The problems of a child's self-realization in Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya

Oktyabr'skaya Ol'ga Svyatoslavovna Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Contemporary Russian Literature and Modern Literary Process, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University 119192, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, office 967 svyatolga@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Literature about primary school children occupies a special place in Russian culture. The problematic prose about this age group is quite extensive and multifaceted. Starting from the fabulous story by A. Pogorelsky "The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants" to the present, Russian children's literature actively offers its readers original works about important and urgent problems faced by a younger student during his studies, in the family, in a friendly circle. As a rule, writers compare different types of characters, offering the addressee certain types and behavioral strategies: Kolya and Mishka by N. Nosov, Denis Korablev and Mishka Slonov by V. Dragunsky, Dinka V. Axial, etc.

         Literature of this kind becomes the subject of scientific understanding among Russian and foreign literary critics and causes a lot of discussion. This article is devoted to understanding the ways of self-realization of a primary school-age child, reflected in the Russian children's literature of the XXI century. The real problem is actualized, firstly, by the material of analysis itself, which has appeared recently and remains little studied by literary critics, as well as by very important problems raised in Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy. These are issues related to the peculiarities of children's communication, their socialization in school and friendly groups, the principles of interaction between children and parents, students and teachers. The timeliness of this issue is determined by the importance of identifying those aspects of a child's life that contribute not only to his adaptation in a particular team, but also to identifying the personal qualities of each individual, as well as the need to form a system of moral values. At the same time, the study of the problem of a child's self-realization and its reflection in fiction for children has great theoretical and practical significance. The theoretical significance of this article is due to the contribution to the general methodological and applied basis of the study of the psychological basis of a work of art, the typology of children's characters. The practical significance of this study lies in the possibility of using the results obtained in the educational process in schools, vocational education organizations and universities. The theoretical basis of this article is the fundamental works of literary critics, as well as the work of modern scientists who address this issue. Thus, L.Ya. Ginzburg ^[1], G. S. Spiridonova ^[2], D. S. Likhachev ^[3] and others address various aspects of the study of psychological prose. The originality of the hero and the author's interpretation of the characters are comprehended in the works of M. M. Bakhtin ^[4], N. V. Chekasheva, O. Y. Osmukhina ^[5], O. O. Pichugina ^[6], etc. Shi Yuqing ^[7], L. V. Dolzhenko ^[8], I. S. Yukhnova ^[9] reflect on the problems of children's self-realization, which reveal problematic aspects of the character of a younger schoolboy embodied in the works of Russian writers.

         It is the research of works about younger schoolchildren that contributes to solving important psychological, educational and aesthetic problems of pre-adolescent children. One of the important issues facing the authors of works about younger schoolchildren is the problem of the child's self-realization in its various manifestations. This issue is updated in Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya, which depicts different types of children's characters. In the trilogy about Varya and Olya, the writer tries not only to reproduce typical children's characters, but also to recreate a special children's world, including family relationships, a circle of reading and games, a class team, friendships and other aspects. Each of the stories in the trilogy has its own genre specifics. So, the first story "Varya and Olya – girlfriends forever" is built according to the laws of the vacation story, which tells about the country discourse. The second has the genre features of a school story ("Varya and Olya – school changes"), and the third corresponds to the canons of the Yuletide narrative ("Varya and Olya: snow turns"). Thus, the entire trilogy covers a little more than six months, and the action takes place in the country, in Moscow and has through characters: Varya and Olya, their grandmothers Marina and Anna Alexandrovna, grandfather Oli Tolik, grandmother Tan. The rest of the characters are minor and episodic: mom and dad Olya, father Varya, grandfather Plum, teacher Margarita Sergeevna, Laura, Sanka, etc.

