Memory as a women’s space in the novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” by O. Zabuzhko

Abstract

The subject of the research is the conceptualization of memory as a female sphere in the novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” by O. Zabuzhko. The key problem of the study is the interpretation of the image of women in the novel in the context of national and generational memory. The objective of the research is to explore the female domains associated with the space of memory and to highlight the peculiarities of the image of women as keepers of memory. The descriptive, hermeneutic, and intertextual analysis methods have been employed to achieve the objective. The novelty of the research lies in the examination of female images in the novel from the perspective of the burden of representation (N. Yuval-Davis) and considering the conceptual positions of O. Zabuzhko outlined in the essay “A Woman Author in Colonial Culture, or Necessities for Ukrainian Gender Mythology”.

As a result, it was established that the sphere of memory in the novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” is associated with such female domains as: special female creativity (artistic transformation of destroyed household items in the works by Vladyslava Matusevych); girls’ game of “secrets”; the private space of home, which is opposed to the space of “official truth”; intimate relationships and pregnancy. Women appear as keepers of national memory and reproducers of the nation itself (through their ability to give birth), as well as bearers of mystical knowledge about the past. The study traces the anti-colonial discourse of “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” in a distinct synthesis of gender and national issues. The woman in O. Zabuzhko’s novel is “burdened” with the burden of representation — her bodily being represents the national dignity of her country. Accordingly, the mistake in choosing a man is perceived as a tragic mistake of the heroine (Olena Dovhan), which her heiress (Daryna Hoshchynska) must atone for. The image of Olena Dovhan is seen as a variant of the iconic image of Kateryna, which embodies colonised Ukraine. In contrast, we observe in the image of Daryna Hoshchynska a distinct type of heroine whose intimate life is a space of decolonisation. In the intimate relationship between Daryna and Adrian, the reconstruction of family memory takes place, which reflect collective memory — the memories of the Holodomor and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s liberation struggle. The culmination of this relationship is Daryna’s pregnancy, which represents the liberation of Ukraine-woman from the rule of foreigners and gives hope for victory in the war against the coloniser.

The study of the gender aspect of postcolonial memory allows for broad prospects within feminist literary studies, literary memory studies, and other fields.