Особливості ментативу в епістолярній спадщині А. Кримського (за матеріалами його листів до І. Франка)

Abstract

The article analyses the mentative organisation of A. Krymsky’s letters to I. Franko written between 1890 and 1904. The uniqueness of this correspondence, initiated by A. Krymsky, lies primarily in the intellectual nature of the discussions between the ‘two galaxies’ of Ukrainian culture (S. Vivchar) concerning the intertextual influences of Western and Eastern literatures, the authenticity of individual translations, the origins of little-known texts, and the significance of particular publishing projects. An analysis of the mentative content of A. Krymsky’s letters, characterised by explicit interpretive potential, profound reflexivity, attention to detail, a search for convincing arguments, and a concern for substantiation, demonstrates the exceptional erudition of the letter writer. The mentatives employed by A. Krymsky as a prominent intellectual, scholar, writer, and polyglot are not primarily intended to convey facts but rather to reflect on and interpret them, particularly in relation to his own biography, translations of Eastern authors, the origins of texts, and his literary and artistic pursuits. These features are realised through epistolary communication as a combination of informational, emotional, and reflective modes of discourse. The following main features of the mentative in A. Krymsky’s letters to I. Franko are identified: the writer’s thoughts are presented as they develop rather than as established truths; he is attentive to external assessments and comments, accepts or rejects them, but does not abandon his own arguments under the pressure of authority; and his letters frequently contain self-reflection on his own life and creative work. The article also demonstrates that A. Krymsky’s epistolary reasoning is sometimes characterised by dialogic thinking and by the use of statements involving evaluation and interpretation. The analysis of A. Krymsky’s letters to I. Franko provides a basis for constructing an intellectual portrait of the writer: he emerges as a thoughtful and detail-oriented intellectual, an initiator of projects, an advocate of the Ukrainian language, a highly erudite scholar and specialist in his field who nevertheless gratefully accepts criticism, suggestions, and guidance. At the same time, he firmly believes in the power of logic, argument, and evidence, even when these do not fully accord with his own convictions for ideological or other reasons. Accordingly, the following functions of mentative statements in A. Krymsky’s epistolary writings to I. Franko are identified: intellectual, hermeneutic, dialogic and communicative, interpretive, self-reflexive, and self-portraiture functions at a time.