Diaries of the Protagonist in the Structure of Autobiographical Prose by A. A. Grigoriev (Based on the Stories “Man of the Future,” “My Acquaintance with Vitalin,” “Ophelia”)

Abstract

The basis of the trilogy about Vitalin by A. A. Grigoriev is the diary entries of the autobiographical character. The writer consciously refers to this form of narration, since it allows the most complete disclosure of the inner world of the protagonist, conveying his thoughts, feelings, emotions, showing the complexity and inconsistency of his nature. Thanks to fragments of the diaries, the themes of the stories expand: from love experiences to philosophical reflections, reflections on the truth, the meaning of life, and the search for happiness. The protagonist’s diary also influences the chronotope of stories, expanding the space and time of the narrative, introducing a life background, background of events into the work, and at the same time enriching our understanding of the character. The author of the article briefly dwells on the autobiographical elements in the life of Arseny Vitalin, notes his resemblance to the character of the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov — Pechorin. Special attention is paid to the genre originality of Grigoriev’s works, their simultaneous isolation and inclusion in the cycle, trilogy. Besides the article discusses the diary fragment “The Dreamer’s Diary” and its meaning in the text. Psychologically convincingly, the author shows that Vitalin, immersed in love experiences, but unable to share his thoughts with someone close to him, finds an outlet for his pent-up feelings in keeping a diary, on the pages of which he gives free rein to his feelings and actions.

Keywords

• a. a. grigoriev
• autobiographical prose
• character
• diary
• story
• trilogy
• inner world
• dreamer
• romantic