Archetypal and modern in studying grandparents in Y. Kuznetsova's books 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

The process of educating the younger generation and shaping the personality of a child/teenager is unthinkable in most cases without the older generation, in particular, the participation of grandparents. Fiction, especially addressed to children and adolescents, accurately reflects this type of relationship between two generations – children and their grandfathers, firmly based on the archetypal basis of these phenomena. Starting with grandfather Irenaeus V.F. Odoevsky, nannies A.S. Pushkin and I.A. Goncharov, grandmothers N.G. Garin-Mikhailovsky and M. Gorky, mentors from the works of L.N. Tolstoy and I.S. Shmelev, the images of grandparents-nannies-mentors, their archetypal nature and individuality become the subject of scientific research.

This article is devoted to understanding the images of grandfathers and grandmothers, identifying their archetypal basis and individualization in specific works of Russian children's literature of the most recent time. The stated problem is actualized, first of all, by the actual material itself, which has been published recently and is only beginning to be studied by literary science, as well as very important and relevant problems of educating the younger generation raised in Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya. These are issues related to the peculiarities of the relationship between adults and children, their communication and mutual understanding, which remains an urgent problem for both the child and his relatives. The timeliness and relevance of this issue is determined by the importance of identifying those aspects of a child's life that contribute not only to his self-realization in the family, friendly and school community and adaptation in society, but also to identifying the personal qualities of each individual, as well as the need to form a system of moral values. The study of the problem of a child's relationship with older relatives 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 characters of both children and adults. 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 dealing with this issue. Thus, L.Ya. Ginzburg ^[1], G. S. Spiridonova ^[2] 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 ^[3]. E.M. Meletinsky made a special contribution to the study of archetypes of Russian and world literature in his seminal work on literary archetypes ^[4], which actualizes the consideration of images of grandfathers/grandmothers as archetypal and at the same time conceptually authorial. This issue has been repeatedly discussed by critics and literary critics in the scientific field. E.I. Shevchugova ^[5] in the article "The archetype of the grandmother in the works of I. A. Goncharov, M. Gorky and V. P. Astafiev: traditions and author's interpretation", using the example of works of Russian classical literature, examines important archetypal traits of the characters of grandmothers, as well as their individualization in specific works. It is important for the researcher to show the similarity of the heroines of all three works ("The Cliff" by I.A. Goncharov, "Childhood" by M. Gorky, "The Last Bow" by V.P. Astafiev), as well as those differences that mark an independent author's view and a specific historical epoch. The process of educational influence of grandparents on grandchildren in Russian and foreign modern literature is studied by E.M. Shastina, O.V. Shatunova, D.F. Gizetdinova ^[6] in the problematic article "The influence of older parents on the formation of grandchildren in children's literature of the XX-XXI centuries". I.L. Savkina discusses the typology of old grandmothers ^[7] in the article "Will we never have these grandmothers again?". J.K. Gaponova and E.V. Nikkareva ^[8] reflect on the role of older relatives in preserving spiritual and moral values and broadcasting the cultural code of the family, clan, and society in Russian literature for children and youth of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Receptive aesthetics helped the same authors ^[9] to consider the importance of the image of a grandmother from the perspective of the reader and his reading experience.

G.N. Bozhkova and D.F. Gizetdinova ^[10] analyze the continuity of modern children's literature, both Russian and foreign, cultural traditions and iconic archetypes in creating images of grandparents.

It is this problem that comes to the fore in Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya. In a simple plot, the writer not only reproduces the life, way of life and characters of girls of primary school age, but also shows the process of educating heroines unnoticeable to the child reader, while presenting it as a multi-vector one. Just as adults are able to share their own experiences, teach a child a lot, direct his behavior in the right direction, as well as calm and cheer up their child or inspire him with self-confidence, so the child, thanks to his sincerity, thirst for justice, desire to end the conflict, pushes his older and younger relatives to certain actions, to the right decision. In addition, the children themselves are able to learn something from their peers and friends. The idea of mutual education and emotionally experienced communication is at the heart of Varya and Olya's relationship with each other, with Olya's grandmother Marina Georgievna, with Anna Alexandrovna, and with Grandma Tan.

