Annotation

A new interpretation of the famous work of Mikhail Prishvin “The chain of Kashchey” is proposed. The main ideas of the author’s concept of ontogenesis are outlined: the distinction between childhood and the formation of personality, the idea of cultures of life. Then, relying on the work “The chain of Kashchey” as an empirical material, the childhood of Kurymushka-Alpatov is analyzed: the situation of “prama”, the understanding of the adult world with the help of schemes, fairy tales and metaphors, the expansion of the child’s independence within the framework of prama, the attitude towards the hero’s mother and governess Masha. The next section of the study is outlined — a characteristic of the formation of the personality of KurymushkiAlpatov. Here are considered: the disintegration of prama, a deep crisis of development, switching of relations to the children’s community, the formation of thinking, the first independent actions, fluctuations in terms of self-determination of the individual.