PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLICATION OF TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE IN UKRAINIAN CULTURE THROUGH THE WORKS OF UKRAINIAN WRITER ZINAIDA TULUB

Abstract

B a c k g r o u n d . This study presents a transcendental-phenomenological analysis of the representation of traumatic experience in Ukrainian culture as reflected in the literary legacy of 20th-century Ukrainian writer Zinaida Tulub. It explores the specifics of how cultural and historical trauma is received and internalized through phenomenological mechanisms of experience and imagination. The writer's oeuvre is interpreted as an act of awareness and articulation of national trauma. The research argues that the phenomenological method allows for the reconstruction of artistic strategies for processing collective trauma, which manifest in literary forms of intentional consciousness. Special attention is given to the novels Liudolovy (The People Catchers) and In the Boundless Steppe Beyond the Urals, whose content is analyzed in the context of Ukrainian historical memory and national identity. The study examines how existential states of Ukrainian identity are depicted at the threshold of destruction and rebirth. M e t h o d s . The research is based on a synthesis of transcendental phenomenology and contemporary trauma theory. Transcendental phenomenology is employed to analyze the structure of the characters' experiences, focusing on the noematic and noetic components of the perception of history. The phenomenology of time is used to conceptualize ways in which memory is fixed and trauma is belatedly experienced. Cultural trauma theory enables the interpretation of literary texts as mechanisms of collective therapy and mnemonic consolidation. Particular emphasis is placed on analyzing descriptive passages in the novels that reveal how characters experience historical catastrophes and how the transcendental horizon of Ukrainian culture is represented.

R e s u l t s . Over the centuries, Ukrainian culture has repeatedly confronted mass traumatic events such as colonial oppression, wars, political repressions, and famines. The reflection of these experiences is vividly evident in the works of Ukrainian writer Zinaida Tulub. Her novels stand as a unique literary phenomenon in which artistic interpretations of historical events capture the phenomenological imprint of collective trauma.

C o n c l u s i o n s . The transcendental-phenomenological approach has made it possible to distinguish Zinaida Tulub's work as a unique form of artistic engagement with collective trauma. Her novels contribute to shaping the transcendental horizon of Ukrainian culture, where traumatic experience becomes not only a narrative subject but also a mode of comprehending national identity. The study of such artistic thinking practices is a significant step toward understanding the mechanisms of national memory and constructing the future through engagement with the past.