It is noteworthy that when adults talk with their grandchildren, they try to name each other with a clear dependence on kinship and age relations - grandmother Vari, grandfather Tolik, grandfather Plum, grandmother Tan, etc. But in a personal conversation they call each other the way it was customary in their childhood or adult friendly environment: Tanka, Anka, Marisha, Mishka, etc.

In fact, in the trilogy, grandfathers and grandmothers appear in two guises: firstly, they are the grandparents of Varya and Olya, the parents of their fathers and neighbors in relation to each other, adults, wise people with life experience; secondly, they are peers who grew up together and from different angles recall their own childhood and childhood friendship.

At the same time, the world of childhood in this trilogy is formed not only due to the phenomena familiar to children's works: the creation of full–fledged children's characters, building relationships between small characters, the peculiarities of their communication with each other and elders, but most importantly - the reproduction of the cultural code by which the character of a younger student is formed. This includes the range of reading and interests of the child, the reproduction of the horizon of reader expectations by representatives of different psychological types, and the interests of a younger student, games and entertainment, which are created largely due to the educational activities of adults, including grandparents. So, it was grandma and mom who predetermined Olya's reading circle, which helps her to be aware of all the new books and even share her reading experience with both Varka and the class. Varka's reading circle and interests are predetermined by earlier communication with his grandfather, who died several years ago. Some retardation of the plot and the motive of memories associated primarily with Varka shows the strong connection between the already deceased grandfather and granddaughter, adopting all his habits and skills. Much attention is paid to the problem of perception of the read literature by the child's consciousness. This is not only reading a particular work, but an attempt to discuss it primarily with my grandmother, as well as with a friend, with a classmate, disputes and interpretations of a particular problem, discussions with close relatives about what I read, filling out a reader's diary and depicting the most important moments of the book in drawings. It is the visualization of literary plots and individual mise-en-scenes, the reproduction in drawings and sketches of the characters of the books read that helps Ole to talk quite freely about what he has read, use book images to illustrate his own thoughts and actions, be a kind of book navigator for Varka, etc. However, in many ways this cultural code also comes from the grandfather, who argues and talks with Olya and his wife, using certain literary constants, appealing to iconic book figures. Thus, the breadth of Olya's horizons is determined not so much by certain parallels, but by the general creative atmosphere of the family and his own ability to develop.

Varya, on the other hand, does not receive such a creative message from her family, since her parents are volcanologists who do not deal with the child much due to the specifics of the profession and eternal employment in the service. Varka's book outlook is just beginning to take shape, and her grandmother's desire to cultivate perseverance in her granddaughter and the requirement to read books as punishment is met with a backlash from the child. Grandmother Anya, due to her age and her idea of the ideal of a well-mannered child, tries not to educate, but to re-educate her granddaughter and impose on her a certain occupation (reading a book, embroidery or knitting), which causes even more negativity in Varya. In this regard, Anna Alexandrovna is in many ways opposed to Grandma Tan, who achieves great results with calm confidence of speech, offering different ideas, the ability to interest girls and involve them in an unusual game for them, reproducing a fabulous atmosphere.

