years but also the life of another woman who agreed to become a surrogate mother.
Unlike the blindness of his wife, Panas attempts to «open her eyes» to the absurdity of
the plan – anticipates its negative consequences: «We both will not withstand, and there
will only be a series of useless troubles ...» [6, 550]. And only his great love to her wife
makes him to agree to the terrible plan: «Well, when you ask such questions – an
operetta, a divorce or this wild experiment – well, I agree» [6, 550]. Panas deliberately
gets the better of his own feelings and tends to help his wife get a baby. The husband
was the first who ascertained the changes in their relationship: «It is hard for me that
we had become strangers. We had paid a very big price for that purpose. I cannot,
Inna!» [6, 566]. Like Inna, Panas comes to understand the causes of the destruction of
the spiritual family principles. That is, the spiritualized law of nature again turns out to
be stronger than a person’s sense, but now it acts on the good and happiness of a new
family. Consequently, in the play «The Law» V. Vynnychenko argued that the highly
spiritual laws of motherhood and even higher laws of the family and society (love,
wisdom, cooperation and harmony of the interests of husband and wife) are much
higher than the blind, short-sighted recklessness of a surrogate mother and the instinct
of a feminized woman, for her selfish attitude to the husband’s feelings.
In the play «Nad» V. Vynnychenko understands the important role of a woman
who «serves false ideals,
and changes her eternal being» [23, 13]. The playwright in
the work poses the question of free marriage and ironically tests it on the examples of
party figures of the 1920s (XX century). V. Vynnychenko’s view of the marriage
«smoothly» migrated to his plays from the European (A. Strindberh, H. Ibsen) [16; 18;
22] and domestic drama (L. Yanovska «The Fourth Axiom») [10, 134]. The name of
the play can also be viewed as a «short-
affectionate» form [11, 292] – from the name
of main character – Nadiya, because the behavior of this woman is feminized and
becomes as a sample of the highest degree of spiritualized determinism of human
relationships; or as a possible glorification of somebody over someone: «Nad, you kill
them. Yes, Yes! You are so powerful, so harder for them that they cannot fight with
you. You do not fight with them, that is, you are not jealous, you do not have the
smallest evil feeling to them, you are friendly, good, ‹...› gentle, this fact suppresses
them, disarms them.
‹...› Yes-yes, Nad!» [4, 70], – her lover says, and even Nadiya
comes to the conclusion: «All the trouble is that I'm such «super-ordinary «?» [4, 71],
that her love for Ilko (as well as other people) made her «a slave», and him a «slaver»).
Such a variety of interpretations is determined by the complexity of ethical values.
Although Nadiya and Ilko are in love with each other, the woman is constantly worried
about their age difference, because he is «24 years old, and I am 30» [4, 6]. So far as,
their relationship breaks the traditional understanding of marriage, then to Matviya’s
question: («Have you pondered firmly ... For what purpose do you marry my children?»
[4, 21]), Nadiya replies that Ilko is «the man» with whom she confidently strives to
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