scholarly journals Russia between the East and the West: Searching for Identity in a Transitional Era (Based on the Material of the Russian Literary Tale of the 2000s – 2010s)

2021 ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Polina Korolkova ◽  

The essay focuses on the problem of national identity in the modern fairy tale for adult audience, on the example of texts by modern Russian writers (Alexander Kabakov, Andrey Stepanov, and Dmitry Glukhovsky). After analyzing what is common and what is different in the poetics of the fairy tales by the mentioned authors, as well as the strategies of portraying modern Russia in the transition period of Perestroika, I discuss the theme of the national identity in these texts and its meaning. The paper also highlights the properties of the contemporary fairy tale that addresses topical issues of the day. One of such properties is the national question, another one is the so-called “eternal question” concerning Russian civilization and its choice between the East and the West.

2020 ◽  
pp. 383-398
Author(s):  
Polina V. Korolkova

The essay deals with the interaction between the genre transformations of the author fairy tale and the national problematics, as well as the question of the modern strategies of genre renewal on the example of the texts by modern Russian and Hungarian writers (“The Moscow fairy tales” by A. Kabakov, “The fairy tales not about people” by A. Stepa-nov, “The Budapest fairy tales” and “The supermarket fairy tales” by A. Mosonyi). Among other questions, I address the so-called “genre me-mory” (M. Lipovetsky’s term), which in the texts by Kabakov, Stepanov, and Mosonyi functions at the level of entire cycles but rarely at the level of separate texts. With regard to the fi eld of children’s literature, the na-tional locus makes the texts appear more modern-looking and therefore appealing to an adult reader who rediscovers the details of everyday life. The opposite strategy is often applied in the philosophical, parable or political fairy tales, when the authors give priority to the nation-specifi c, nuanced and recognizable locus, which at the same time receives the features of the fairy tale or mythological space.


Author(s):  
O. О. Kryzhanovska

The article deals with the study of L. Lunts' report «Go West!» in the context of the leading ideas of the literary discussion of 1925–1928. L. Lunts was a theorist of the Russian literary collective «Brothers Serapions», his literary-critical articles represent such depth and perspectives that were ahead of his time. In the article by O. Kryzhanovska, it turns out that reflections on the ways of development of modern Russian literature turned out to be consonant with many world literatures, in particular Ukrainian. Report by L. Lunts «Go West!» (1922) fully represents his creative convictions and reveals much in common with the main vectors of the literary discussion of 1925-1928. The article proves that L. Lunts's article «Go West!» allows us to see the commonality of those artistic and aesthetic searches that existed in the 1920s in Ukrainian and Russian literature and represented the European vector of artistic landmarks. L. Lunts positioned himself as a «Western» writer. He emphasized the need to turn modern literature to the traditions of the West, in particular, to the tradition of fable prose. In the report «Go West!» the author notes that the provinciality of Russian literature is manifested in a dismissive attitude to the plot, to intrigue and an interesting plot. O. Kryzhanovska proved that under the dramatic plot L. Lunts understood the presence of such effective techniques that allow the viewer to arouse interest and emotional reaction. L. Lunts calls all modern literature boring and illiterate. The author insistently encourages writers to study Western literature and orient themselves towards Western traditions. O. Kryzhanovska proved that in two years the ideas of L. Lunts were consonant with the main dominant of the literary discussion of 1925-1928 in Ukraine. The conviction of the need to assimilate European artistic experience, get rid of the provincial and secondary, the call to learn from the world's best artists demonstrates the typological similarity of the views of such authors as Lev Lunts, Mykola Khvylovy and Mykola Zerov.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 61-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Hnatiuk

The article shows that archaic language is one of the components and methods of the detection of historical memory of Ukrainians. The analysis of the use of such elements in Old Ukrainian literary language of the 14-18th centuries., in Ukrainian literary language of the 19-20th centuries and in modern Ukrainian dialects has proved “Ukrainianness” of some archaic elements of the Ukrainian language, which are perceived by the language awareness of the modern Ukrainian as elements of the Russian language rather than the elements of its national identity in the diachronic dimension, as these words do exist in the modern Russian literary language, while in the New Ukrainian literary language they are replaced by other lexemes. It is shown that such archaisms in the language awareness of educated Ukrainians, including writers, acquire additional connotations and update their historical memory.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 266-299
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Panchenko