The writer not only shows the process of communication between older adults and children, but also differentiates these relationships and builds a certain typology of children's and adult natures, revealing the fundamental role of grandparents in the upbringing of heroines and the formation of their characters. The dominance of grandparents over grandfathers is immediately revealed. Kuznetsova gives grandmothers the main educational potential, who not only fulfill their responsibilities for the upbringing of their granddaughters, but also correspond to each of their archetypal nature, originating both in the mythological tradition and in the literary one. Thus, the mythological archetypal tradition highlights such characteristic features of the grandmother as fussiness and caring, connection with the family, the grandmother acts as the keeper of ancestral memory and the link between ancestors and descendants, to whom it is the grandmother who transmits sacred knowledge, the history of the family, etc., she also becomes a kind of keeper of magical knowledge, etc. At the same time, literary archetypality creates the image of an asexual, marginal in relation to younger family members, caring woman who has the characteristic signs of old age. Kuznetsova in the trilogy focuses on individual archetypal features of a certain type of character, but also creates a peculiar type of grandmother. Grandfathers are not as active and mobile as grandmothers. The mythological archetypality of the old man is associated with such phenomena as wisdom, life experience, prudence, bordering on some detachment from life. Literary archetypality connects the image of a grandfather with love for and care for his grandchildren, as well as with some loss of strength, but not of skills and mastery, which he passes on to his grandchildren. So, Varya's grandfather died a few years ago, although his memory is very important – everything in the country is filled with the results of his work, and the heroine considers herself her grandfather's granddaughter, a follower of his traditions and similar in character. His skill, artistic taste and ingenuity are well known to all adult heroes of the trilogy, and the fruits of his work are distinguished by their durability and sophistication. However, in the pair Anna Alexandrovna – grandfather Mikhail, the main role is played by the spouse. Marina's grandmother's childhood memories assert exactly this balance of power between Anna and Mikhail: "Anya ruled them. That's the general! In the morning she announced: let's go there! And Tanya and Mishka obeyed" ^{[11, p. 400]}. The kinesthetic modality of Mikhail's feelings was also passed on to his granddaughter Varka – these are practical heroes, experimenters, but Varka's willpower and character, who knows how to insist on her own and do everything her own way, opposes Mikhail's malleability. If Varka is a kinesthetic of the hyperactive type, then Mikhail is rather a kinesthetic of the pedantic type, which is characterized by a tendency to order, perseverance, scrupulousness in everything.

Oli Tolik's grandfather is also dependent on his wife, he often grumbles at his wife and granddaughter, and it is the relationship with his grandmother that is dear to the heroine. Any disobedience to Grandma Marina threatens Grandpa Tolik with troubles – a hypertensive crisis, a broken arm, etc. However, Marina and Tolik's relationship is very harmonious. They both retained the charm of youth and the desire to make fun of their partner, but also to come to the partner's aid in time – it is no coincidence that Olya even sets these relationships as an example to her parents: "they are still young, joking, teasing each other, and they also have so many interesting things to do" ^{[11, p. 106]}. It is grandfather Tolik, in accordance with the archetypal nature of this type, who teaches his own granddaughter and her friends Grishka and Varka a lot: to clean mushrooms, fish, build a slide, etc. But it is he who at certain moments loses his archetypal roots and resembles a child, almost completely obeying his wife and being dependent on her. It is no coincidence that Olya understands this childishness when she compares the relationship between grandparents and parents. If parents are having adult conversations, they are absolutely appropriate for their age and in many ways carry out only a mentoring function in relation to their daughter, then the grandparents are ready to share the fun of their granddaughter, tease each other in a youthful way, etc.

In the trilogy, the characters' neighbor, Grandfather Plum, also appears, who embodies, rather, a dysthymic personality type characterized by sociopathy, sullenness, taciturnity, a pessimistic outlook on life, and low self-esteem. The little heroines can only observe Grandma Tang's positive role in Plum's socialization and the nascent feelings between them.

Fathers also play a small role in the upbringing of Varya and Olya. But if Olya's father is often next to her, but prefers not to interfere in the educational process, then Varka's father, a volcanologist, is too far from his daughter, in the North, which makes him similar in type to his daughter's relationship with Sunday dad. The heroine idealizes her father, waits for a meeting with him, hopes for a solution to all problems with his appearance next to her. And it is the unexpected and wonderful appearance of a parent on New Year's Eve at a cottage near Moscow that allows us to talk about the genre features of the Yuletide story in this work. Varka's mother practically does not appear on stage, and Olya's mother is able to help her daughter sort out some problems at school, direct her activities and help her show original abilities.

