An intertextual reading of Olha Mak’s novella “Stones under the Scythe”

Abstract

The article outlines the intertextual connections in the novella “Stones under the Scythe” by the diaspora writer Olha Mak. The study focuses on reading the work in the context of prose by emigrant authors about the Holodomor – Vasyl Barka, Oleksa Hai-Holovko, Olena Zvychayna, and Ulas Samchuk. It is noted that Olha Mak was a direct witness to the historical events, which she depicted in the novella with documentary accuracy and expressionistic vividness. Among the intertextual references to historical facts, the author’s appeals to her own personal fate also stand out.

The novella’s intertextual discourse is structured at the intersection of Taras Shevchenko’s poetry, biblical motifs, and the writer’s memoirs. References to an “external” literary text are a vivid example of intertextual communication between Olha Mak’s novella and Taras Shevchenko’s poetry. The borrowings and inclusion of quotations from Shevchenko’s works are closely tied to the author’s worldview and creative intentions, resulting in the actualisation of intertextuality. The historiosophical nature of Taras Shevchenko’s poetic thought is articulated in the novella through lines of poetry read by Andriy Pivpola. Shevchenko’s words resonate in a new way, emphasising the depiction of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 and the devastation across Ukraine. By rereading the texts of the “Kobzar” through the lens of a century of history, the author underscores the relevance and prophetic nature of the poet’s words.

An example of paratextuality is the title of the novella, which carries symbolic and semantic weight, is rooted in folklore, and is activated through textual references to artistic images from Shevchenko’s poetry. Biblical images and motifs are also documented in Olha Mak’s novella as signals of intertextual presence. It is demonstrated that intertextual inclusions condense various facets of the author’s worldview and aesthetic concept, indicate the hidden meanings of the text, and add factual details from her biography. Interaction with other texts contributes to decoding the writer’s creative intention and broadens the reader’s interpretive horizon.