Variants of Liminal Plot Situation in Russian Memoir Texts of 18^th Century

Abstract

The question of the possibility of studying memoir texts from the point of view of plot composition is considered. Particular attention is paid to Russian memoiristics of the second half of the 18th century. A review of the main scientific works on the research topic is carried out. The results of a comparative analysis of autobiographical works by N. B. Dolgorukaya, I. V. Lopukhin, E. R. Dashkova, G. R. Derzhavin and other memoirists are presented in the article. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that it is in the mainstream of fundamental scientific problems related to the issues of the boundaries of documentary and fictional literature and genre identification of memoirs. The novelty of the presented work is in the fact that non-fiction works of the 18th century are considered in the context of the “world archaeological plot”. The author dwells in detail on the analysis of the memoirs of the 18th century from the point of view of the options for representing its liminal phase. It has been proved that in Russian memoir texts of the second half of the 18th century, the “threshold” plot phase can be realized in situations such as illness (of a memoirist or a person close to him) or death, which the author witnesses. Arrest, captivity and exile can be considered as variations of the liminal situation; in all these cases, we are talking about involuntary abandonment of the familiar world.

Keywords

• russian memoirs of the 18th century
• liminality
• plot
• plot situation