         Each of the stories sets certain tasks and successfully solves them within the framework of its genre implementation and special issues. Thus, the first novel "Varya and Olya are girlfriends forever" actualizes important aspects of an individual's existence – the preservation of unique and individual qualities and at the same time the study of the birth of communication links with each other of each of the main characters. Olya and Varya have vivid personal qualities of emotive and hyperactive. At the same time, Olya is not just a small artist, but also a visual artist, she perceives and learns the world precisely in paintings, images. The heroine immediately tries to sketch any strong and vivid impression and thus comprehend it figuratively. The power of her imagination is magical – she spiritualizes the world around her. For example, Olya embodies her love for her grandmother, her kindness and care for everyone in the image of a caring apple tree grandmother: "Grandma's hands are brown with cracks - from fruits, dry and warm. "Fruit hands," Olya defines and immediately comes up with a fruit tree, an apple tree grandmother, which grows in a secret garden and hugs everyone who enters it" ^{[10, pp. 12-13]}. The aesthetic world that Olya surrounds herself with is in many ways far from the real world raging next to her. For the heroine, he is strange and scary, so she perceives him with caution and really does not want to leave the comfortable world of dreams and dreams for her. The reaction to the invasion of the real world into the personal space of the heroine is dramatic, but it is expressed expressively – isolation, emotions and tears. Olya's infantilism and her heightened emotionality are determined by her character, the peculiarities of genetics, as well as upbringing (she is forgiven a lot) and the problems of growing up. The heroine's social circle is also important, she is closed mainly to her family – grandmother, grandfather and parents and a very friendly teacher. In addition, this type of character has an indispensable desire of a child who is just beginning the path of socialization to gain recognition from adults. The heroine invariably puts herself in the center of the worldview, identifying herself in the image of a rain fairy, then a rosehip queen, etc.

         However, it is Ole who has an aesthetic view of the world, she is able not only to see the beauty of the world around her, but also to accurately capture the peculiarities of the mood of man and nature. At the same time, it is the surrounding world, initially perceived by her with alertness, that influences Olya's worldview and the nature of her drawings. If the world she initially portrays is bookish and romantic, she draws dragons, fairies, princes, etc., then gradually it is filled with a realistic component and to some extent even psychologically determines the characters depicted. The drawings of the heroine and even sketches convey not only external similarities, but also individual personality traits and even the emotional state of the object of the image, therefore, Ole is best at characteristic portraits that convey the mood of a person or animal: a thoughtful Varka with a blade of grass in her mouth, a dissatisfied duck, "currant conversations" with her grandmother, etc. The author, continuing the Nosovsky tradition, he prescribes in sufficient detail not only the features of the finished drawing of the heroine, but also conveys the originality of the painting technique, the peculiarities of color selection, the creation of the drawing itself, introduces the little reader to the shades of colors: "The pencil sketch was ready. Now it was necessary to add shadows to make the berries look real. Olya took another pencil, softer, and for a long time she added shadows around the berries, then erased them with an eraser <...> For a long time she mixed shades of red on the palette – she was looking for a redcurrant color" ^{[10, p. 268]}.

         The emotive personality type allows Ole to be a subtle observer, accurately notice all the shades of the surrounding world, the mood features of not only loved ones, but also the natural world – a naive turtle, a frightened snail, a dissatisfied duck, etc. Initially, Olya is a wingman paired with Varka, she responds to all the initiatives of her friend or grandmother Tan.

         An active, active Varka becomes the psychological antagonist of Olya's emotive. If little things, mood, and the atmosphere of the surrounding world are important to Olya, then Varya's hyperactive attitude is not exchanged for such nuances, she poses and solves global issues. Varya is an experimenter in life. She is more interested in technology, the device of various devices, the creation and application of various kinds of devices. At first, she is even annoyed by everything that requires perseverance, patience, attention – knitting, reading, cleaning, etc. The kinesthetic type of perception of the world determines the behavior of Varya, who is used to actively acting, generating different ideas and immediately embodying them. So, while the heroine is traveling on a train to Moscow, she improves all the "shortcomings" of the car: she makes a rope bridge, on which all the children in the car climb, turns a water tap into a water carrier robot that delivers water to her face, walked a deer beetle on a pillow with Lilia Leontievna accompanying her, etc. 

Even outwardly, Olya and Varya are different: one is a neat, neat woman who carries drawing pads, pencils and felt–tip pens in her pockets, and the other is a bully kid with a skinned nose, carrying an entire workshop in her pockets: "here I have a folding knife, here a wrench, here a screwdriver (see, I specially closed it with a cap so that it won't stick anywhere for me if I suddenly fall). This is where I put the stones, if they come across beautiful ones on the road. It's empty now, I just got out. I carry nuts here, in case I get hungry or meet a squirrel..." ^{[10, pp. 33-34]}. The heroines, who are open to each other, nevertheless, are just beginning their path to friendship, and having embarked on it, they largely adopt each other's traits. So, Olya learns to be bolder, firmer and more inventive. She is no longer shy about offering her view on a particular problem and defending her point of view. Varya becomes softer, more compliant. She learns to see the beauty and mystery of nature, enjoy reading books, etc.

