ANTI-IMPERIAL ORIENTATION OF THE WRITER’S PERSONALITY: PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKER OF RECONSTRUCTION (BASED ON MATERIALS FROM BAGRIAN STUDIES)

Abstract

The article conceptualizes approaches to understanding the psychological factors and internal mechanisms shaping the anti-imperial orientation of a writer’s personality, utilizing the achievements of psychological science based on Ivan Bahrianyi studies. The relevance of the study stems from the necessity for a theoretical comprehension of the phenomenon of resistance to totalitarian pressure and the decolonization of Ukrainian literature amidst contemporary existential challenges. A comprehensive methodological framework is proposed, synthesizing the advancements of psychopoetics, postcolonial criticism, analytical psychology, psychoanalysis, as well as concepts of cognitive and humanistic psychology. Anti-imperial orientation is defined as an integral attribute of a creative personality, manifested in a steadfast ethical and worldview opposition to colonial discourse, moral autonomy, inner freedom, and active cultural responsibility. It is proven that resistance to the imperial system begins with the artist’s internal worldview choice. Based on the analysis of concepts by E. Fromm, J. Hollis, G. Le Bon, S. Freud, and C. G. Jung, the study elucidates the interaction among individual traumatic experience, archetypal structures of the collective unconscious, and the pressure of mass consciousness in forming the psychotype of a nonconformist writer. Building upon scholarly research and previous personal studies, the antiimperial traits of Ivan Bahrianyi’s orientation and their impact on his creative output are delineated. It is noted that his literary oeuvre demonstrates a transformational path of overcoming the collective and individual «victim complex,» reshaping existential trauma into a life-affirming, voluntaristic stance. The artist’s anti-totalitarian discourse emerges as an affirmation of a positive human model grounded in freedom and dignity. The proposed techniques for reconstructing psychological markers expand the analytical toolkit of psychopoetics and open up prospects for examining the works of other writers who created under conditions of totalitarian pressure.