Shevchenko's Matchmaking Online (Kharytyna Dovhopolenko in Taras Shevchenko's Thoughts and Letters, In the Works About the Poet)

Abstract

The article analyzes a story of Taras Shevchenko's life – his attempt to propose marriage to Kharyta Dovhopolenko, as well as the interpretations of this action in the Shevchenkiana of various genres. It is noted that this story has received almost the least coverage among other stories of Shevchenko's relationships with women: as a rule, only through quoting Shevchenko's letters to his Korsun brother Varfolomy. It is noted that epistolary sources themselves formed the life 'contour' of the analyzed story; this is its defining feature, which is qualified in the study as one of the features of artistic-biographical literature. The features of Taras Shevchenko's character and temperament revealed in this story are pointed out with arguments. The article focuses on the analysis of lyrical, lyric-epic and prose works of Shevchenkiana, written by different authors at different times, in which the 'distance' relationships of Taras Hryhorovych and Kharytyna were reflected in one way or another (works by V. Sukhomlyn, H. Donets, M. Nehoda, O. Ivanenko,A. Tsvid, H. Zhyrny, etc.). It is observed and emphasized that in practically all the analyzed works of Shevchenkiana, their authors resorted to figurative and imaginative operations in creating both plot collisions and images, especially the image of Kharytyna. It is concluded that the considered "story in letters", its creative interpretations in poetry and prose constituted a rather peculiar fragment of both Shevchenko's life and literary Shevchenkiana.