THE EMERGENCE OF POSTMODERN TRENDS IN THE LITERATURE OF SOCIALIST REALIZM (EARLY ANDREY BITOV)

The purpose of the article is to examine the beginning of the emergence of postmodern trends in Russian literature in the 1960s and 1980s and, using the example of Andrei Bitov’s short story “Penelope”, to show how the traditional theme of love underwent a gradual transformation at the end of the twentieth century. The article shows how the theme of love, which previously served as a condition for revealing the moral and ethical potential of the male protagonist in Russian and world literature, began to lose its distinct real features in postmodern prose and turn into love-mirage, love-illusion. The analysis revealed that Andrey Bitov was one of the first Russian postmodern writers in modern prose who identified and demonstrated new components of the love theme.