Analysis of Humbert’s Ethical Choices

Humbert’s mumbling in prison shows the readers his true inner world and his tragic fate. Throughout Lolita, it is evidently clear that Humbert’s ethical choice is inextricably linked with his depressed heart and tragic fate. Based on ethical literary criticism proposed by Professor Nie Zhenzhao, this paper analyzes Humbert’s life, which is a life full of ethical choices. This article, based on Humbert’s ethical choice of Charlotte Haze, Lolita and Quilty, and his ultimate ethical redemption, reveals his ethical dilemma in ethical choice, his Sphinx Factors, the interweaving of his free will and rational will, and his ultimate ethical choice. Humbert’s ethical choices eventually led to his tragic fate.

Narrative Therapy and Mindfulness: Intention, Attention, Ethics. Part 1

This is the first of a matched pair of articles that present concepts and practices for expanding the territory of narrative therapy to include working with attention and present moment awareness. While the narrative literature richly describes how persons are recruited by normative discourses into problem stories and offers a wide range of practices for developing counter narratives, less has been written about how dominant discourse also captures moment-by-moment attention. The authors share ideas about working with attention in much the same way as working with story. In this first article, the authors identify parallels and differences between narrative therapy and the attentional practices associated with mindfulness before providing a preliminary account of work that draws from both traditions. The practices are depicted in terms of the ethics of daily life, in the sense that enhanced moment-by-moment attention promotes intentional ethical choice.

Fundamentals and dominants of poetics by N.S. Leskov

In the presented article formative foundations and dominants of mnemonic poetics of N.S. Leskov were identified and formulated (based on the research of scientists of recent years). The main ones are considered. As part of the interaction of word and image, the correspondence of verbal and visible, the question was raised about the nature of the image among Leskov — intensely icon-painting, about the dialectics of classical and art-historical ecfrasis; the picture dominates the genre of the novel (in particular, “Bypassed” (1965)), the icon — in small genres (for example, “situation story”). Dialogue as a constructive principle in Leskov’s prose inherits the methods and techniques of philosophy dating back to the experiments of Socrates’ selfconsciousness (469–399 BC) and G.S. Skovorody (1722–1794). These features of the text in turn determine the functions of a word that problematizes specific moral concepts and moves the reader to his own ethical choice. Leskov’s artistic reception is simultaneously turned to legend and is innovative. The text of the Russian classical writer is always located on the border of archaic and modern. This feature of Leskov’s prose is clearly demonstrated by the creative history of the literary and artistic game “Flea” (1924–1931), the text-source of which is the story “Left” (1881). Established — memory, experience, tradition underlie the poetic system of the classic writer.

Points to Consider on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccines

The NCBC recognizes an ethical hierarchy among COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines that do not use abortion-derived cell lines in any phase of design, manufacture, or testing are the best ethical choice if they are reasonably available, safe, and effective. Vaccines that do not use abortion-derived cell lines in the manufacturing process but did use them at one point in development, such as for confirmatory testing, are preferable to those that utilize abortion-derived cell lines in more than one phase of development and, in particular, in the manufacturing process. Nonetheless, for grave reasons, people could decide in good conscience to accept vaccines that use abortion-derived cell lines in their development and production to protect their own lives and health and that of others in the absence of any satisfactory alternative. The use of an ethically problematic vaccine, however, may be done only “under protest.”

PARABLES-POSITIONS IN THE POLICE NOVEL “THE ERA OF MERCY” BY BROTHERS WAINERS

The article continues studying the successive relationship of the genres of the police novel and parable, primarily the relationship of the narrated parables and the positions of characters. (The issue of parable as a genre source of the police novel was raised by the author in the report earlier.) After analyzing “The Era of Mercy” by br. Wainer as a canonical Russian ethic variation of the police novel the author comes to the following conclusions. The text is full of parables as well as episodes of a parable kind. The characters (primarily heroes-sleuths and criminals) tell parables in the situation of the ethical choice or thus justify the previously made choice, it is characteristic of the police novel. Specific and universal description plans in parable are “substantive and equitable” (N.D. Tamarchenko), the same is true for the police novel while there in the course of the narrative, a specific plan is transformed into a universal one. In the final the universal and specific plans are balanced what is necessary for the implementation of its edifying sense. The findings help to take a fresh look not only at the police novel but at parable as well.

