The specific features of L.S. Petrushevskaya's dramatic cycle “The apartment of Columbine”

This paper is devoted to the analysis of L.P. Petrushevskaya’s collection of plays “The Apartment of Columbine”. The study of literary cycles and the processes of their formation is a separate area of literary studies, however, against the backdrop of a serious development of the theory of lyrical, journalistic and prose cyclic unities, it is obvious that the description of the principles of cyclic formation in drama is far from complete. This paper deals with both theoretical and practical conditions for the existence of the dramatic form of a cycle. It is suggested that a necessary condition for cyclic integrity is not only the referential unity (thematic connection, common types of characters) but also the unity of the communicative model, which reflects the dual (narrative and performative) pragmatics of a dramatic work, its literary and stage orientation. Among the elements that organize this duality the most significant is the relationship between the development of the action and the paratextual structure (titles, remarks), as well as the configuration of space. This article concludes that the principle of cyclic formation in “The Apartment of Columbine” serves as a metaconstruct that verifies the elements of the theatrical code: plays that have the external movement of the plot subjected to social situations and dialogues contain a meta-intrigue, which transforms everyday reality into stage reality. A significant part of this semantic sphere is the introduction of the commedia dell’arte context with the help of titles and spatial remarks, which problematizes the “mundane” interpretation of events and emphasizes their theatrical qualities.