Thus, Kuznetsova gives the main educational potential to grandmothers, who not only fulfill their responsibilities for the upbringing of their granddaughters, but also correspond to each of their archetypal nature, originating both in the mythological tradition and in the literary one. Kuznetsova in the trilogy focuses on individual archetypal features of this type of character, but also creates a peculiar type of grandmother, embodying it in three different images – Olya Marina Georgievna's grandmother, Varya Anna Alexandrovna's grandmother and Tan's neighbor grandmother, that is, Tatyana Alexandrovna Nikolaeva. Thus, the type of strict mentor, educator, law enforcement officer and at the same time romantic heroine is embodied by Varya's grandmother. She has been entrusted with an important mission – to look after Varya while her parents are on a long business trip. Her pedantic personality type makes her forget her own childhood and impose on Varka not what was important to her personally, little Anya, but how, in her opinion, a nine-year-old girl should behave. At the same time, the visual modality of receiving information makes Anna Alexandrovna try to educate her granddaughter and her friend with a sense of beauty, the ability to understand the charm of a summer evening, the feeling of the smell of a beautiful flower, etc. It is grandmother Anya who knows how to dress beautifully and stylishly and turns her summer cottage into a garden of eden.

Grandma Marina is a traditional type of troublesome caring grandmother, the ancestor of a family who knows how to knit, run an exemplary household, cook deliciously (cooks a sperm whale, makes jam, which still sometimes burns, makes jelly, bakes pies, etc.), but it is she who differs from the archetypal source of enthusiasm, the ability to be a popular blogger as well as being interesting, unexpected and attractive to her husband. It becomes a link between the past and the present. In her house there are old Christmas tree toys, photos of past years. The emotional nature of her personality allows grandma Marina to perceive what is happening very emotionally react to the attacks of a neighbor, the behavior of her husband or granddaughter, etc. At the same time, she is ready to delve into Olya's problems, reconcile both schoolgirls and adult neighbors (Varya and Olya, as well as Tan and Anna Alexandrovna), she not only introduces her granddaughter to He is also the keeper of the secrets of the relationship between grandmother Tan and Anna Alexandrovna, brings his granddaughter to important and serious "adult" frank heart–to-heart conversations in the most favorable form - to conduct "currant" or "rosehip-rowan" conversations.

Finally, Grandma Tang is the least likely to respond to the grandmother archetype. She not only takes part in all the fun of the girls, but also generates them herself, based on her childhood experience and imagination. This is a type of savior, a wise adviser, a creative mentor and at the same time a keeper of sacred knowledge. This hyperactive does not just introduce the heroines to games that once caused children's delight - a rubber band game, with a paper doll that needs to be painted, colored and cut out outfits, the production of perfumes and girlish secrets, the construction of a hut made of nettles or a needle made of snow, it offers those activities that are suitable for different types of children's temperament She offers a creative search, she teaches you to see the fragility and beauty of nature, as well as to be able not only to occupy yourself, but also to survive in the forest. At the same time, she realizes the potential of her archetypal nature – she possesses sacred knowledge and generously shares it with the characters. It is she who teaches her "cuckoos" to make cherry tea, bake a pie, make dolls, etc. The "rain flyers" arrive at her house <...> rain fairies, they fly on umbrellas" ^{[11, p. 321]}, etc. She not only teaches the heroines to dream, but also to think creatively, believe in magic and see it next to them. At the same time, due to the circumstances (grandfather Mikhail died in a car accident, accompanying grandmother Tan to the hospital with a broken leg), Anna Alexandrovna actually imposes on the heroine the role of a separatist and a wrecker. At the same time, only the intervention of Varya and Olya in adult relationships helps not only to restore Tan's good name and remove the role unfairly imposed on her.

Thus, the older relatives and neighbors of the main characters of the Kuznetsova trilogy perform important emotional and educational functions. Each of the adult characters is original and original, they have different temperament, character type, despite similar statuses (Marina Georgievna, Anna Alexandrovna, Tan – grandmothers, Mikhail, Plum, Tolik – grandfathers). At the same time, it is this multi-vector nature that helps the younger heroines to understand the diversity and complexity of life, to comprehend the value of friendship and family ties, to see the beauty and fabulousness of nature, to assimilate certain moral values. In the work, all the roles are clearly distributed and status-fixed, which makes it integral, didactically significant and very fascinating.