Izvestiya of Saratov University.
Philology. Journalism
ISSN 1817-7115 (Print)
ISSN 2541-898X (Online)

Literary criticism

Life Within the Framework of Art: On the Problem of the Composition Center of The First Book of Stories by Mikhail Kuzmin

The principle of uniting stories within a collection of stories is viewed as the composition center. The paper deals with the problems of trespassing the borderlines established by culture, the character’s self-knowledge and poetics of radically broadening the meaningful volume of an image by means of developing the plot and particular motives that create the framework of world culture spiritual values.

“He Is a Very Good Writer. And How He Wrote About Love!”: A. P. Chekhov’s Readers-Characters on I. S. Turgenev

The article presents a wide panorama of consistent types of readerscharacters (in V. G. Belinsky’s terminology – shallow people and Old Believers, people of action and children of a certain doctrine), who on the pages of A. P. Chekhov’s prose and drama works with a different degree of expertise (affectedly, presumptuously, in a silly way, artlessly, passionately) judge the characters, works, literary craftsmanship of I. S. Turgenev, whose life has already expired.

Lermontov’s Taman: Space, Characters, Plot

The article analyzes the principles of space and plot interaction in Lermontov’s Taman. The author examines the features of mythologizing space. The plot roles of the characters and the paradoxes of Pechorin’s behavior are studied. The correlation of the incident and destiny in the development of the plot is specified. A special place of the story in the semantic structure of Pechorin’s Diary is revealed.

The Theater of A School for Fools: On One Type of Fragments in Sasha Sokolov’s Novel

The article discusses a particular type of fragments in the montage composition of Sasha Sokolov’s novel A School for Fools in terms of its structural and semantic specificity, substantiates the principles of the possibility of highlighting it in the text and also reveals a special nature of the montage junction in the novel.

The Image of Trotsky in Saul Bellow’s Works: The Dialectical Fabric of Fact and Fiction

The paper explores the correlation between biography, history and fiction in Saul Bellow’s early works. Regarding the image of Trotsky that persistently appears in his books, the presented analysis identifies a range of narrative devices that help transpose fact into fiction, such as framing (story inside a story), counterpoint construction, and deliberately subjective perception of historical events.

The Historic and Literary Context of the Chinese Theme in P. Buck’s Oeuvre

The article explores the historic and literary context of Pearl Buck’s oeuvre, particularly the influence of Chinese literature and folklore on the thematic, genre and stylistic features of her novels, as well as the place of the 20th century Chinese history in her novels.

The Spiritualization of Everyday Life: Way of Life and Existence in the Diaries of B. Shergin and Memoir Prose of S. Durylin

The article considers the spiritual experience of everyday life perception reflected and imprinted in the diaries and memoirs of the Russian writers Boris Shergin and Sergey Durylin. A Christian outlook and perception of the world endows the writers with a special organ of vision, which transforms the fabric of everyday life, making it a true being, rooted in eternity and in God.

The ‘Boulevard’ Theatre of Jean Cocteau

The article discusses the dramatic works of the French writer Jean Cocteau, namely the pieces of the so-called ‘Boulevard theatre’ period, written from 1927 to 1941. The analysis of the author’s metatext allows to reveal the ideological explanation of Cocteau turning to new genre models. The intertextual analysis also clarifies the place of the ‘Boulevard’ plays in the evolution of Cocteau as a playwright.

The Image Semantics of Windows and Doors in M. Tsvetaeva’s Autobiographical Prose

This article is devoted to one of the understudied aspects of M. Tsvetaeva’s prose – the study of the image semantics of windows and doors in the mythopoetics of the house. In the study of the poet’s autobiographical myth it is necessary to take into account that the house, as an archetype, correlates with the inner world of the person; it is the center of the human universe.

State-of-the-Nation Dilogy by Jonathan Coe

The dilogy The Rotters’ Club (2001), The Closed Circle (2004), by a British novelist Jonathan Coe is represented as an integral and coherent narration within the tradition of the British state-of-thenation novel. The article analyzes the role of realistic and postmodern practices in highlighting the social and political problems in the dilogy.

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