Intertextual discourse in V. Vynnychenko's dramas

The article analyzes V. Vynnychenko's dramas in terms of the use of such intertextual elements as historical, literary, Biblical allusions, precedent names; the autointertextuality which is realized by self-citation and autointerpretations of identical concepts in various plots; the importance of understanding the emotional and aesthetic context of the work through the study of intertextuality categories is proved. Echoes in V. Vynnychenko's dramas are revealed both on the plot-compositional levels, and on the figurative and linguistic levels. Therefore, the article identifies the categories of intertextuality and interprets their content in V. Vynnychenko's dramas. Markers of V. Vynnychenko's works are the understanding of freedom of moral and ethical choice and responsibility for it, deep external and internal conflicts, dissociation of personality, borderline situations at the ideological, political and domestic levels, love triangles, etc., i.e. the existential field of human existence. It was found that the category of intertextuality in the works of the author is presented as historical allusions (mention of events, places, or persons who semantically clarify the content of the work, perform an expressive function), literary allusions (works, lines, episodes, characters of these works), Biblical allusions, precedent names – the mention of famous figures, whose appearance or activity is correlated with the character, self-citation. In many works of the studied writer the autointertextuality is pervasive, which testifies to the symbolic biography of V. Vynnychenko consciously constructed in his works. It is proved that the study of the category of intertextuality in V. Vynnychenko's dramas is an important element of understanding the linguistic and stylistic features of the texts, irrational understanding of the writer's creative idea. Autointertextuality, which is realized through self-citation and self-interpretation, as well as literary, historical, Biblical allusions, precedent names generate the emotional and aesthetic context of the works.

THE POETICS OF ADULTERY IN THE ARTISTIC WORLD OF I. A. BUNIN

The article substantiates the relevance of isolating adultery as one of the independent, powerful phenomena of the artistic world of I. Bunin. It is proved that adultery in the Bunin world is inappropriate to interpret as trivial adultery, considered in an unambiguous ethical coordinate system. The main approaches and directions of research into the poetics of adultery are determined: historical-typological, comparative, method of motive's analysis. The main purposes of the article are: to trace the main variants and variations of adultery, to understand how and in what main directions its development took place in the Bunin world; to clarify the moral, aesthetic and existential foundations of adultery as something that binds together such contradictory and necessary for comprehending the mystery of authenticity (F. Stepun), personality and truthfulness of feelings, as liberty and duty, love and responsibility, loyalty and betrayal, devotion, decency and possibility of change for self, choice and chance. Results. The fact of adultery in I. Bunin in no way implies immorality, depravity of a person, even in those cases when it is unambiguous from the traditional point of view. This is typical both for works focused on the poetics of realism and for stories for which the discoveries of existentialism are significant. The banality, predictability of the situation and types of heroes of adultery, inevitable when describing betrayal, are the equivalent of the Kantian situation of moral and ethical choice in I. Bunin. Aesthetic perception and the experience of betrayal are one of the opportunities for the heroes to know who they are. Conclusions. I. Bunin's deliberate attention to the everyday life of adultery, but also his non-admission in the practice of life, is the hero's choice of their usual everyday life as a choice of themselves, an almost Heidegger's opportunity to be oneself, and not a representative of the vulgarity of everyday situations. Adultery is a space of inner freedom and honesty of the self, existential infinity and unlimited possibilities of immersion and self-awareness, as well as his rights, duties (not)choosing oneself.Key words: motive, the paradox of adultery, moral and ethical choice, existential attitude. У статті обґрунтовується актуальність виокремлення адюльтеру як одного із самостійних, сильних феноменів художнього світу І. Буніна. Доводиться, що адюльтер у бунінському світі неправомірно трактувати як тривіальну подружню невірність, розглянуту в однозначній етичній системі координат. Визначаються основні підходи та напрями дослідження поетики адюль-теру: історико-типологічний, порівняльний, метод мотивного аналізу. Мета. Простежити основні варіанти й варіації адюльтеру, зрозуміти, як і в яких основних напрямах відбувався його розви-ток у бунінському світі; прояснити моральну, естетичну та екзистенційну основи адюльтеру як того, що пов’язує воєдино такі суперечливі й необхідні для осягнення таємниці автентичності (Ф. Степун) особистості та істинності почуття, як свобода та обов’язок, любов і відповідальність, вірність і зрада, відданість, порядність і можливість змін для я, вибір і випадковість. Результат. Факт адюльтеру в І. Буніна в жодному разі не передбачає аморальність, порочність людини навіть у тих випад-ках, коли це з традиційної позиції виявляється однозначним. Це характерно і для творів, орієнтованих на поетику реалізму, і для оповідань, для яких значимі відкриття екзистенціалізму. Неминучі під час опису зради банальність, передбачуваність ситуації й типів героїв адюльтеру є в І. Буніна еквівалентом кантівської ситуації морально-етичного вибору. Естетичне сприй-няття та переживання зради – це одна з можливостей для героїв пізнати себе справжніх. Висновки. Навмисна увага І. Буніна до буденності адюльтеру, проте водночас його недопущення на практиці життя – це зроблений героями вибір своєї звичної буденності як вибір себе, майже хайдеггерівська можливість бути самим собою, а не репрезентантом вульгарності загальножиттєвих ситуацій. Адюльтер – це простір внутрішньої свободи й чесності я, екзистен-ціальної безмежності та безмежної можливості занурення й усвідомлення себе, а також його права, обов’язки (не)вибору себе.Ключові слова: мотив, парадокси адюльтеру, морально-етичний вибір, екзистенційне світовідчуття.