A Lyrical Plot in a Story about Childhood (Yurkun’s Novel “Swedish Gloves”)

This article analyzes Yuri Yurkun’s novel “Swedish Gloves”, focusing on the narrative traits that reveal the protagonist’s coming-of-age, his transition from childhood to adolescence. The study explores the duality of the protagonist’s image, his androgyny, and mythological associations connected with his name. The protagonist’s image is fluid and shifting. It is constantly being supplemented with new details, but on the other hand, he seems to hide behind various masks. Furthermore, we also study the duality of the secondary characters and their shifting roles in Joseph’s life. We consider Yurkun’s description of the material world and the use of defamiliarization (‘enstrangerment’ device) in the text. This analysis clarifies the meaning of the title, the role of detail in creating the artistic world of this work, and identifies the characteristic features of stories about childhood and adolescence, as well as their manifestations in Yuri Yurkun’s text. These themes, motifs, and narrative features convey the protagonist’s perception of events, places, and objects, reflecting a child’s worldview. Finally, we demonstrate that events and objects in Yurkun’s text are often presented from two perspectives: that of the protagonist as a direct participant, and that of an external observer. The multi-faceted perspective suggests that “Swedish Gloves” exhibits traits indicative of a lyrical plot as a distinctive feature of a childhood story. This creates the impression of a personal diary. In this diary-like structure, lyrical elements, rather than a unified plot, describe the protagonist’s maturation, making this process the “moving and multidirectional super-event” of a childhood story told through a lyrical plot

Defamiliarization · Mythology · Narrative · Perception · Historical and Modern Theater Studies · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Russian Literature and Bakhtin Studies