SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY IN THE DOMAIN OF MEMORY (BASED ON THE NOVELS OF MARIE-FRANCE CLERC AND VICTORIA BELIM)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the issue of identity in the Marie- France Clerc's novel Five Zinnias for My Stranger and Victoria Belim's novel The Rooster House: A Ukrainian Family Memoir, the writers of Ukrainian origin. The research methodology is based on the phenomenology of memory proposed by Paul Ricoeur and developed by Aleida Assmann. Through the lens of autobiographical novels, the writers unfold their personal memories of the family, thus seeking to comprehend the historical reality of Ukraine through individual memory, relive the traumatic experience of family secrets, and clarify their identity. This allows them to undergo a complex process of self-identification in order to discover themselves. In the geopolitical space of multiculturalism an individual is looking for the symbols, markers, and concepts which help preserve values, avoid becoming bitter, not lose connection with ancestors, and not get lost in the midst of various cultural, social, or other realities. The choice of works by Marie-France Clerc and Victoria Belim results from the fact that both authors experience a similar traumatic past. Both construct their works in the form of memoirs, referring to dramatic historical events in Ukraine and seeking, in an unbiased yet equally emotional way, to trace the complex process of Ukrainian women’s self-identification, and to find reconciliation with themselves, embracing their Ukrainian roots. Their experience, recorded in the form of literary works, becomes part of the cultural memory of the Ukrainian people and helps to reveal the peculiarities of Ukrainian identity in various languages, French and English. Thus, it conveys to representatives of other multicultural environments the essence of the Ukrainian tragedy and helps them understand the need for a definitive victory in the struggle for independence.