MASK AS A SOCIO-CULTURAL PHENOMENON (BASED ON THE POEM BY V. SHYMBORSKA “PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN” AND A. CHEKHOV`S STORY “MASK” WITH A PROJECTION ON THE PRESENT)

Abstract

The article examines the role of the mask in the social and cul- tural space of human life. The problem is revealed on the basis of a comparative analysis of V. Shymborska’s poem “Portrait of a woman” and A. Chekhov’s story “Mask” with a projection on the modern epidemiological situation. Poet- ics reveals the aspect of philosophical understanding of changing human nature in both works, focuses on different types of masks presented in V. Shymborska’s poem “Portrait of a woman” and A. Chekhov’s story “Mask”, studies the impact of masks on society, culture and the individual, the correlation of the concepts of portrait and mask, made in the titles of the analyzed works.

In V. Shymborska’s poem we are dealing with an internal social mask that influences the character appearance: wearing a mask, a woman learnt to reshape, even cardinally transform herself, and V. Shymborska showed it. Since the mask of the lyrical character of the Polish poem is internal, hidden, the word mask does not appear in the text itself. The character of V. Shymborska has a mask, but it is so disguised that it is almost non-existent.

In A. Chekhov’s story, the word mask is included in the title; the mask serves as a tool for removing the “mask” from those people who did not wear it.

V. Shymborska and A. Chekhov use different methods to prove that the inner mask affects the appearance of the characters.

But the question arises: can the outer mask affect the inner world of man? This issue has been raised by the current situation of the spread of coronavirus infection, which forced the introduction of the rules of the “new etiquette”, one of which requires covering the nose and mouth with a mask. Psychotherapists argue that the mask has become a tool for managing people, a tool for manipulating consciousness and the human will, because a closed face develops obedience, suppresses freedom and volitional qualities

Thus, the observations of medical workers and other specialists clearly show that A. Chekhov and V. Shymborska in their works revealed that the mask really destroys normal relations between people. It can be noted that both writers acted as a kind of soothsayers. At the same time, it should be emphasized that a comparative analysis of these works convinces that V. Shymborska and A. Chekhov significantly enriched the meaning of the concept of the mask, helping to better understand human nature, its behaviour. And this understanding can contribute to the establishment of normal communicative relations between members of society.

The article only partially reveals an important humanistic topic – “Mask as a socio-cultural phenomenon...”, which remains relevant and requires further study with the involvement of texts of domestic and world fiction.