         Both heroines are looking for the most correct ways to a strong friendship. So, girls who spend a lot of time together cannot imagine a friendship "for three".  The reason for reflection is an unexpected situation for both of them. For example, Olya, who has become friends with Grishka, does not know at first how to behave when Varka appears. Varya herself, forced to spend a summer day with a distant relative Diana, is not ready to pay attention to the bored Olya. Gradually, the heroines learn more complex communication.

 However, this topic, which was only outlined in the first story, will find an unexpected continuation in the second story "Varya and Olya – school changes". The author shows the complexity of friendly relations, the need for compromises and compliance, getting rid of excessive egocentrism, teaches the ability to understand the other, forgive him a lot and make relationships more flexible. It also brings the addressee and the characters to the idea of the need for a short-term break from friendship, when not joint activity, but loneliness and reflection on what is happening becomes an indispensable component not only of friendship, but also of growing up and socialization of the child. Thus, the process of friendship itself is presented as heterogeneous, multidimensional and multifaceted, requiring psychological efforts, concessions, and rest from each other for all participants in friendly relations.

 So, this problem becomes particularly acute within the framework of school relationships of classmates, who appear not as a homogeneous mass, but as bright individuals who are just beginning to build friendly relations.  The catalyst for new emotions and disagreements was the appearance of a newcomer in class 3A – Laura, who does not calmly and organically join the new team, but claims leadership and shows contempt for someone who, from her point of view, is hopelessly outdated.  So, the mobile phone case embroidered by Olya with love is not only ridiculed by Laura, but also causes ridicule from other classmates, as the leading position is actively won back by the fashionable, rich and popular Laura.

The writer shows the difficult path of "re–education" of two antagonists – the cheeky charismatic manipulator Laura and the quiet downtrodden Olya, whose main trump card was taken away due to the change of the class teacher - the new teacher does not welcome drawings in notebooks, even in the reader's diary, and thus an important way of knowing the world was taken away from Olya, reinforced by the ridicule of classmates over drawings and embroidery heroines. Initially, visual Olya used to curb her emotions by relaying them in drawings. So, adults tell the heroine the most effective way for her is to draw her own emotions, imagine and depict what fear or anger looks like. But after the ban on drawings, the girl is looking for new ways to communicate with the world. So, she learns to listen to the world around her and perceive it audibly, by ear. At the same time, the heroine's reflections are very deep and psychologically correct. For example, Olya perceives the angry maxim of the new class teacher, which she burst out on the first of September, difficult: "It's strange," thought Olya. – She said "my friends", but it sounded like "my enemies". Maybe I have something with my hearing?" ^{[11, p. 24]}. The heroine does not immediately distinguish the usual speech cliche from the sincere feelings of the speaker, she feels the falsity of the teacher's affectionate words, but cannot understand the meaning of their use. To return to the usual emotional channel, Ole needs time, strength, and the help of Varka and her family in overcoming themselves, their fears and experiences. The difficult path is accompanied by hard reflection and realization of oneself as a creative person and thereby gaining authority and respect from classmates and friends. At the same time, her classmate Laura needs to make an effort and overcome her own ego, admit that her desire for leadership and gaining authority in a new team by belittling the merits of possible competitors is only a response to her own humiliation by her older brother, who is self–fulfilling in this way. At the same time, Laura not only overcomes herself and strives to understand and accept Olya's classmate, but also learns with her help a new skill for herself – drawing. A childhood dream, suppressed by a jealous brother, forces Laura to free herself from disbelief in her own strength and is realized in drawings.

However, the author, depicting the metamorphosis in the behavior of the heroines, focuses on the interdependence of these processes. Only the joint path of the heroines and mutual support can change each one. At the same time, initially external forces try to reconcile the heroines, but this intervention turns out to be unproductive. And only everyone's work on themselves, an independent way to overcome themselves, leads to a positive result. The heroines learn to communicate independently and build friendships regardless of external factors. And already in the third part of the trilogy, Varya and Olya, having overcome the crisis moments of friendship, communicate actively, but at the same time quite freely and calmly, without being afraid to include third parties in their circle of communication, which makes their relationship multi-vector and hierarchical. This allows Ole to actually perform a miracle – to make Varka believe in Santa Claus and his omnipotence and even entrust him with a secret – the girl's passionate desire to see her friend's father next to her on New Year's Eve.

Thus, the self-realization of a child of primary school age in Y. Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya is presented on didactic, aesthetic and psychological levels. The actual self-realization of the child is shown in the family, at school, with friends and self-reflexively and is presented through communication, communication with nature, reading books, etc.