Silence and speech of the colonial subject in the prose of H. Kvitka-Osnovianenko

The article examines the opposition of silence and speech in the stories by H. Kvitka-Osnovianenko “Do well — it will be well” and “Kozyr-divka”. These texts are very indicative in how they embody the position of a colonial person who chooses between imperial loyalty, unconditional submission to power, and suppressed or open resistance. The purpose of the study is related to the need for a thorough analysis of the means of presenting the position of the conquered through verbal and non-verbal communication. The research uses postcolonial theory, which allows us to understand the ambivalence of the artistic thinking of the founder of Ukrainian prose, his imitation of the traditions of educational and Christian humanism with a tangible critical approach to covering life realities. Understanding the artistry of Kvitka-Osnovianenko is facilitated by introducing elements of text deconstruction, a thorough study of speech genres, and the correlation of verbal and non-verbal methods of communication. The emphasis is on the importance of literary anthropology as a method that allows us to see manifestations of human behavior, temperament, gender identity, and socio-historical characteristics in the elements of speech. In the anthropological dimension, several archaic genres are presented, with which the corresponding types of statements are correlated, illustrating complete harmony or expressive protest, and sharp criticism of the repressive bureaucratic apparatus. This is the novelty of the study. The author first analyzes Kvitka-Osnovianenko’s stories from the point of view of rhetorical strategies and their close interaction with the genre and psychology of the colonial subject. It is demonstrated that these texts have the potential for a much deeper reading, which is not limited only to the ethnographic context. The results of the study indicate the development of figures of speech, counter-discourse within the conservative ideology of the writer, and the search for new ways of describing reality in Ukrainian prose of the first half of the 19th century. The role of anthropological factors in the reception of Kvitka-Osnovianenko’s works in the postcolonial dimension is proven. The study allows us to formulate further prospects for the study of Ukrainian classics from the point of view of rhetorical strategies.