Release:
2019, Vol. 5. №4(20)About the authors:
Ilya A. Kachkov, Master Student, Department of Philology, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin (Yekaterinburg); ilyakachkov@mail.ruAbstract:
This article examines the archival documents — letters, drafts, and treaties of V. F. Odoevsky — related to his novel “Russian Nights” and dated around its publication. Odoevsky had not only preceded the writing of his novel in separate articles, but also in his numerous works, providing an insight to the content and form of his work. The reconstruction of these explanations goes together with the understanding and recognition of “Russian Nights” as a phenomenon in the unity of its problems, values, and artistic aspects. This study aims to analyze archival materials that could serve as the basis for such a reconstruction. The comprehension of a number of key concepts from the novel “Russian Nights” was made possible thanks to the connections and assessments revealed in Odoevsky’s manuscripts. They centered around the influence of German philosophy on the mood of society during that era, as well as the interaction of science, art, faith, and love. In his drafts, Odoevsky revealed in detail the nature of the social issues and relations between Russia and the West. He searched for an exact definition of skepticism and independently analyzed the image of Faust. This article shows how the collection of these archival documents complement each other, forming a single system. With this approach, the novel “Russian Nights” becomes just one of the elements of this system, leading to the general conclusion that without compiling and studying the rest of these elements, the pursuit for understanding the philosophical and artistic ideology of Odoevsky turns practically impossible.Keywords:
References:
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