a way to create (communicate) in harmony with their condition. Literature provides an opportunity to explore these aspects of the human experience, showing how apparent escapism can serve as a means of survival and self-preservation in a star-centered world where, from the inner vision, you have created the right to a fulfilling life.

Conclusions. The theme of blindness revealed through the use of escapism only expresses the reluctance to accept one's condition and this impossible identification process by the individual. The study of escapism in blind characters is a multifaceted topic that covers various aspects of human experience, which forms significant prospects for further research related to the problem we have analyzed.

Key words: escapism, eyecentrism, multidisciplinarity, category of blindness, character, reception, receptive analysis, artistic work

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