The present article examines the evolving role of autobiography, tracing its development from a literary genre to a valuable historical source. It highlights the growing academic and public interest towards life narratives and suggests that autobiography can function as a form of microhistory, offering a distinctive perspective on the experiences of individuals or groups within the broader scope of historical events.Using descriptive and narrative analysis, the article explores Mayrig, the autobiography of French filmmaker of Armenian origin Henri Verneuil. It demonstrates how a single personal narrative can illuminate the lives of Armenian refugees who settled in Marseille in the early 20th century. Verneuil’s detailed recollections—from his family’s arduous journey to their adaptation to a new and, at times, unwelcoming environment—show how seemingly minor details can reveal the broader context of a life story and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of a community’s past.

Keywordssemiotics of narrative microhistory autobiography personal narrative Marseilles Mayrig Henri Verneuil

The theme of examining, evaluating, and reinterpreting Armenian history and the present is a constant and has played and continues to play an important role in Armenian literature. Unlike classical historiography, contemporary literature with historical themes is not simply a story about history, but a critical reflection on history and historiography, the purpose of which is to approach history analytically and critically in order to search for new truths and keys to the present and future. One of such works is V. Grigoryans novel Poghos-Petros, which we should examine, focusing on the principles of postmodernism, in particular the theory of historiographic metafiction put forward by Linda Hutchon, the tendencies of presenting the historical past from the perspective of contemporary perception. Linda Hutcheons theory of historical metafiction is based on the idea that historical fiction texts are not only reproductions of historical events, but also processes of self-reflection, identity, and reinterpretation of history, in which elements of metafiction the self-awareness of the text play an important role. Within the framework of this theory, Poghos-Petros is viewed as a form of artistic reproduction of the historical past, which simultaneously criticizes, reinterprets and entangles historical narratives. The narrative of the novel itself is multilayered and multifaceted: In the novels space, the author has combined elements typical of classical historiography, and sometimes the narrative acquires features typical of modernist and postmodernist texts irony, intertextuality, parody.

KeywordsVahagn Grigoryan Linda Hutcheon postmodernism historiographic metafiction intertextuality history metahistorical novel.

The present article examines the evolving role of autobiography, tracing its development from a literary genre to a valuable historical source. It highlights the growing academic and public interest towards life narratives and suggests that autobiography can function as a form of microhistory, offering a distinctive perspective on the experiences of individuals or groups within the broader scope of historical events.Using descriptive and narrative analysis, the article explores Mayrig, the autobiography of French filmmaker of Armenian origin Henri Verneuil. It demonstrates how a single personal narrative can illuminate the lives of Armenian refugees who settled in Marseille in the early 20th century. Verneuil’s detailed recollections—from his family’s arduous journey to their adaptation to a new and, at times, unwelcoming environment—show how seemingly minor details can reveal the broader context of a life story and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of a community’s past.

Keywordssemiotics of narrative microhistory autobiography personal narrative Marseilles Mayrig Henri Verneuil