In the second chapter of The Gift, Fyodor Konstantinovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev recalls a “Kirghiz fairy tale” about a human eye that wants “to encompass everything in the world.” The plot of the story goes back to a Talmudic parable about Alexander the Great. The parable was retold in Russian by a number of writers and scholars in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries. However, it seems unlikely that Nabokov did use in any original piece of Inner Asian folklore in his novel. More probable is that he invented the “fairy tale” proceeding from one of the Russian versions of the parable. At the same time, Nabokov’s version is based on a number of international literary and folkloric motifs and is related to the “Kalmyk fairy tale” in Pushkin’s novel The Captain’s Daughter and to 19 th century Russian literary fairy tales in verse. While the central theme of Nabokov’s parable is the insatiability of human vision and the frailty of life, its con- and subtexts allude to some other recurrent themes of the novel — death and immortality, the quest for paradise, closed doors and exile, sources of love and poetical inspiration. The Oriental coloring of the tale (and the second chapter of the novel in general) appears to be a literary play with a limited number of texts, in particular with The Captain’s Daughter and A Journey to Arzrum. This allows discussing the “Kirghiz fairy tale” as an intratextually meaningful part of the novel rather than a marginal encrustation. It seems that Nabokov’s literary work with “migratory” plots and folklore texts was in a way close to the methods and ideas developed in Alexander Veselovsky’s school of comparative literary studies.


Author(s):  
Darya A. Zaveljskaya

The paper deals with the issue of forming of fairy tales artistic model in Russian drama. Currently, one considers dramatic fairy tale mainly in a general context of development of the author's literary fairy tale, although it has its own specifics. The study reviews some questions on the style and genesis of the Russian literary fairy tale for children in relation to the development of author's literary fairy tale as such. The author analyzes the influence of poetics of romanticism on the specifics of dramatic fairy tale, as well as the features of dramatic works by V. F. Odoevsky, who significantly influenced children's literature. His play “The Tsar-Maiden,” intended for children, is considered in comparison with a play by E.-T.-A. Hoffmann “Princess Blandina,” with similarities found in the system of characters, motif of matchmaking and some plot features associated with this motif. The fairy-tale play for adults “Segeliel or Don Quixote of the 19th century” analyzes the motifs of personified confrontation of good and evil and the interpenetration of magic and the ordinary, which was characteristic of romanticism in general and embodied both in other works of Odoyevsky and in later, mainly children's fairy-tale drama. The author suggests the possibility of influence of Odoevsky's plays on the development of children's drama. In both plays, we see the conventionality of artistic reality, resonating with humorous or ironic author's intonation. The paper also addresses I. A. Krylov's magical comic opera “Ilya Bogatyr,” revealing many characteristic features of Odoevsky's plays. At the same time, a distinction is made between Krylov's work and romantic direction, since the tradition of classicism is more clearly manifested in it. One may consider a reduction in pathos owing to humorous playing of heroic and mystical motifs as a feature of the comic opera. The analysis of these works allows us to formulate some characteristics of artistic model of the fairy-tale play, including conventionality of a fictional world, unexpected turns, personification of good and evil, unsteadiness of boundaries between the miracle and the ordinary, as well as humor and irony.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
S. P. Gudkova ◽  
◽  
A. V. Khozyajkina ◽  

Introduction: the article is devoted to the study of the development of books of poems as a major genre form in modern Russian-language poetry of Mordovia and fits into the complex of Russian literary studies concerning the peculiarities of the development of the Finno-Ugric literary process. In the course of the research, the typological features of a thematic and «final» book of poems are revealed; the poetological features of this genre in the works of the poets of Mordovia belonging to the «traditional» and «avant-garde» paradigm are analyzed. Objective: to analyze the main trends of the development of a book of poems in the literary process of Mordovia. Research materials: the poetry books by A. M. Sharonov «The Monologues» and S. Yu. Senichev «Grapes in Chocolate, or Compounding». Results and novelty of the research: the analysis of the modern Russian-language poetry of Mordovia has shown that today there are two ideological and artistic paradigms: «traditional» paradigm based on the experience of classical Russian poetry and «avant-garde» paradigm developing with the support of postmodern experiments. The diversity of poetic practices makes it possible to determine the ways of development of a book of poems in the poetic process of the republic. In the creative works of the poets of Mordovia two genre-specific forms, such as thematic and «final», are developing. Moreover, the traditional poets most often comprehend the problems concerning the preservation of the national identity of the Mordovian people. They poetically sum up the plots and images of national mythology and folklore. The genre form of a «final» book of poems allows the most representative to convey the scale of significant historical and sociocultural events of the era, as well as to present the author’s biography against the background of these events. The avant-garde poets, on the contrary, move away from national attributes. The associative and metaphorical principle of constructing a book of poems becomes more important for them, where along with the lyrical understanding of the world there is a philological game, intertextuality, and allusiveness. Through the techniques of literary play authors often express nostalgia for lost values. The analysis of the poetic of the books of poems by A. M. Sharonov and S. Yu. Senichev will allow not only to determine the features of their creative manner, but also to trace the ways and character of the development of modern Russianlanguage poetry in Mordovia as a whole.


