Biblical myth in S. Kondurushkin’s Middle East prose
https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2022-69-3-76-81
Abstract
Russian literature of the Silver Age is characterized by rethinking of mythology and mythmaking, which allows the writers, in the changed conditions, to portray man and the world around him in a new way. A special role in this process is played by the biblical myth.
The aim of the article is to identify the representation features of the Old and New Testament stories in the Middle Eastern narrative by the writer and journalist S. Kondurushkin.
The author analyzes the system of biblical characters, the specifics of interpretation of the stories, the nature of their transformations and the importance of introducing the carnival-comic component in the text, based on the stories “Moses” and “The Descendants of the King of Judea”. The article emphasizes the role of the Middle Eastern landscape, which, for Kondurushkin, serves as a link between the mythohistorical past of the biblical East and the present of Palestine and Syria. The use of the biblical myth in Kondurushkin’s Middle Eastern narrative significantly expands his artistic possibilities. From the relatively simple schemes of a travel essay and an eyewitness account, he moves to a complex system of images from the past and present, “big narratives” unfolding against the background of the mountainous landscapes of Syria and Palestine, which are familiar to the author and his readers. The biblical imagery remains one of Kondurushkin’s most important artistic devices in his articles and essays on the First World War and the Revolution of 1917.
Keywords
biblical myth,
Russian prose of the Silver Age,
Middle Eastern narrative,
S. Kondurushkin,
A. Gorky,
“Moses”,
“The Descendants of the King of Judea”
Supporting agencies: The study was carried out with financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 21-09-41005
About the Author
S. Vladimirova
National Research Mordovia State University named after N. Ogarev
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Svetlana Mikhailovna Vladimirova, Assistant Professor
430005
68 Bolshevistskaya Str.
Saransk
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Review
For citations:
Vladimirova S. Biblical myth in S. Kondurushkin’s Middle East prose. Philology and Culture. 2022;(3):76-81. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2022-69-3-76-81
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