Avtobiografija (Dec 2019)
Monumental and Ephemeral Chronotopes in Iraida Barry’s Polyphonic Autobiography
Abstract
This article analyzes the usage of quotations from ephemeral primary texts in autobiographical narrative. By ephemeral primary texts I mean firstly diary entries and regular correspondence, but also newspaper articles, memoranda, receipts, and other forms of daily writing. By contrast, (auto-)biographical narrative is composed from a holistic perspective that attempts a monumental written representation of a person’s life. This paper takes as object of analysis an unpublished manuscript from the Bakhmeteff Archive at Columbia University: The Silver Ring (1951) by Iraida Barry. It is part of a larger collection of autobiographical writings by Barry called Mirror Shards (Zerkal’nye oskolki). Drawing on Bakhtin’s conceptual apparatus, I differentiate the ephemeral chronotope from the monumental one. I demonstrate the discursive effects of abrupt shifts in chronotope. I argue that the co-presence of the two chronotopes produces a polyphonic autobiography.
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