SUBSTANTIAL FORM OF THE “VILLAGE” NOVEL IN BELARUSIAN PROSEIN 1956—1965 (A LITERARY DISCUSSION ISSUE)

Abstract

The aesthetic model of the “village” novel, which is a multi-hero social-and-domestic novel with elements of ethnography (e.g., “Dawn” by A. Chernyshevich, “Seradibor” by P. Pestrak), changes under the influence of both literary and extraliterary factors. The creative manner of I. Melezh (“People in the swamp”, “Storm breathing”) not only reveals the author’s innovation, but also allows us to examine the evolution of the genre. I. Melezh, compared with A. Chernyshevich and P. Pestrak, refused eventness as the leading aesthetic principle of reflection of reality; he clearly revealed a novel situation, outlined the main characters and heroes of the so-called microenvironment. The writer found the representative characters, who act as carriers of the author’s thoughts, experience spiritual evolution and are not static; he
abandoned sociological stereotypes and simplicity. As a result, a new model of multi-hero novel was founded, which was
fruitful for the artistic development of the rural theme.

Ref.: 17 titles.