M. M. Prishvin and D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak: towards the rationale of poetic eco-dietics

About the author:

Oleg V. Zyryanov,

Abstract:

The idea of poetic dietetics, or the inextricable connection between the product of creativity and the personality of the artist-creator himself, receives its justification and terminological status in the reflection of European and Russian pre-romanticism. In his treatise Something about the Poet and Poetry (1815–1816), K. N. Batyushkov already directly opened the way for the formation of poetic eco-dietics, which makes the artist’s very “way of life” dependent on his natural environment and personal eco-consciousness. The author of this article assumes that the most important role in the development of artistic eco-consciousness belongs to M. M. Prishvin, while D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak can be considered his forerunner on this path. In support of this thesis, the comparison of their individual works has been made, emphasizing the fact of their value and genre-style convergence. The analysis involves the image of Fomich from Mamin-Sibiryak’s essay Forest, as well as the system of statements of this writer about the “sense of nature” characteristic of hero-hunters, and a whole series of Prishvin’s confessions from his diary and essays Forest Floors and Human Life. On this basis, the roots of Prishvin’s personal poetic “ecology” are identified, which boil down to the two main formulas: “the science of related attention” and the awareness of the surrounding world as “the great House of living beings.” The article also analyzes in detail Prishvin’s prose sketch “Moose” from the book In the Land of Grandfather Mazai compared to with the precedent text of Mamin-Sibiryak’s story Emelya the Hunter (1884). Another topical plot is a comparison of two autobiographical novels — Prishvin’s Kashcheev’s Chain and Mamin-Sibiryak’s Traits from Pepko’s Life.

References:

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