The Individual in the Age of Changes (Based on Vajiravudh’s Novel ‘The Heart of a Young Man’)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the epistolary novel of the Thai king Rama VI Vajiravudh – the prolific writer who stood at the origins of modern literature of Siam / Thailand. The author correlates the private life of the protagonist with the current political and social changes. Vajiravudh considers the reforms carried out in the kingdom to be a fact of his life. In his novel he shows how the turmoil – sometimes comic, sometimes dramatic – that took place in Thai society at the beginning of the 20th century, influenced the life of an individual. The main problem of the novel is the incompatibility of the cultural codes of the West and the East, Siam in particular. This is precisely the reason for the tragedy of the main hero. The author sees the only way to solve the problem and achieve a harmonious human existence in an era of change – it is the dialogue of cultures and the synthesis of the new European and traditional Thai within the worldview of an individual.