The Object World and the Semiotics of Pronouns in Tsvetaeva’s Autobiographical Prose

Abstract

This article analyses Marina Tsvetaeva’s autobiographical prose and puts special emphasis on proper names and pronouns as related to the peculiarities of the object world of the poet’s prose. The analysis is based on the Moscow cycle of sketches, such as The Robbery, The Shooting of the Tsar, Assassination Attempt on Lenin, Scab, Fräulein, A Night at the Commune, Christ’s Warrior, and some works devoted to Tsvetaeva’s father, namely, essay The Laurel Wreath (1933), and the cycle of novellas My Father and His Museum. The author outlines the general trends characteristic of Tsvetaeva’s autobiographical prose, including the special role of the pronouns “I / me”, and “we / our” (which have two functions: on the one hand, they refer to family events, and on the other, they indicate the psychological atmosphere of a family environment). As the text unfolds, the close connection between the pronouns and the object world seems more pronounced. Objectness is closely connected with the category of memory, and reflects the poet’s relationship with others, which allows the author to talk about objectness as a tool of memory. As a result of the analysis, the author singles out three motifs in Tsvetaeva’s prose: admiration, death, and memory, which do not only make part of this article, but are characteristic of Tsvetaeva’s oeuvre in general.

Keywords

• Marina Tsvetaeva
• autobiographical prose
• objectness
• thingness
• proper names
• pronouns
• poet’s prose
• memory.