Author(s):  
Nasar Meer

The purpose of this chapter is to locate the discussion about Muslims in Scotland in relation to questions of national identity and multicultural citizenship. While the former has certainly been a prominent feature of public and policy debate, the latter has largely been overshadowed by constitutional questions raised by devolution and the referenda on independence. This means that, while we have undoubtedly progressed since MacEwen (1980) characterised the treatment of ‘race-relations’ in Scotland as a matter either of ‘ignorance or apathy’, the issue of where ethnic, racial and religious minorities rest in the contemporary landscape remains unsettled. One of the core arguments of this chapter is that these issues are all interrelated, and that the present and future status of Muslims in Scotland is tied up with wider debates about the ‘national question’. Hitherto, however, study of national identity in Scotland has often (though not always) been discussed in relation to the national identities of England, Wales and Britain as a whole.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengcheng You

This article reviews four major Chinese animated adaptations based on the classic Journey to the West. It shows how these adaptations, spanning four historical phases of modern China, encapsulate changes in Chinese national identity. Close readings underpin a developmental narrative about how Chinese animated adaptations of this canonical text strive to negotiate the multimodal expressions of homegrown folklore traditions, technical influences of western animation, and domestic political situations across time. This process has identified aesthetic dilemmas around adaptations that oscillate between national allegory and individual destiny, verisimilitude and the fantastic quest for meaning. In particular, the subjectivisation of Monkey King on the screen, embodying the transition from primitivistic impulse, youthful idealism and mature practicality up to responsible stewardship, presents how an iconic national figure encapsulates the real historical time of China.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-184
Author(s):  
Željka Flegar

This article discusses the implied ‘vulgarity’ and playfulness of children's literature within the broader concept of the carnivalesque as defined by Mikhail Bakhtin in Rabelais and His World (1965) and further contextualised by John Stephens in Language and Ideology in Children's Fiction (1992). Carnivalesque adaptations of fairy tales are examined by situating them within Cristina Bacchilega's contemporary construct of the ‘fairy-tale web’, focusing on the arenas of parody and intertextuality for the purpose of detecting crucial changes in children's culture in relation to the social construct and ideology of adulthood from the Golden Age of children's literature onward. The analysis is primarily concerned with Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes (1982) and J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2007/2008) as representative examples of the historically conditioned empowerment of the child consumer. Marked by ambivalent laughter, mockery and the degradation of ‘high culture’, the interrogative, subversive and ‘time out’ nature of the carnivalesque adaptations of fairy tales reveals the striking allure of contemporary children's culture, which not only accommodates children's needs and preferences, but also is evidently desirable to everybody.


Author(s):  
Jack Zipes

This book explores the legacy of the Brothers Grimm in Europe and North America, from the nineteenth century to the present. The book reveals how the Grimms came to play a pivotal and unusual role in the evolution of Western folklore and in the history of the most significant cultural genre in the world—the fairy tale. Folklorists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm sought to discover and preserve a rich abundance of stories emanating from an oral tradition, and encouraged friends, colleagues, and strangers to gather and share these tales. As a result, hundreds of thousands of wonderful folk and fairy tales poured into books throughout Europe and have kept coming. The book looks at the transformation of the Grimms' tales into children's literature, the Americanization of the tales, the “Grimm” aspects of contemporary tales, and the tales' utopian impulses. It shows that the Grimms were not the first scholars to turn their attention to folk tales, but were vital in expanding readership and setting the high standards for folk-tale collecting that continue through the current era. The book concludes with a look at contemporary adaptations of the tales and raises questions about authenticity, target audience, and consumerism. The book examines the lasting universal influence of two brothers and their collected tales on today's storytelling world.


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