THE CHARACTEROLOGY OF THE SOCIALIST REGIME AS A CONTEXT OF GEORGI GOSPODINOV’S WORKS

Abstract

The article explores the socialist regime in Bulgaria (1944–1989) as a characterological and cultural-historical context of Georgi Gospodinov’s works, with a special emphasis on the representation of everyday life, traumatic experience, and memory mechanisms. The aim of the study is to determine how G. Gospodinov’s literary texts construct a conceptual model of the Bulgarian socialist society, particularly through key concepts such as POWER, EDUCATION, FREEDOM OF SPEECH, and MATERIAL STATUS. The methodological framework includes hermeneutic, cultural-historical, intertextual, and conceptual analysis, which made it possible to identify the above concepts as central to reconstructing the conceptual field of Bulgarian socialism. The primary material of analysis is the collection “I Lived Socialism. 171 Life Stories”, in which a mosaic of ordinary people’s lives in socialist Bulgaria is reconstructed through personal testimonies. In addition, the article traces the evolution of the author’s engagement with the topic of socialism based on other works by G. Gospodinov, such as “Inventory Book of Socialism”, “Invisible Crises”, “Essays and Stories”, and “In the Cracks of the Canon”. It is important to note that G. Gospodinov not only addresses the socialist past but also treats it as a means of reflecting on national identity, collective memory, and the role of literature in preserving generational experience. The author’s attention to everyday topics allows for a new interpretation of ideological pressure and cultural transformation. The article also examines specific features of G. Gospodinov’s documentary and essayistic writing, which combines personal stories with broader cultural generalizations. The analysis of G. Gospodinov’s texts shows that the characterology of the socialist era in his works goes beyond a straightforward condemnation or nostalgia and instead emerges as a multilayered literary strategy of memory reconstruction at the intersection of private and collective experience. As a result, this strategy combines documentary and fictional elements, shaping a historical mode of writing in the post-socialist Bulgarian literature.