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UDC 82(38)-2:821.161.1-31
DOI 10.20339/PhS.3-24.075
Volkov Ivan O.,
Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor of the Russian and Foreign Literature Department
National Research Tomsk State University
е-mail: wolkoviv@gmail.com
The article represents a comparative study of the novel On the Eve, which finds in its own problematics the advantage of the meanings of the tragic. Those meanings take us to the tradition of the ancient Greek theater. In the foreground, there is the image of Dmitry Insarov, representing, according to the author’s intention, a consciously heroic figure and is outlined in close proximity to the titanic hero of Aeschylus. Prometheus is a hero of freedom, he has an unbending and passionate will, which is determined by the integrity of his character and directs his actions, existing in the form of a single purposeful force that does not allow doubts or hesitation. Turgenev’s idea of Insarov has likewise turned into the character’s inner necessity, which he must follow. The pain of Insarov, fused with the collective suffering of the Bulgarian people and enclosed in the form of strong and all-encompassing hatred, is akin to the lamentations of Prometheus, in which there is the same combination of scales and the same grandiosity of indignation, giving firmness to the spirit. At the same time, the ancient Greek playwright humanizes his mighty titan, making him capable of the suffering experienced by mere mortals. First of all, this concerns the hero’s need to break the silence and pour out his grief in frank complaints, as well as the completely human fear of loneliness, the fear of being left alone with his suffering again. In Turgenev’s novel, Insarov, whose character embodies tragic stamina and inflexibility, is tested for vitality and loyalty to his word. The main test of his human nature is his love for Elena. The mutual feeling shows that the heroic (hero) in Insarov is realized and becomes possible thanks to the ordinary (ero). Between these categories an interpenetrating connection is established, which, following the example of Aeschylus, embodies the author’s concept of a harmonious synthesis of the tragic and the everyday in the world.
Keywords: I.S. Turgenev, Aeschylus, “On the Eve”, “Chained Prometheus”, ancient tradition, tragic, heroic
The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RNF, project No. 22-28-00549, https://rscf.ru/project/22-28-00549/).
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