For the first time on the official level, Mother's Day was started in the USA in 1914. After the First World War, the holiday began to be celebrated in European countries. In Ukraine, the day of the most important and dearest person - Mother's Day - has been celebrated according to the Decree of the President of Ukraine since 1999, celebrating this day annually on the second Sunday of May.
Relatives - their mothers - played a significant role in the life and fate of our compatriot writers. Although there was more than half a century between the births of the founder of Ukrainian literature Ivan Kotliarevskyi (1769) and the human rights writer Volodymyr Korolenko (1853), their mothers and the mothers of Mykola Gogol and Panas Rudchenko (Myrnyi) belonged to the patriarchal, so-called old-world age. V. Korolenko noted the depth of their Image, the role of Mother-Beregynia, Mother-Protector like no other, saying:
"There are natures, as if predestined for the quiet feat of Love...".
The writers' mothers dedicated their whole lives to a large family. With the exception of the Kotliarevskyi family, in which Paraskovia (née Zhukovska) gave birth to the only son Ivan, all the others had: Maria Gogol-Yanovska (née Kosiarovska) – 12 children; Tetiana Rudchenko (nee Gordynska) – 5 children; Evelina Korolenko (nee Skurevych) – 7 children.
All without exception the families of the future classics are characterized by extremely early marriage of their mothers, especially for the current perception, from 13 to 20 years, and early widowhood. However, the whole burden of everyday economic issues does not become an obstacle for real mothers. All of them cope with the household chores decently, filling the home pantries with all kinds of grain, and the pockets of their children. Regarding financial support, the relationship between son and mother in the Gogol-Yanovskyi family is indicative. The latter acted as a constant "sponsor" of many projects and wishes of M. Gogol almost until her son's death.
And most importantly, all the mothers of literary geniuses consciously or not completely managed to awaken a vivid imagination to the surrounding world, love for nature, human spirituality and kindness. The mentioned features became a guarantee of the considerable literary talent and future success of the sons, although they themselves, for the most part, were not literate (with the exception of Evelina Korolenko).
Filial love was mutual, and those who were destined to outlive their old mother took care of their Berehynias with care. One of the reasons, perhaps the most important, why I. Kotliarevskyi resigned in 1808 - the need to support his mother. In addition, the manifestation of love and respect for the closest relatives is, of course, imprinting the image of the mother in one's literary work. The warmth of family relations, which was witnessed by the son, the palette of characteristic features inherent in the mother of the main character of the play "Natalka Poltavka" by Terpylikha - this is I. Kotliarevskyi's dedication to his native soul. Although the archetypes of the literary characters of M. Gogol's "Old World Landlords" are firmly considered to be his grandfather and grandmother, no one can deny that the same features did not belong to his mother. V. Korolenko reflects the personality of his mother on the pages of the book "The History of My Contemporary" and the story "Blind Musician".
History also left us a graphic memory of mothers (portraits, mostly photos), with the exception of Paraskovia Kotliarevska. The only one of his contemporaries who decided to paint the image of the mother of the outstanding poet and playwright is the famous Poltava artist Yevhen Putria (his works are in the writer's museum of the same name).
Vitalii Pavlov
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