2025/08/25 by Szewczenko, Ludmiła
#Dina Rubina #Holocaust #Maria Stepanova #memory #palimpsest #post memory #prosthetic memory
paper · doi:10.34858/polilog.15.2025.446
The Palimpsest of Memory in the Story of D. Rubina Kocksynel and M. Stepanova’s Book In Memory of Memory This article examines the layered construction of memory in Dina Rubina’s Koksinel and Maria Stepanova’s In Memory of Memory, focusing on how both works address Holocaust-related themes through personal refl ection and postmemory. Adopting a multidisciplinary methodology that combines textual analysis, memory studies, and cultural theory, the study investigates how explicitly autobiographical elements intersect with postmemory—understood as the intergenerational transmission of trauma and historical knowledge that generates imaginative “new” memory. The analysis demonstrates that both authors employ prosthetic memory, integrating cultural, mediated, and collective sources such as literature, cinema, and family archives to construct their narratives. In Koksinel, postmemory functions as a catalyst for personal and pseudo-personal recollections, shaping the protagonist’s present perception through Holocaust-infl ected associations. In Memory of Memory constructs a complex palimpsest of documentary materials, personal refl ections, family histories, and imaginative reconstructions, underscoring the porous boundaries between individual, collective, and prosthetic memory. The study argues that the palimpsestic narrative structures of both works facilitate a nuanced exploration of memory’s complexities, revealing how overlapping layers of remembrance interact to convey the enduring impact of historical trauma on personal and cultural identity, while also highlighting the creative potential of postmemory as a mode of cultural transmission and reinterpretation.