ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author attempts to bridge work undertaken by L. S. Vygotsky at the beginning and end of his brief career. Vygotsky's treatment of art was largely logocentric, focusing for the most part on literature and the theater, and thus helped set the stage for his consideration of the fundamental role of speech in human development. His account of the distinguishing qualities of an artistic text appear to be well aligned with what is now called genre theory, or more specifically North American genre theory, in which the production of works within a genre is viewed as a form of social action. Art, however, is only one form of cultural mediation. Vygotsky ultimately extends his understanding of catharsis to 'the stage of life': The everyday drama that people experience as part of their engagement with society.
