THE (DE)FRAGMENTED JEWISH WORLD IN THE SHORT STORIES OF SYLVESTER YARYCHEVSKYI

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Jewish literary image fragmentary represented in short stories of the West Ukrainian writer Sylvester Yarychevskyi (1871–1918). It is emphasized that the author mostly deals with the following imagological models: the Jewish as real, the Jewish as treacherous, the Jewish as Alien. Ethnonational stereotypes still retain their potential, however, more and more inferior to real, impartial observation. Therefore, a Jew in a tavern, Jew an exploiter, Jew an usurper, a rich Jew and others coexist with a prudent Jew, Jew a bridegroom of a Ukrainian woman, and the Jews, neighbors in a town, in Yarichevsky’s stories. Despite the typical literary images of Jews, I argue the writer sufficiently represent the national Others in terms of personal relationships and everyday contacts between Ukrainians and Jews, which is the key to weakening stereotypes and for improving the international relationships.